Public Finance

The Firm’s Public Finance practice group represents governmental bodies, developers, and other participants, in public finance transactions. The practice group also provides legal advice to its clients regarding the analysis and drafting of public legislation and regulations, labor negotiations, policy development, and public contract, tax, administrative and real estate matters. The members of the Public Finance group serve as problem solvers for municipalities and developers alike.

Current Developments in Public Finance

The firm has played a substantial role in the efforts of the St. Louis Cardinals to finance and construct a new ballpark in downtown St. Louis. Construction of the new ballpark and redevelopment of the adjacent five-block neighborhood known as “Ballpark Village” represents the largest private investment in downtown St. Louis in the City’s history.

Ballpark Village is a $650 million mixed-use retail/entertainment, office and residential district planned to be developed in downtown St. Louis through a partnership between the St. Louis Cardinals and The CordishCompany. Ballpark Village will cover approximately six city blocks and will be directly integrated with the new Busch Stadium, which opened in April 2006. Upon completion of all phases, Ballpark Village is expected to feature approximately 450,000 square feet of retail/entertainment, 1,200 residential units, 300,000 square feet of office and 2,000 parking spaces.

The firm was involved in various capacities with the development of NorthPark, a $400 million mixed-use development near the eastern perimeter of Lambert-St.Louis International Airport. The 5.5 million square-foot business park will be constructed on 550 acres of St. Louis County and several municipalities, and will include office, manufacturing and distribution space as well as complementary retail and hospitality property. Economic incentives such as Brownfield tax credits, TIF and Chapter 100 tax abatement are being used within the development to encourage growth. For example, McEagle Properties is obtaining $17 million in Chapter 100 tax abatement to finance the construction of a new divisional headquarters and educational facility for the benefit of Vatterott Educational Centers within the NorthPark complex.

As special counsel to the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis, the group has assisted the City in negotiating and executing an agreement to develop a new $208 million luxury casino-hotel complex in the historic Laclede's Landing District along the Mississippi River. The project, developed by Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., will include a 75,000 square-foot, 2,000-slot casino, luxury hotel, retail space and parking structure, and promises to complement the existing properties in the landing area, including the America's Center Convention Center, the Edward Jones Dome and the Landing. Pinnacle has also agreed to construct $50 million in additional residential housing, retail or mixed-use developments in the City within five years of the opening of the complex.

Practice Highlights

Of the 63 Armstrong Teasdale attorneys named to the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, two were named top Public Finance lawyers.

Members of the Public Finance Practice Group

Boatman, Mark	McPherson, Jeffery
Bockman, Lori	Mello, Jim
Cooper, Daniel	Nations, John
Diehl, Jr., John	Polk, Deborah
Frankel, Amelia	Ray, Thomas
Giss, Pamela	Reh, Matthew
Greene, Dione	Schlomann, Christine
Grise, Stephanie	Sheppard, Samantha
Klahr, Robert	Simmons, Jennifer
McClelland, John	Walker, Roger