by Linda Jarrett
July 27, 2007
After two months of weekly meetings, Edward Jones and the city of Des Peres reached a tentative agreement on the company’s plan to expand its headquarters at the intersection of Ballas and Manchester roads.
When Edward Jones announced its expansion plans in February, the city expressed concerns about traffic and building density. A 9-1 vote by the planning and zoning commission in May against the development spurred the parties to find a compromise that would develop an expansion plan that satisfied both Edward Jones’ business needs and the city’s concerns about traffic and building density.
The Des Peres Board of Aldermen received the plan at its Monday night meeting. The board is expected to take a final vote at the August 13 meeting.
“This is basically a product of eight weeks of weekly meetings and we think it reflects a compromise that the community and region asked us to accomplish,” Mayor Rick Lahr said.
Speaking regarding traffic concerns, the mayor said the Missouri Department of Transportation has stated that traffic at the intersection of Manchester and Ballas roads will “operate at a satisfactory level of service. There are infrastructure improvements in place that should handle the additional traffic, and we’ve accepted their commitment to that.”
Those improvements include two left-turn lanes for eastbound Manchester Road traffic into the Edward Jones campus, including traffic signals, and a dedicated right-turn lane for southbound Ballas Road traffic onto Manchester Road.
Other changes include:
- Reducing the planned size of the addition from 291,000 square feet to 225,000 square feet, a 23 percent overall reduction. This includes reducing the office component of the addition from 241,000 square feet to 183,600 square feet, and the auditorium and conference component from 50,000 square feet to 41,400 square feet.
- Reducing the garage from six stories above ground to four stories above ground with one story below ground, reducing the height of the parking structure by 21 feet. The highest point of the garage has now been reduced to 36 feet.
- Setting the parking structure back from Ballas Road, thus adding green space.
Edward Jones will pay the cost of dredging the lake behind city hall to address any possible issues related to construction related water runoff. The firm will also pay the cost of landscaping and maintaining a triangular piece of MoDOT property at the intersection of Manchester Road and I-270 that the city considers its “front door.”
“We’re happy to have reached this compromise with the City of Des Peres that will allow this important development project to move forward,” said Jim Weddle, Edward Jones managing partner. “This addition will allow us to add jobs and expand our business so we can serve a growing number of clients.”
Assuming the city approves the plan as expected on Aug. 13, the firm expects construction of the addition and garage to begin early 2008 and be completed by mid-2009.
“This agreement represents a reasonable compromise that meets the needs of Edward Jones to continue to thrive and contribute to our community and addresses many of the concerns expressed by Des Peres residents,” said Lahr.
The expansion of Edward Jones’ facilities in Des Peres is part of a $260 million expansion plan in St. Louis County that will add 500 jobs over the next five years and a total of 1,000 jobs over the next decade.