Five properties near the former Chesterfield Mall site are now effectively locked into the Downtown Chesterfield Special Business District after the City Council voted 5-3 on Monday, May 18 to reject a motion to reconsider the expansion.

The vote means the Drury Plaza Hotel, Hyatt Place Hotel, Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, Bishop's Post Restaurant, and RedKey Realty will remain in the SBD, which funds street maintenance, lighting, trails, landscaping, security, and public parking for The Staenberg Group's $2 billion mixed-use redevelopment.

The failed reconsideration followed a contentious 4-4 vote on Monday, May 4, when Mayor Dan Hurt broke the tie to advance the expansion. That vote sent the matter to a property-owner election within the district. Because TSG owns 88% of the 17 parcels in the expanded SBD, the developer effectively controls the outcome of that election.

Councilmember Barb McGuinness, Ward 1, had voted in favor of the expansion on May 4 but reversed course two weeks later, calling the process "horrible." She sought reconsideration but could not muster the votes.

Councilmember Lane Koch, Ward 3, moved in the opposite direction. Koch had voted against the expansion on May 4 but opposed reconsideration on May 18, saying it is "in the best interest of the residents that business pays, as opposed to residents."

Councilmember Patricia Tocco, Ward 2, who has consistently opposed the expansion, said the forced inclusion is unfair to the affected businesses.

Hurt defended the decision, telling the council, "We represent the residents. That's what we do as a republic."

The financial stakes are significant for Drury Development. The company's two hotels represent just 4% of the district's total acreage but generate 20% of its tax revenue based on a 2025 land assessment. That share could climb to 59% by 2030 if no new buildings are constructed in the district. The SBD tax rate is $0.85 per $100 of assessed valuation, and starting in 2030, assessments will include the value of buildings, not just land, significantly increasing the burden on developed properties like Drury's hotels.

Tim Drury, president and owner of Drury Development, told the council at the May 4 meeting that inclusion "is going to cost us millions of dollars."

The expansion adds four parcels to the SBD, bringing it from 100 acres and 13 parcels to 115 acres and 17 parcels. The Downtown Chesterfield redevelopment is planned for more than 2,000 residential units, a 300-room hotel, and more than three million square feet of commercial space on the former mall site.

No date has been announced for the property-owner election that will finalize the expansion.