ST. LOUIS — City officials on Tuesday tabled a decision on the use of eminent domain on downtown’s long-vacant Millennium Hotel.
Zach Wilson, vice president of incentives for the city’s development arm, told the board that oversees real estate development that a blighting study, which is required, had not yet been completed. He asked the board to delay its decision by a month.
The Millennium Hotel, about 2 blocks east of Busch Stadium, occupies prime real estate along the riverfront but has been vacant for 10 years. Singapore-based real estate corporation City Developments Limited owns the property and has done little to no maintenance on the property since it shuttered the 28-story building, according to city records.
The company has, however, paid for security for the building and is current on its property taxes.
City Developments has not responded to requests for comment.
At 780 rooms, Millennium Hotel was once the largest in 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ and was noted for its rotating restaurant on the top floor. It opened in 1969 as Stouffer’s Riverfront and later carried the Clarion and Regal Riverfront names.
In 2013, the hotel closed around 600 rooms for renovation. It’s unclear whether a renovation ever took place — the property shuttered just a year later.
But over the past year, 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ police have been called to the property, 200 South Fourth Street, around 50 times, most of which — outside of six burglary calls — were for traffic violations, according to city crime data.
The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority is scheduled to meet again April 23.