Bond Celebrates OPO Deal

Bond Press Release:

ST. LOUIS, MO –– U.S. Senator Kit Bond today joined Mayor Francis Slay, General Services Administration (GSA) representatives, Governor Holden and other civic leaders to celebrate the transfer of the Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis. This new agreement will ensure the Post Office's recognition as an historic landmark and will bring continued economic development to downtown St. Louis.

"Not only will this redevelopment preserve the Old Post, but it will also provide another needed economic boost for Downtown St. Louis," said Senator Kit Bond. "Revitalizing downtown St. Louis has been a top priority of mine in the U.S. Senate for many years now. I have made it a point to secure Missouri’s fair share of urban federal investment dollars for projects like this one and I will continue to fight for this and other important projects across the state."

Today's event celebrates the transfer of the historic Old Post Office from the GSA to the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB). This transfer will allow for the historic preservation of the Old Post Office. This national historic landmark, which first opened in 1884, will provide approximately 155,000 square feet of rentable space. Bond stressed that this transfer will ensure the Old Post Office's place as a symbol of the economic and cultural vitality of downtown St. Louis well into the 21st Century.

MDFB will enter into a long term lease with St. Louis companies, the DESCO Group and DFC group, to implement a $40 million plan to revitalize the Old Post Office and several buildings in the surrounding area. This project will attract new investment in Downtown St. Louis, bringing new businesses and jobs to the area.

Bond secured $2.5 million in stop-gap funding for the Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis and worked with the National Park Service, the City of St. Louis, the State of Missouri, downtown Now!, St. Louis 2004, and local developers, to remove bureaucratic obstacles to re-development. Their combined efforts were instrumental in the goal of ridding urban blight from the heart of downtown St. Louis.