The School District of Clayton will not move forward with plans to purchase the Caleres corporate campus, school board members announced Monday in a joint statement.

The decision ends plans to create what the district had described as “an Empowerment Campus” on the nine-acre property at 8300 Maryland Avenue. Current and former city officials had criticized the potential purchase over concerns about the impact on the city’s tax base.

The city said it stood to lose more than $1 million in property tax revenue over the next decade if the property had been transferred to a non-commercial tax exempt use.

"We are writing to inform the community that after thorough consideration, the Board has decided to terminate the purchase agreement with Caleres. We want to thank the residents of our community for the feedback we received over the past few weeks. We are fortunate to have such a passionate and engaged community,” the board said in a statement.

“Although a significant number of attendees at last week’s public forum expressed reservations about the acquisition, we also received strong support for moving forward with the purchase via emails, phone calls, and an online petition. We have listened carefully to all perspectives, recognizing they reflect diverse viewpoints and demographics within the Clayton community.”

The board said it would continue its work on finishing a facility master plan for the district. The last such plan was done 15 years ago. 

“We want to express our gratitude to Caleres for its partnership in this endeavor. Caleres has been a wonderful neighbor to the School District of Clayton for many years, and we especially appreciate their support throughout this process,” the board said. 

Several proposed redevelopment efforts have fallen through at the site since it was put on the market in recent years.

The district only planned to reveal the purchase price for the property had the transaction closed.