Approximately 400 guests, including state and local politicians, military leaders, residents, NGA employees, business representatives and federal intelligence officials, attended a Nov. 26 groundbreaking ceremony for the NGA project.

ST. LOUIS, MO—Work has begun on the highly anticipated $1.75-billion National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency headquarters being developed at St. Louis developer's Paul McKee, Jr. NorthSide Regeneration property here.

The NorthSide Regeneration is a 1,500-acre mixed-use development led by McKee and his real estate development company M Property Services to revitalize blighted North St. Louis City.

Approximately 400 guests, including state and local politicians, military leaders, residents, NGA employees, business representatives and federal intelligence officials, attended a Nov. 26 groundbreaking ceremony on a 97-acre site at Cass and Jefferson avenues where the new NGA headquarters will be built. St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Companies and Falls Church, VA-based HITT Contracting were selected as the design-build team leading the facility's construction.

The new 712,000-square-foot NGA facility will replace the US Department of Defense agency's current facility in South St. Louis, which dates back to the 1840s. NGA is the world leader in timely, relevant, accurate and actionable geospatial intelligence that enables the U.S. intelligence community and the Department of Defense to fulfill the the nation's national security priorities.

The decision to build a new facility came after a series of planning studies showed it would be less costly, quicker and less disruptive to NGA's mission to build a new facility rather than upgrade NGA's current facilities. It has not yet been decided what will happen to NGA's current campus, which is owned by the US Air Force, when NGA vacates.

The new facility will include office space, parking garages, a visitor's center, an inspection facility and control access points. The facility, which is designed to achieve a LEED Silver certification for environmental sustainability, is expected to be completed and fully operational by 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is managing the construction on behalf of NGA.

"The new campus will be a secure, flexible, cutting-edge intelligence facility that will put NGA in the heart of St. Louis' growing geospatial ecosystem and help NGA take advantage of its biggest strengths, its people and partners," said NGA director Vice Admiral Robert Sharp. "NGA has been proud to call St. Louis home for the past 70 years. I'm excited to see what NGA's people and partners in the St. Louis region can accomplish together for the next 70."

McKee has plans to develop the remaining acres around NGA that includes a total of 3 million square feet of office, 2 million square feet of retail, 1 million square feet for tech, 3,000 market-rate residential units and a primary care hospital. A new ZOOM C-store/gas station and GreenLeaf Market have already been completed within the development.

The NGA project will employ more than 3,000 people.

Since learning of NGA's plans to build in North St. Louis, geospatial intelligence firms MAXAR Technologies of Colorado and T-Kartor of Sweden have opened offices in The Globe Building in Downtown St. Louis. McKee also has plans for a GEOINT Village and Healthworks Village in the Innovation District to attract more geospatial intelligence firms to St. Louis.

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Construction Begins on $1.75B National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency HQ in St. Louis

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