After six years of construction, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s new $1.75 billion “west campus” — lauded as the largest federal investment in St. Louis history — opened Friday.
Regional leaders and national security officials celebrated the long-in-the-making opening of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency West Campus in a moment they hope serves as a turning point for north St. Louis and the surrounding region.
“Thousands of people will be coming here daily and the impact will ripple outward through new jobs, housing, small businesses and opportunities for our neighborhoods,” said U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County. “This facility cements St Louis as a cornerstone of our nation's defense industry.”
The NGA specializes in geospatial intelligence, studying data to chart what is happening around the world to aid the U.S. in warfare and security. The agency’s current location in Soulard employs roughly 3,100 workers.
The agency has had a hand in historical missions like charting astronauts’ paths to taking the first steps on the moon and supporting Charles Lindbergh's first solo transatlantic flight.
The NGA began operating in St. Louis in the early 1940s by creating maps and charts as the U.S. prepared to enter World War II.
The new 97-acre campus features a 700,000-square-foot office building, parking garages, a visitors center and several security checkpoints.
Development on the building started in 2019 but suffered delays from the COVID-19 pandemic.
NGA West employees are expected to complete their transition from the current NGA building in Soulard by spring 2026. It’s unclear what will become of the old facility at 3200 S. Second St. once that move is complete.
Former Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt spoke at the event, recalling his and other regional leaders' efforts to keep the NGA campus in St. Louis when the agency decided it needed a new location. Out of four locations, Blunt, a Republican, said he and other leaders, like former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and former Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay, worked to make sure the north St. Louis location was selected.
“The leaders in every one of those political subdivisions decided we needed to land on one location, and this was the location,” Blunt said.
He called the opening of the campus a “great day” for St. Louis and Missouri.
“It's a great resource to our city. It's a great payroll to our city. It's a great part of our national defense,” he said.
Both Mayor Cara Spencer and Gov. Mike Kehoe, who grew up in north St. Louis, said the opening of the campus comes at a critical time, only months after an EF3 tornado that ripped through north St. Louis damaged thousands of homes.
Kehoe said the community needs investment more than ever.
“This is the catalyst — the opening of this building today, the rebuilding to bring north St. Louis and the St. Louis community back,” Kehoe said. “This is now our anchor point. This is our flag that we put in the ground. We are going to make that happen, and St Louis is going to be better and bigger than ever.”
However, big questions still remain for the surrounding community. While the new campus marks a big investment in the community, the surrounding St. Louis Place neighborhood still waits for the promised ripple effects of the campus.
Many homes remain boarded up, and streets and sidewalks remain in disrepair.
A St. Louis Development Corporation project, Project Connect, is intended to bring new resources to six area neighborhoods, including St. Louis Place itself, Jeff-Vander-Lou, Old North and Hyde Park, plus Columbus and Carr squares.
But the project has been marred with delays. A recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article outlined residents' concerns that the new NGA campus might not live up to the hype.
