Chesterfield officials present proposed $17.03 million purchase of office building to add parking and protect Central Park

City of Chesterfield officials on Monday presented a proposal to buy a nearby commercial office building and parking for $17.03 million to address a persistent parking shortfall near Central Park, provide space for city operations and help preserve green space as downtown development proceeds.

City Administrator Matt Geisel delivered the presentation and detailed the city’s due diligence, appraisals and financing scenarios. He told residents he “doesn’t get a vote in this process,” and said the acquisition, if approved by council, would create additional staff work for city operations.

The presentation framed the acquisition as one of several options to address demand from recent and planned development in Downtown Chesterfield and the Wild Horse Village project. Staff said the city needs roughly 500 additional public parking spaces to meet near‑term demand; the building under discussion includes 422 structured and surface parking spaces adjacent to a roughly 96,000‑square‑foot office building, per staff figures.

Why it matters: Downtown Chesterfield is growing under a regional tax‑increment financing (TIF) plan and new developments are expected to increase demand for police, parks and other municipal services. Staff said acquiring an existing revenue‑generating building could reduce the city’s need to build new garages on parkland and could produce net operating revenue that the city could set aside for facility needs.

Key numbers and financing • Proposed purchase price: $17.03 million (contract terms include a 45‑day due‑diligence period). • Proposed down payment: $4.0 million (staff reported $1.5 million from the parks fund reserve and $2.5 million from the general fund reserve). • Proposed financing: staff described an approximate financing…