ST. LOUIS — Neal Richardson, a U.S. Bank manager who has worked in tax credit programs and leads an initiative enhancing access to capital for underserved populations, will replace Otis Williams as executive director of the city’s influential economic development arm.
His nomination to the post by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones was approved unanimously on Thursday afternoon by the board of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp.
Richardson, who earned an MBA from Webster University, has spent the last 10 years at U.S. Bank in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, leading underwriting for projects using federal New Market Tax Credits and historic tax credits. More recently, he has led the bank’s financial education strategy and since 2019 has been director of the bank’s Business Impact Group, which helps people of color, women and low-income communities obtain capital.
He also co-founded with Michael Woods , a nonprofit organization that hires minority contractors and city high schoolers to rehab derelict properties in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, where Richardson grew up. Proceeds from the sale of rehabbed properties are put into college savings accounts for participating students.
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“Neal Richardson understands that equitable development is more than just brick and mortar,†Jones said in a statement Thursday announcing she had nominated Richardson for the position. “From his time leading the Business Impact Group at US Bank to his work as President of Dream Builders 4 Equity, I know Neal will encourage forward-thinking, holistic development that opens up opportunities for families across our city.â€
Richardson, , was also an advisory member on the city’s new . The plan released last year calls for rebuilding the city’s Black middle class to stem population decline and a renewed emphasis on place-building through smaller-scale neighborhood projects.
“This is a pivotal moment for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ to create a robust and inclusive economy by providing equitable opportunity for all residents, businesses, and neighborhoods to thrive,†Richardson said in a statement. “Our region will be stronger because we will work together to address the historical barriers that have created gaps in wealth and opportunity for all to have ownership in our collective future.â€
Richardson, whose salary will be $225,000, will step into an agency that Williams has led since 2013. Williams held a top job at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and later worked his way up the ranks of SLDC after he was hired there in 1999. Williams and the SLDC staff have been pivotal in projects such as assembling a site for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and implementing new vacant property mitigation programs.
Shortly after former Mayor Lyda Krewson’s November announcement that she would not seek reelection, Williams, in his 70s, announced he would retire in April when a new mayor took office. He has stayed on a little longer while Jones staffed her administration and the search for his replacement concluded.
The executive director of SLDC is technically hired by an independent board, made up of two aldermen and the heads of the various development boards SLDC operates, such as the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Port Authority and Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. Jones recently appointed her director of policy and development, Nahuel Fefer, to chair the SLDC board. The mayor’s office has in the past appointed its development czar to chair the SLDC board, though in recent years Williams has served as both chair and executive director of SLDC.
The SLDC in January hired Executive Bridge, led by longtime talent recruiter Cindy Kohlbry, to search for a new executive director. The firm charged a $50,000 retainer plus up to $15,000 for expense reimbursement, according to the contract. Lashly & Baer attorney Matthew McBride, who chairs both the Port Authority and LCRA, led the SLDC search committee.
‘Negotiate and make a deal’
During a meeting Thursday afternoon to confirm Richardson’s hire, McBride said the search committee was “intentional†in keeping the new Jones administration up to speed on the process. Fefer and a member of Jones’ transition team, Les Bond of Attucks Asset Management, aided the selection committee in its determination.
Fefer said Richardson “knows how to negotiate and make a deal†and his experience working on projects with “complex capital stacks†qualified him for the job. He also pointed to Richardson’s nonprofit work, saying “he has a vision for economic justice in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.â€
Some board members seemed surprised at the announcement of Richardson’s nomination before their scheduled meeting, but after about 45 minutes of discussion in closed session, they voted unanimously to hire him.
Fefer thanked Williams on behalf of the mayor for his many years of work for the city. And Williams, whose last day will be June 15, wished Richardson the best.
“He’s a great young man, and given this chance, I know he will do great work,†Williams said.
New approach
Even as the SLDC begins implementing its new strategic plan, a new philosophy on redevelopment from Jones’ administration and several new aldermen has already begun influencing the powerful agency’s work.
SLDC vets and administers development tax incentives for the city’s major projects, acting as the gatekeeper and negotiator for major development deals before they head to the board of aldermen for final approval.
Jones has already vetoed two central corridor tax abatement bills, saying they were too generous. And on Wednesday, her administration and new Alderman Tina Pihl announced a deal with City Foundry developer Steve Smith, who will contribute $1.8 million to affordable housing in Forest Park Southeast and north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ in exchange for over $18 million in future tax breaks for the project’s $160 million second phase.
One of the chief negotiators of that deal was Fefer. In a statement on the City Foundry deal Wednesday, Fefer outlined the new administration’s philosophy on incentives:
“Carefully calibrated incentives have a role to play in driving equitable development, but the city will no longer negotiate under the weight of an inferiority complex which tells us that the only way to lure in developers is to give away our tax base,†he said. “Moving forward, if developers want public subsidies, they should plan to produce public goods, whether that’s affordable housing, neighborhood amenities, green infrastructure, or quality jobs.â€
Under Williams, the SLDC has hired more staff to analyze incentives and give the city a better position at the negotiating table with developers, which has resulted in some dialing back of the tax breaks. But during a hearing on the project Wednesday, Williams voiced a far different view than Fefer on how the city should approach redevelopment. Incentives, and a welcoming political environment, are necessary if the city wants developers and investors to be willing to put capital in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, he said.
“The other myth that we have here in this city is that we think that everybody, developers, want to be and want to develop in the city of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½,†Williams said. “That is not so.â€
Updated at 6:15 p.m.
