U. City School Board To Discuss Declaring McNair Surplus Property

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — The city school board will meet Thursday evening at 7 p.m. to discuss a resolution declaring the Ronald E. McNair Administration Building surplus property. The move would pave the way for the sale of McNair to Novus Development, which said last year the site is a crucial component of its TIF-funded development on Olive Boulevard.

Discussions to sell the McNair building have been in the works for almost two years, but only became public in May 2018. The developer says the property is necessary to relocate the Torah Prep School, which currently sits in the middle of its planned development.

"In order for us to purchase [the Torah Prep] site, we have to find them an alternative site that works for them," said Novus director of leasing Michael Koch at a May 2018 public meeting. "I think, as you know, where the McNair building sits is right there centrally located to their attendees and their congregation, so that's a very important strategic location for them."

Torah Prep has wanted to buy the building since at least 2012, when a similar resolution was voted down at a contentious three-hour school board meeting, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Torah Prep made a $1.1 million offer for the building at the time. How much Novus is currently offering is protected by a confidentially agreement, according to city officials, but could be upward of $2.4 million, according to a power point presentation slated for Thursday evening.

Torah Prep was represented in its 2012 negotiations by attorney Gerry Greiman, who also sat on the TIF Commission that approved giving Novus about $70.5 million in taxpayer funds last August.

Local watchdog Tom Sullivan, an opponent of the development, accused Greiman of a conflict of interest last summer, but Greiman said he had not represented the school "for many years" and refused to recuse himself.

Some of the strongest opponents the last time the district proposed selling McNair were then Board President Stacy Clay and Cindy Theirry, wife of 1st Ward Councilmember Steve McMahon.

Clay now represents the city's 3rd Ward on the City Council. At the time, he said there should have been more public discussion before the vote.

"Selling McNair now would be extremely shortsighted," Thierry said in a 2012 mass email, arguing the building could house an expanded early childhood education center, according to the Post-Dispatch.

According to the district's power point presentation, a potential early childhood expansion and various other programs currently housed in the building could be relocated to a leased storefront along Olive Boulevard or satellite locations, such as elementary schools, churches or the public library.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. at the Ronald E. McNair Administration Building, 8136 Groby Road, in University City.

View a power point presentation on the proposal here:

Read the resolution here: