Details about this story

• Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Date: June 17, 2007
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Jaimi Dowdell , Jake Wagman , Virginia Young
• Topics: Campaign Finance , Real Estate
• Data Types: State Data , Local Data
• Description/Excerpt: Residents were alarmed when they discovered that scores of homes and historic buildings near their Old North St. Louis neighborhood had been sold and left empty - their doors and windows removed, speeding decay. When they traced the purchases, the trail led to prominent developer Paul J. McKee Jr. But McKee, best known for the 1,100-acre WingHaven development in St. Charles County, wouldn't say why he was amassing hundreds of parcels in St. Louis for more than three years. A clearer picture emerged in Jefferson City this year, when the Legislature approved a $100 million tax credit for large-scale developments in impoverished areas. McKee spurred Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder to champion the bill, hired several lobbyists to push it and gave thousands of dollars - and use of a corporate plane - to politicians who helped pass it.
• Database or Graphic: Go to site (com/mds/news/html/221)