Neal Richardson

The Downtown West neighborhood of St. Louis will soon be home to a new arts and entertainment facility owned by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. Logic Systems Holdings, a St. Louis County-based audio and video production company, will lease the space.

St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer has resigned from the city’s nonprofit development arm, the St. Louis Development Corporation, citing internal dysfunction and a lack of transparency.

The longtime home of Famous-Barr’s flagship store has been vacant since 2013. The city had it condemned last year.

The Railway Exchange building has been vacant since 2014 and has become a high-profile downtown eyesore riddled with trespassing and other crime.

“Economic justice is a team sport. Government cannot do this alone," said Mayor Tishaura Jones. "When done in collaboration with our philanthropic civic and private sector partners, we can make a lasting difference for generations to come."

The plan is already targeting development and investment in Dutchtown, the area around the new NGA headquarters, Walnut Park and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The St. Louis Development Corporation is on the lookout for a consultant that can help improve its internal workings. That's weeks after a federal grand jury indicted a St. Louis alderman for allegedly pressuring agency staff to sell property to a businessman in exchange for a bribe.

Neal Richardson has worked in economic and community development over the past 14 years, both at U.S. Bank and the organization he co-founded, Dream Builders 4 Equity.