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St. Louis aldermen among witnesses at McKee trial Thursday

By Rachel Lippmann

St. Louis – Board president Lewis Reed and four other St. Louis aldermen are scheduled to take the stand Thursday in one of two trials challenging a massive redevelopment in north St. Louis.

The lawsuit says the aldermen did not thoroughly investigate Paul McKee's $8 billion project before they authorized $390 million in tax incentives for the developer. McKee wants to build housing and businesses in a two-square mile area.

Last week, a witness for the plaintiffs called the numbers used to justify the incentives completely made up. The plaintiff's lawyers say they want to find out what the aldermen were thinking when they approved the measure.

In addition to Reed, aldermen Kacie Starr Triplett, Freeman Bosley, April Ford Griffin and Antonio French are expected to testify at some point. McKee's development extends into Triplett's, Bosley's and Griffin's wards. French was the one of two aldermen to vote against the public dollars.

McKee faces a second lawsuit over state tax incentives he received on New Year's Eve.

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