ST. LOUIS – The Jamestown Mall is one step closer to being torn down after the St. Louis County Council approved $6 million for demolition of the abandoned north St. Louis County building.

What You Need To Know

  • St. Louis County Council approved $6M to demolition Jamestown Mall

  • The money will come from the General Fund and later be replaced with ARPA funding

  • Remediation of hazardous waste is already underway on the site, which closed in 2014    
  • St. Louis County is also waiting to learn how much state funding they may receive for the demolition

Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, who represents the area of the mall, posted on Facebook that this is something that is more than a decade overdue. She thanked the residents in her district for their support in the fight for north county’s future.

The council approved a bill asking to use $6 million from the General Fund that would later be replaced by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.

During a morning briefing, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said the next step for the mall is to continue with the process of remediation of hazardous waste, which may take several months, then take bids for the mall’s demolition.

“We’ve done something unusual here as to proceed with remediation and demo before we have a development plan identified. We think removing that element of risk of the redevelopment of that site will bring us more interested in parties and a better product,” explained Page.

The exact cost of the demolition is still unclear. The county is requesting state-matched funding for this and several other ARPA funded projects. Page said his administration and council are “deeply committed” to making this happen and will see what funding they can get from the state once the budget is passed, then look for additional funding if needed.

The Jamestown Mall permanently closed in 2014. The St. Louis County Port Authority started acquiring the mall in 2015.

You can look at the St. Louis County Executive’s proposal for ARPA funding here.