The LCRA may need to exercise eminent domain to acquire the remaining mall properties, the county said in a statement Monday announcing the completion of the blight study.

“I feared that if the County did not step in and be proactive, the site would remain a detriment to North County,” County Executive Steve Stenger said in the statement. “Our residents deserve better. We took the unprecedented step of buying mall properties from four of the five owners. We want to make Jamestown Mall a property North County residents can be proud of once again.”

Not all of the mall’s owners agree on the future direction of the property. Abdi Mahamedi, president of New York-based Carlyle Development Group, told the Post-Dispatch in September that in recent years, county officials have blocked rezoning efforts that would allow non-retail uses at the mall. Carlyle owns more than 60 acres at Jamestown Mall and the former Dillard’s store space.

Lisa Brown • 314-340-8127 @lisabrownstl on Twitter lbrown@post-dispatch.com

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