“As noble as the new shelter is as an idea, it would simply be another hurdle that NSR would have to overcome, if placed in the middle of the TIF district’s most compelling commercial area,” McKee wrote. “Eddie, you, more than most people, know the massive hurdles NSR has already been forced to overcome (the legal challenges, the banking crisis, the political battles, etc.). After persevering these many years, we are finally poised for the lift off of the very projects that will begin the transformation of the Northside.”

McKee’s spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the homeless situation in and around downtown is nearing a crisis point.

Violence and drug-dealing around the Bridge Outreach Centenary United Methodist Church at 16th and Olive streets spurred public outcry from downtown residents last year. That facility’s lease will expire in June. Right now, the city buses Bridge residents to its temporary night shelter at the 12th and Park Recreation Center south of downtown.

Still, open drug-dealing persists downtown, particularly at night, in the area surrounding Christ Church Cathedral and the St. Louis Public Library, which underwent a $70 million renovation in 2012.