Third time's a charm

From the St. Louis Business Journal. Friday, May 30, 2008

What goes around comes around.

Or so it seems in the continuing saga of Centene's search for a corporate headquarters. This time everyone seems to have gotten it right.

The first botched efforts included a clandestine land grab through an eminent domain attempt, overturned in the courts. Then there was the downtown move creating a Rube Goldberg development in the yet-to-be-developed Ballpark Village. Finally the company heeded the concerns of the Clayton community and its government, switched the two proposed building sites and came away with a $215 million proposal that includes more than $30 million in subsidy.

A public/private partnership between a company that put pride aside and a community that didn't let bruised feelings get in the way of progress.

Remember the hastily convened press conference where St. Louis City officials ballyhooed Centene's move downtown?

Quietly and elegantly, Clayton Mayor Linda Goldstein expressed her regret that Centene had chosen another suitor but congratulated the company and the city on the downtown decision.

And when that fell apart, Mayor Goldstein and her aldermen were waiting in the wings, this time with the land already assembled.

There are those who criticize Clayton for offering subsidy. But even the acclaimed Clayton School District went along with the plan, acknowledging it will receive about $28.5 million in new money over the next 20 years -- nearly a million and a half dollars a year when school budgets are stretched. Critics claim the district would receive twice as much if there was no tax abatement, but it would receive nothing if there was no development. This is not a Hobson's choice.

In today's environment, subsidy is what it takes to convince business to build. Those who argue otherwise should talk to economic development officials who are wooing Bombardier to Kansas City or those in Chicago who convinced Boeing to move its corporate headquarters from Seattle.

You may not like the game, but you have to understand how it's played.

Clayton played well and Centene showed its respect by altering the development site. We can breathe a collective sigh of relief and congratulate all those who stayed at the table to bring about a win for the region.