# Paul McKee (developer)

Paul McKee, Jr. is a St. Louis, Missouri-area property developer. McKee's property management and development company, M Property Services, formerly McEagle Properties, is based in O'Fallon, Missouri.
McKee grew up in the suburb of Overland, Missouri and attended Chaminade College Preparatory School. He has a civil engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis and is a registered professional engineer in Missouri, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. He is married to Marguerite "Midge" McKee and the two have four children and 15 grandchildren. They live in the suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri.
McKee's co-founded the construction firm Paric Corp. in 1979. He is a founding member of the board and former chairman of BJC HealthCare, the area's largest employer. He has donated tens of thousands of dollars to politicians of both political parties. McKee says that he favors neither party particularly strongly, but "follow[s] the business agenda". McKee was the primary organizer of a bipartisan trade mission to People's Republic of China to stimulate trade between that country and businesses in the region, with a particular focus on using the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport as a cargo stopover from China to South America.

## Major developments
### St. Louis County

Some of McKee's major developments include WingHaven, a 1,200-acre (4.9 km$^2$) mixed-use project that is the corporate home to Mastercard Operations Center in O'Fallon, NorthPark, a joint venture with Clayco Realty Group including 5,000,000 square feet (460,000 m$^2$) of planned commercial and industrial redevelopment in North St. Louis County that is the corporate home to Express Scripts, and Hazelwood Commerce Center, a 151-acre (0.61 km$^2$) industrial park in Hazelwood, Missouri.

### North City

McKee's envisioned NorthSide Regeneration Project in the Old North Saint Louis, JeffVanDerLou and Saint Louis Place neighborhoods was initially referred to as Blairmont, in reference to one of the shell companies used to acquire lots and buildings in the three neighborhoods. In May 2009 the redevelopment idea was publicly revealed as "Northside," a $8.1 billion vision covering some 1,500 acres (6.1 km$^2$) of the city. It would include four commercial centers totaling over 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m$^2$) of new retail and office space, 1,000,000 square feet of light industrial space, new homes, parks, and a trolley line.
In 2018, NorthSide was subject to an FBI investigation for "paper only" transactions in which McKee was reimbursed in state tax credits for no money down real estate transactions. McKee had also obtained approximately $9 million in tax credits from a no money down deal with business partners Larry Chapman and Bob Clark in 2011 and 2012.
NorthSide was intended to revitalize North St. Louis. However, according to St. Louis Public Radio, "Nearly a decade after Paul McKee sold St. Louis on a vision worth billions to rehab more than 150 properties on the city’s north side, roofs have caved, walls have crumbled and residents have lost patience — and hope." In addition, the state of Missouri sued NorthSide Regeneration for tax credit fraud, alleging that NorthSide kept $4.5 million in tax credits for redevelopment projects despite not completing many of the purchases. The suit was settled in 2019.
McKee asked the City of St. Louis for $409,917,496 in tax increment financing to get the project off the ground. The project still remains un-started, and McKee holds the majority of property in the JeffVanderLou area, most of which are on the vacated list. In 2024, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen described McKee as a 'bad actor' as they unanimously passed an eminent domain measure to seize vacant properties from negligent owners in North City.
In September 2024, McKee agreed to repay a 2020 loan owed to the Carpenter's union that established a short-lived grocery store north of downtown. After missing the deadline, McKee plead the 5th when asked about available assets, as well as details related to the closed grocery store operations and former employees.

#### Homer G. Philips

McKee sought to open a three-bed urgent care near the new NGA property, appropriating the name "Homer G. Phillips" for the hospital. Homer G. Phillips Hospital was a successful Black hospital in The Ville until James F. Conway closed it down. Long-time activists who worked and advocated for the real Homer G. Phillips to remain open filed a federal lawsuit against McKee's use of the name. McKee's new hospital is in an area outside The Ville and is not close to the size of the previous hospital.
In December 2024, the hospital announced temporary closure due to low blow supply and financial issues.

#### National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West Headquarters has committed to building a $1.7 billion campus on a 100-acre site within the development that would support 7,200 jobs with an average salary of approximately $95,000.