ST. LOUIS 鈥 In an email to employees, National Geospatial-Intelligence Director Robert Cardillo made a detailed, passionate case for his decision to build the agency鈥檚 next headquarters in St. Louis.
It mostly came down to two things: millennials and location.
鈥淭he future of our agency and our profession rests on our present talent and that of the next generations we can recruit onto our team,鈥 Cardillo said in the email obtained by the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淲e face tough competition, and offering an environment that appeals to these future generations is critical to our success. Studies point to a desire by today鈥檚 millennials to be in urban environments, and this trend is expected to continue.鈥
The millennial generation is roughly those born between 1980 and 2000.
The city, led by Mayor Francis Slay and Rep. William Lacy Clay, pointedly argued that its location, among three other regional sites, was best for the NGA鈥檚 mission to reshape itself for the digital age and attract millennials as workers.
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Last month, as Cardillo was making his decision, .
鈥淏ecause people who are working on the hardest problems of today and the biggest challenges that America will face in the future want to hang out together. You just can鈥檛 do that in a cornfield that鈥檚 next to a strip mall and an Air Force base,鈥 Clay said of the city鈥檚 chief competitor, St. Clair County and its land near Scott Air Force Base.
Clay added: 鈥淭he best and the brightest want to live near other centers of talent and creative energy like Cortex, Washington Avenue and our great research universities.鈥
Cardillo clearly heard Clay鈥檚 message. His email went on to state: 鈥淥ur partnership with industry and academia will continue to grow and expand as we transform some of our work to a more open, connected and transparent environment. Our ability to engage with local universities and innovative, technology-based companies is enhanced by remaining in St. Louis City.鈥
Cardillo has placed an emphasis on modernizing the agency and recruiting the smartest computer technicians available.
鈥淚 am confident that we will build a facility in St. Louis that will be a remarkable home for us to master our craft and engage with our partners in a flexible, technologically advanced environment that is enticing to current and future generations,鈥 Cardillo concluded.
Cardillo pledged continued cooperation with Scott AFB. Illinois officials 鈥 U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville 鈥 released a joint statement on Friday.
鈥淲e are disappointed that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has not decided to build its new facility here in Illinois,鈥 the statement read. 鈥淪cott Air Force Base remains one of our nation鈥檚 most important defense installations. We鈥檙e going to continue to work hard and see through this process of relocating the agency to the site adjacent to Scott Air Force Base.鈥
Also on Friday, Missouri leaders celebrated Cardillo鈥檚 decision and their bipartisan teamwork used to convince him.
Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, noted St. Louis鈥 history of innovation, including the groundbreaking work on the Mercury spaceflight program done by McDonnell Aircraft.
鈥淚t鈥檚 who we are,鈥 Nixon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what we do.鈥
He added: 鈥淚 want to thank Robert Cardillo for making the best decision for America.鈥
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican, continued that message, saying the $1.75 billion construction project will transform parts of north city and downtown. The Washington Avenue loft district is located just minutes from where the headquarters will be built.
鈥淭his is just the beginning,鈥 Blunt said. 鈥淚t is the biggest infusion of federal money into St. Louis ever.鈥
Still, not everyone in the city was cheering the news of the NGA鈥檚 decision.
Joyce Cooks has lived for 45 years in a three-story brick home on Warren Street, in the footprint of the future NGA site. In the Thursday evening hours after the NGA announcement, Cooks鈥 block was quiet as the setting sun cast a golden light on the boarded-up homes and weedy fields around her neighborhood.
鈥淥f course I鈥檓 unhappy,鈥 Cooks said. 鈥淭o tear this house down is a crime.鈥
Her family and heritage have been anchored on this block. Her mother ran a laundromat around the corner. Her sister, nephew and niece all live blocks away. Cooks taught at and attended a church down the street.
She said she鈥檚 watched the stress of potentially being forced to move take a toll on her neighbors, some of whom were elderly and some of who have died as recently as this week, carrying the stress to their graves.
鈥漌ith eminent domain comes death,鈥 she said.
She said she鈥檚 made known her opposition to the city鈥檚 plan to forcibly oust residents, if needed.
鈥淚鈥檝e spoken and I鈥檝e spoken and no one鈥檚 listened to me. And now I just need to take my words and swallow them.鈥
Sarah Davis, who has lived for 29 years in a two-story wood-and-brick on Warren Street, said she is resigned to being forced out. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a question of fine,鈥 the 65-year-old said. 鈥淵ou have to go. Why worry about something you can鈥檛 change?鈥
But if turning around the neighborhood economically means she has to move out, she said she鈥檒l accept her fate, as long as she gets a fair price for the home where she reared her five children and helped rear 12 grandchildren.
鈥淚 like my house, but there鈥檚 nothing else around here,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t needs to be developed.鈥
Neither she nor Cooks know where to go now.
鈥滻鈥檝e been praying all week for the Lord to help me move,鈥 Cooks said. 鈥淣ow I鈥檓 going to hold myself together and move on.鈥
Of the people in St. Clair County who had been following the NGA situation, several lamented the lost chance at bringing jobs and development to the area.
Tony Smallmon, 55, a real estate associate in Shiloh, said he doesn鈥檛 understand why NGA will stay in St. Louis, which he thinks will cost more money in the long run. 鈥淭he math of it makes no sense,鈥 he said.
He said he thinks the competition for the NGA shows how St. Louis will ask for Illinois鈥 help in regional affairs like transportation, but turn its back on Southern Illinois when it comes to its own interests.
鈥淭he reality is people in Missouri couldn鈥檛 care less about people in Illinois,鈥 Smallmon said. 鈥淭hey think we鈥檙e bunch of hillbillies.鈥
