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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™ congressman lashed out at the city’s economic development arm Thursday and defended NorthSide Regeneration developer Paul McKee as “the only person willing to risk his own money to address decades of disinvestment.â€�

, U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, said McKee deserves the credit for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s decision to build a new $1.7 billion campus in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and that “the city came late to the NGA party — and then only at Paul McKee’s invitation and insistence.â€�

Clay’s comments follow last month’s revelations during an eminent domain trial in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ that McKee had received millions of dollars in Missouri tax credits for transactions the state later flagged as improper. City attorneys argued the transactions from 2011 and 2012 inflated sales prices to maximize the value of tax credits issued to the developer and that the transactions were designed so no money changed hands while still triggering the issuance of state tax credits. McKee later deeded the properties back to the sellers.

While the Missouri Department of Economic Development caught at least one such transaction and clawed back future tax credits that would have been issued to McKee, a longtime official with the agency said it did not claw back $2.5 million in tax credits in a similarly structured transaction. It’s unclear whether there were other, similar transactions that also triggered tax credits.

McKee testified at the trial that there was “no process for paying it back, but I’m more than happy to sit down with the state� and discuss the transactions.

The Department of Economic Development later said it was “very concerned regarding the issues raised during the trial and will be working with the necessary parties to further ensure the protection of taxpayer dollars.â€� ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Mayor Lyda Krewson called for an internal investigation. An FBI agent watched much of the trial in a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ courtroom last month.

Clay, whose former chief of staff Darryl Piggee is a McKee lawyer working for Stone, Leyton & Gershman, wrote in his op-ed that those tax credit transactions “certainly deserve some explanation, but we shouldn’t overreact. The appropriate review will dictate the proper response.�

The congressman also chastised the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp., which ultimately assembled the NGA site. A large portion of the site had already been assembled by McKee, but the SLDC had to purchase it, including some parcels the city’s land bank had originally sold to the developer.

“Throughout my entire life, I have watched with dismay as the city’s development bureaucracies (now embodied in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp.) have repeatedly turned a blind eye to their responsibility to assist responsible and sustainable economic progress for the citizens of north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½,â€� Clay wrote. “While I appreciate and encourage any investment in our city, too often, SLDC has favored development south of an imaginary line that has left north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to languish.â€�

Piggee, in a previous statement to the Post-Dispatch, wrote “it is not surprising that opportunists, with close ties to SLDC, would like to try to embarrass Paul McKee so that they might take (NorthSide Regeneration’s) development rights, and the hard fought development opportunities that go with them.�

SLDC chief Otis Williams said he was “surprised by the congressman’s statements, but we will continue to work with the congressman and any developer who is pursuing development in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.â€�

Williams pointed to the SLDC’s work with Ranken Technical College’s new manufacturing incubator, along Page Boulevard and Kingsway Development’s plans in Fountain Park as examples of recent efforts SLDC has assisted with in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

“We have continued to work with both the congressman and NorthSide Regeneration,� Williams said. “I don’t want to get into a debate with them with what they have done, what they believe. Because I do believe we all want what’s best for the city.�

Residents and officials have grown frustrated at the lack of private development within McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration footprint. While the city under former Mayor Francis Slay supported McKee’s plans, the lack of private development over the years strained McKee’s relationship with City Hall.

The city has had an agreement with McKee for years giving him development rights on a huge swath of north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ surrounding the planned NGA campus, including the promise of tens of millions of dollars in tax increment financing assistance should development materialize. While the SLDC and the city have not indicated they plan to sever ties with McKee, Williams testified at trial that “we have others who want to redevelop and do not necessarily have the permission of Mr. McKee.â€�

“We are evaluating all of our options and we have not made any conclusions but we will do what’s best for the city,� Williams said Thursday.

McKee, meanwhile, has started at least one project. A $20 million gas station and grocery store broke ground earlier this year along Tucker Boulevard, but not before required to make the financing work.

Much of McKee’s land, acquired over the last 15 years, is heavily indebted, and his lender, the Bank of Washington, is now a co-signatory to many of his agreements with SLDC.

Clay wrote that he was dismayed at suggestions SLDC “should attempt to interfere with Paul McKee’s redevelopment of the north side.�

“This is not the time to change course with a developer that secured the anchor federal facility, a grocery store in a food desert and a hospital in a medical care desert,â€� Clay wrote. “... All of us, SLDC included, should be lining up behind Paul McKee, not playing a dangerous game that could derail all that he has worked so hard to build for north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.â€�

A Krewson spokesman declined to comment on the editorial. Clay could not be immediately reached for comment.

The tax credits McKee was awarded were from a state program many said was designed for only him. McKee was awarded some $43 million through the program to offset his north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ land purchases — almost all of the $47 million the Distressed Area Land Assemblage tax credit program ultimately awarded before the state Legislature allowed it to expire in 2013.