A St. Louis judge ruled Tuesday that the city could condemn 97 acres controlled by its redevelopment arm north of downtown, clearing a potential roadblock to construction of the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency complex.

Just a few blocks to the south, earth is moving in preparation for a $1.7 billion investment in a federal intelligence agency expected to house some 3,000-plus workers. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has made clear it sees collaboration with the private sector as key to its future, and private firms are expected to set up shop around its periphery.

Mayor Lyda Krewson and Otis Williams, Executive Director of the St. Louis Development Corporation, led the City’s delegation and provided updates on the site’s preparation to a delegation of national security officials, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Kari Bingen, and NGA Director Robert Cardillo.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Kari Bingen were joined Friday afternoon by local officials in a visit to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s west headquarters construction site just north of downtown.

Three construction joint ventures have been invited to submit proposals to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by July 18th as finalists in the competition to build the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's $1.7 billion new St. Louis headquarters.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is proud of our seven decades as a member of the St. Louis community. We work here - we hire here - our children go to school here - we are your neighbors. As we transition from our historic location on 2nd Street, we are partnering closely with the city of St. Louis on the long-term health, safety and prosperity of our future neighborhood and its residents in North City. The agency has followed with concern the reporting related to the dust emanating from the cleanup debris pile near Gateway Elementary. NGA Director Robert Cardillo is confident after speaking with Mayor Lyda Krewson Thursday that every effort is being made to ensure that the site's cleanup is meeting the safety and health requirements necessary to protect the public.

The chief of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency spoke to Mayor Lyda Krewson last week about concerns surrounding the storage of demolition debris next to Gateway Elementary and middle school campus.

Through tech-focused subsidiaries like The Climate Corporation, Monsanto has increasingly touted the potential of applying geospatial technology to agriculture — looking to give farmers map-based tools with highly detailed information about their fields.

T-REX will soon house a Geospatial Resource Center. T-REX President and Executive Director Patricia Hagen recently spoke about the plans, which have been spurred, in part, by the yet-to-be-built National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's new headquarters in north St. Louis.

Representatives from some of the participating companies said there is no better time to be looking for a job in St. Louis. They point to the $1.75 billion-dollar NGA project that’s getting underway, the $220 million-dollar Ballpark Village expansion and several other developments including a high rise in the Central West End as examples of future construction related work.