U.S Army Corps of Engineers map illustrates proposed Metro-East location of the National Geospacial Intelligence Agency’s new western headquarters. (Courtesy: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

The location of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) planned new western campus will be subject of a public meeting Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m. at the Katy Cavins Community Center, 308 E. Fifth St. in O’Fallon.

The campus is estimated by some to be the largest single building construction project in the history of the St. Louis bi-state area and, by all accounts, one of the region’s largest employers for decades to come.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives will outline and accept public comment on a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), released Oct. 9, on the four sites under consideration for the new NGA facility.

A Metro-East location just north of Scott Air Force Base and a site in the City of St. Louis just north of downtown are considered the leading contenders. Locations in the St. Louis County communities of Mehlville and Fenton are also under study.

The NGA, based in Virginia, is federal intelligence and military support agency that provides geospacial data for the government as well as civilian aviation, disaster response and even cell phone applications. The agency plans to relocate it western headquarters, presently in South St. Louis, based in part on results of the environmental impact assessment and public input.

The DEIS indicates the proposed Metro-East location, between I-64 and the Air Force base, would be the least disruptive to the ecosystems and  residents of the surrounding area. A newly discovered archaeological site represents the only notable environmental issue at the Metro-East site, according to the document. The Army Corps has already contacted national and local archaeological organizations to plan remediation of the site.

However, it also finds St. Louis has the most to lose if the NGA goes elsewhere. Already $2 billion in debt and heavily reliant on a 1 percent local income tax, St. Louis officials privately fear fiscal calamity if the NGA does not select their proposed location, surrounding the site of the now-demolished Pruett-Igoe housing complex.

The present NGA western campus employs around 2,400 at salaries reportedly averaging around $70, 000 annually.  Construction costs for the new campus are estimated at $100 million. With NGA operations expected to grow rapid, the facility could ultimately employ as many as 7,000 workers.

The NGA expects to announce a preferred site for the new facility in spring of 2016. Construction is slatted to begin in 2017 with completion projected to be no later than 2021. The new facility is expected to be fully operational by 2023.

Both Metro-East and St. Louis officials described the project as potentially “transformational” for their areas.

Metro-East officials, who believe the NGA favors a location near a military installation, say the new facility would bring thousands of new permanent as well as construction jobs to St. Clair County. The new NGA west campus – tucked in between Scott AFB and its adjacent civilian air facility MidAmerica Airport – would be complemented by a planned new new north-south corridor road system through central St. Clair County, complete with a new connector road to the NGA site. A Metro-Link extension directly to the new NGA campus has also been promised.

St. Louis officials see the new NGA facility as the cornerstone of a $1.5 billion revitalization project in near North St. Louis. They plan to influence a final decision politically, arguing that St. Louis is a federally designated Promise Zone, giving it priority when competing for federal funding to eliminate poverty. St. Louis officials also plan to emphasize that President Obama has issued an executive order encouraging federal investment in urban areas.

The proposed Metro-East location is already owned by St. Clair County, which plans to donate the site to the NGA.

The City of St. Louis is still in the process of assembling land for the project, in some cases through the possible use of eminent domain, meaning transfer of the property to the NGA would still have to be negotiated

Additional public meetings are scheduled next week at the Crestwood Community Center in St. Louis County (Oct. 27) and the Gateway Classic Sports Foundation in St. Louis (Oct. 29)

The draft DEIS is available for review at O’Fallon Public Library, 120 Civic Plaza. The documents, as well as additional information on the project and next week’s meetings can be accessed at www.nextNGAwest.com. Public comment on the project is also being accepted through the website, now through Nov. 23.

–O’Fallon site for meeting on new intelligence agency campus–