Council to hear Heer’s purchase agreement Tuesday

The agreement would transfer ownership from the city to St. Louis developer McGowan|Walsh, doing business as Heer’s Building LLC. The agreement was not available as of 4 p.m. today.

A term sheet for the deal set by council in July has McGowan|Walsh purchasing the downtown building for $3 million by Oct. 1 and the city fronting $1 million for Park Central Square improvements.

The city has owned the dilapidated Heer’s building since December, when previous owner Vaughn Prost ceded ownership and sidestepped the city’s plans to foreclose on his loan days later. Prost had planned to redevelop the building but missed a series of financing deadlines.

Developer Kevin McGowan has said he plans to have a Mike Shannon’s Steak and Seafood restaurant on the building’s first floor, banquet space and either a boutique hotel or residential condominiums. Additional space would be leased to the city for its cable TV studio and traffic management center.

Construction could begin by the end of the year, according to the term sheet.