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The City Council this week advanced a bill to sell the land, at 17159 Edison Ave., to Staenberg Advisors for $250,000.

The company is owned by developer Michael Staenberg, whose companies developed the Commons and are also turning the former Chesterfield Mall into a 'downtown' for the suburb, with residences, offices, shops and entertainment. 

The Staenberg Group previously owned the 16.95 acre site on Edison Avenue while developing the Commons but gave it to the city in 2006 at no cost while officials developed a master plan for managing stormwater in the Chesterfield Valley, an area devastated by flooding in 1993 and then rebuilt into a prominent retail district that includes the Commons.

The parcel Staenberg is buying has been used as a stormwater basin and maintained by the City of Chesterfield. Officials say up to 10 acres of the land can be developed without affecting stormwater management in the Valley if a developer meets requirements including importing dirt to use as fill and extending stormwater pipes and culverts.

The city previously approved selling the land to Staenberg in 2025 for $500,000.

But Staenberg canceled that offer after the company said it found restrictions on development on the property, and costs to manage stormwater at the site "devalued" the property, according to city records. The company returned with its new offer based on the smaller range of development it can build at the site. 

Staenberg told the Post-Dispatch in an interview that he is buying the land for future development but is not proposing any specific project now. 

"It's an investment," he said.

The city council is expected to take a final vote on the sale at its next meeting June 15.