St. Louis effort to keep mapping agency moves forward

ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis aldermen have advanced a bill that would give the city eminent domain authority as part of an effort to keep the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from leaving.

The defense mapping agency is moving from its south St. Louis location and considering four new sites: Fenton, Mehlville, St. Clair County, Illinois, and north St. Louis.

The city site includes the demolished Pruitt Igoe housing complex and land near it. The city wants to redevelop land around the site.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/10TSwQg ) reports that while much of the land in the eminent domain area is vacant, there are some homes and residents.

The agency employs 3,000 people and brings St. Louis an estimated $2.4 million annually in earnings tax. The average employee at the agency earns $75,000.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com