最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The $210 million plan to expand the downtown convention center has weathered turnover in City Hall and Clayton, a global pandemic, political feuds, a last-minute opposition campaign and, most recently, soaring construction costs.

But the publicly funded project, more than four years in the making, on Tuesday finally made it to its ceremonial groundbreaking, drawing smiling politicians and business leaders to a bare patch of dirt at Ninth and Cole streets where a new wing will add exhibit space and loading docks to the America鈥檚 Center complex.

鈥淲hat do regionalism and collaboration look like?鈥� 最新杏吧原创 County Executive Sam Page asked the gathering Tuesday. 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Center is a good example.鈥�

最新杏吧原创 County agreed to fund half of the project in early 2019, just before Page became county executive. But the 最新杏吧原创 County Council only last month signed off on the bond financing after stalling it since September. The holdup was due to Council Chair Rita Heard Days鈥� insistence that a plan for a north 最新杏吧原创 County recreation center, offered in a 2019 deal for the county鈥檚 support, be included. The county added $40 million to its $105 million bond issuance to fund the recreation complex.

The project is supposed to be financed over the next 40 years with about $6 million each in hotel taxes from the city and county freed up with the retirement of the debt used to build the Dome at America鈥檚 Center, where the NFL鈥檚 Rams used to play. 最新杏吧原创 issued its bonds 18 months ago after weathering its own political disputes, including a push by Comptroller Darlene Green鈥檚 office to win control of the bond financing.

Strong support from politically influential hotel operators and the unions representing the construction and event industry helped the project overcome its years of political hurdles. And 最新杏吧原创 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones remained a steadfast supporter after inheriting the project from Mayor Lyda Krewson鈥檚 administration. Jones told attendees the project would help add vibrancy to downtown and draw more visitors by better competing for conventions.

鈥淚f 最新杏吧原创 is the Gateway to the West, then America鈥檚 Center is our city鈥檚 front door,鈥� Jones said.

Kitty Ratcliffe, who as head of the region鈥檚 tourism arm has shepherded the project through the administrations of two mayors and two county executives while navigating a pandemic that shut down conventions and hammered the hotels whose taxes fund her agency, thanked hospitality leaders for their 鈥減atience.鈥� Uncertainty over whether the expansion would be ready in time for conventions that booked the facility late next year has affected hotel operators and other businesses that rely on those events, she said.

鈥淭oday, we take away some of that uncertainty,鈥� Ratcliffe said.

Only Tony Thompson, CEO of project manager Kwame Building Group, addressed the 鈥渆lephant in the room鈥�: The soaring cost of construction and lack of bidders on the project. Ben-Hur Construction was the sole bidder on the project鈥檚 first phase, winning the contract despite a bid that was $40 million above the initial $83 million estimate.

鈥淭he economic impact to the city would be much worse if we did not move forward with a project like this,鈥� Thompson said.

While Ben-Hur was given a notice to proceed, negotiations have just begun to convince the company to shave off $8 million in project costs, which project backers said they would pursue. Meanwhile, no companies bid for the project鈥檚 second half, which is supposed to add a ballroom and public plaza along Ninth Street.

Deputy Comptroller LaTaunia Kenner, who has managed the coordination team of city and county officials for Green, who was not in attendance, said she didn鈥檛 know when the second half of the project would go out to bid.

鈥淲e will go from our base contract and work to minimize any cost overruns through contract auditing,鈥� Kenner said, adding that Kwame 鈥渄oes a fantastic job鈥� and would 鈥渕inimize any cost overruns.鈥�

Asked if the city might need to issue more bonds to cover the soaring costs, Kenner said, 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 have any information on that question at this time.鈥�

Ratcliffe said 鈥渋t鈥檚 really out of my control鈥� whether the project can stay within the $210 million budget.

鈥淲e have enough to get this project going,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have to work with Ben-Hur Construction now. I鈥檓 trying to figure out what those actual costs for materials are going to be and what we can reduce this part of the budget by in order to figure out what we have remaining for the next piece.鈥�