Development in the area would be the most significant project in memory on the city’s North Side, which has long struggled from disinvestment.

Mayor Lyda Krewson pointed to the planned facility’s proximity to downtown, area universities and the Cortex tech district, which will help grow the cluster of geospatial and mapping technology jobs in the region that support and are supported by the NGA’s workforce and contractors.

“NGA is like any other employer, and their goal is to attract and retain talent,” she said. “What we’re looking to do through the startup community, the tech community, is to support the businesses in the area and the residents in the area to make sure there’s good development in and around the area.”

Tug-of-war nearly derailed NGA's move to north city Troves of public documents recently obtained by the Post-Dispatch, and interviews, tell of a development deal that nearly came apart, but ended up keeping 3,000 jobs in the city.

Williams gave credit to developer Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration, which had assembled over half of the site from private owners and the city’s land bank. McKee initially submitted a response to an RFP from an undisclosed entity looking for a site, which later turned out to be the NGA.

Once it became clear it was the NGA and the north St. Louis site was in play, the city “brought the resources and coordination” necessary for the project, Williams said, taking over responsibility for assembling the remainder of the land.