Alderman Aldridge presented Board Bill 73 on Oct. 1 seeking a vacation of a 12‑foot alley in the Fourteenth Ward between Cole Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The committee gave the bill a due‑pass recommendation after developer testimony and brief committee questions.

The bill would vacate the small alley to allow the owner of the former Post‑Dispatch building and adjacent properties to consolidate parcels, the sponsor said. John Berglund, identified as the developer, told the committee the vacation would “allow us to consolidate parcels and provide improved security and parking for the tenants of our building” and said it would help “facilitate potential future developments.”

Committee members questioned a drafting error in the staff summary that had referred to construction of athletic fields and a stadium; Alderman Schweitzer flagged that wording and the sponsor agreed to correct it before further action. No public opponents signed up. After a motion and second, the bill passed the committee “hearing no objection” and will advance to the full Board with a due‑pass recommendation.

Clarifying details provided at the hearing: the vacated area is a 12‑foot portion of Thirteenth Street between Cole and Dr. King; the developer said there is no stadium planned and the draft summary will be corrected; the parcel is reportedly inside the Downtown North Community Improvement District, and the developer said the city does not typically charge a payment on alley vacations. The planning discussion also noted the property’s proximity to momentum around NGA‑related redevelopment in the Fourteenth Ward.

Outcome: Board Bill 73 received a due‑pass recommendation and will proceed to the full Board. Further technical edits to the bill language were requested to remove the stadium reference.