Post Building owners seek SLPS support for event MOU, 13th Street vacation and Interco Plaza purchase

John Bergland, manager for the ownership group of the Post Building, told the Saint Louis Public Schools Real Estate Committee on Sept. 15 that his company is seeking a letter of support from SLPS for three related items: an events memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SLPS, a city vacation of 13th Street between Cole and MLK, and the city’s sale of Interco Plaza to the developer.

The request matters because the MOU would formalize discounted event access in the Post Building for SLPS and related programming, while the street vacation and Interco Plaza purchase would allow the developer to combine adjacent property parcels for parking, tenant access and enhanced security, Bergland said.

Bergland said the Post Building project is a roughly $80 million renovation begun more than seven years ago with commercial tenants such as Square and Scale AI and that the building provides event space SLPS has used. He said the draft MOU the committee had in packet materials (not available on the online agenda) is structured as a one-year agreement with a discounted rate for SLPS. Claire Anderson, operations lead for the Post Building, said the proposed SLPS rate in the MOU is an 80% reduction off retail, with a set number of free events and other discounts, and that the district’s on-site costs have been supported by the Post Building’s foundation partner via purchase orders.

Bergland described the stretch of 13th Street between Tucker and 14th as underused for north–south traffic and said the developer owns property on both sides; vacating the street would allow consolidation of parking and improved perimeter security. He also described Interco Plaza as a largely neglected parcel the city has not maintained; the developer is pursuing a city sale and said that converting the plaza to parking would address a common question from prospective tenants: where to park.

Committee members asked for details the packet did not include. Several requested a diagram of the lots and a copy of the MOU; Bergland and Anderson said they would provide those documents. Anderson confirmed event counts and costs: the Post Building hosted more than 40 events and conducted 80 tours in 2024; since August of the current year it had hosted six SLPS events at an approximate total purchase-order cost to the district of $6,000 (about $1,000 per event). She also cited an August back-to-school event of about 800 participants that relied on the Post Building’s kitchen and indoor space when weather was poor.

No formal motion or vote on a letter of support or the street vacation occurred at the Sept. 15 meeting; the request was received and committee members asked staff to obtain the missing MOU and lot diagrams so the committee can review the materials in a later meeting.

The committee also discussed public-safety concerns that prompted previous site fencing; Bergland said encampments after the COVID-19 pandemic led to “tents” and “violence and even a fatality,” which motivated earlier security measures. He said the developer would not be buying any SLPS-owned parcels and that the SLPS-owned portion of Interco Plaza would remain under SLPS ownership if the city sells its portion.

Committee members explicitly framed their follow-up requests as document and site-clarification items: provide the MOU text, diagrams of the proposed parking layout, and any survey/appraisal information related to the Interco Plaza purchase to return to the committee for formal consideration.