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ST. LOUIS — After already approving hundreds of grants under a $37 million north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ program months ago, the board overseeing the city agency responsible for administering the money will get another chance to sign off on the largest awards, the agency’s chief promised Thursday.

It was the latest attempt by Neal Richardson, chief executive of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp., to allay growing concerns with the after criticism from rejected applicants and a Post-Dispatch report on several winners who claimed businesses in abandoned buildings or were even based outside of the city.

SLDC board members have also complained that Richardson and his staff sought authorization to award grants before finishing their due diligence, and without providing enough information on what winners would actually do with the money.

In addition to a further round of board scrutiny, Richardson said three of the winners in line for a total of $1.3 million in funding are currently undergoing review by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ City Counselor’s office. The Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that all were tied to the family of Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard, who sits on the SLDC board and sponsored the legislation expanding eligibility for the grants. Clark Hubbard recused herself from the vote but advocated for approval at the June meeting.

The three entities — Carr Square Tenant Corporation, run by Rodney Hubbard Sr.; the People Project Corporation, a nonprofit established last year by Ebony Washington, Hubbard’s granddaughter; and The Boomerang Store, a purported convenience store run by Hubbard associate Todd Irons-El — would not have qualified before Clark Hubbard’s bill expanding eligibility.

SLDC’s request to the city counselor’s office was made to “clear up that appearance of impropriety,� Richardson said. The three entities won’t be funded until the office renders its opinion on any potential conflicts of interest, SLDC said.

In a statement published last week, Clark Hubbard said the legislation expanding the grant program’s geography was requested by the mayor’s office and SLDC and she welcomed a “thorough public review� to clear any question about her role in the process.

“Once the legislation was passed, I had no further involvement in the creation, implementation, or selection process of the North ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Small Business and Non-Profit Grant Program,â€� she wrote.

In June, the SLDC board gave Richardson the authority to finalize grants, despite reservations expressed by some board members who said they lacked enough information about winners and their plans for using six- and seven-figure sums of public dollars.

But Richardson committed Thursday to bringing the large awards back to the board for final funding approval after his office finishes vetting them. SLDC allocated some $21 million in large grants to 22 organizations, in addition to funding hundreds of smaller grants for under $100,000. But even those large awards lacked detail on the applicants’ plans for the money. And SLDC has declined to release the applications to the Post-Dispatch, saying they are still vetting the winners. Because the awards are not final, the applications fall under a Missouri Sunshine Law exemption for “negotiated contracts,� the agency contends.

SLDC Board member Matt McBride, who did not vote in favor of authorizing SLDC to award the large grants in June, pushed to bring the awards back before the board after SLDC finishes its due diligence.

“I would definitely like to see results of the further vetting for the community enhancement awards,� McBride said Thursday. “I mean, we’re talking $2 million a pop, and I think it’d be appropriate to bring that back.�

Richardson, the director, said bringing the awards back could delay deploying the money, which is funded by federal pandemic aid that must be spent by September 2026. But he told the board he would make sure they get the chance to see his staff’s work and get more details on the winners and their plans before disbursing the grants.

“What I will promise to bring before the board in the October meeting is any funding above $25,000 as well as any funding for community enhancement, will get approval from the board prior to us remitting any funds to these businesses,� Richardson said. “Just to provide, again, another level of diligence here and transparency. I think this should also be a testament to our transparency in this process.�

Often, Richardson said, the vetting of winners for similar public funding programs “happens behind closed doors.�

“We’re doing it in a very open setting, and taking scrutiny for that,� he said. “I am comfortable with it, but I also have comfort that we are not deploying funds that will go to any business that’s not viable.�