ST. LOUIS, MO – September 23, 2026 (STL.News) The Midtown St. Louis warehouse at the center of a proposed multibillion-dollar data center development is scheduled for an Oct. 6 land-tax sale over more than $2.4 million in unpaid taxes, creating a potentially significant obstacle for a project city officials have projected could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in local tax revenue.
The property at 3728 Market Street, the former Famous-Barr warehouse behind the historic Armory, is owned of record by GS 3728 Market Investors LLC, according to City of St. Louis property records.
The warehouse is the planned location of the 120-megawatt Armory Innovation Data Center.
The St. Louis Business Journal reported Tuesday that outstanding taxes on the property now exceed $2.4 million and that it is headed toward the city’s next land-tax sale.
The development adds another layer of uncertainty to a project that has advanced through several major city approvals while simultaneously facing legal challenges and opposition from some residents and environmental groups.
But a provision in the city’s own development framework makes the tax delinquency particularly important.
When St. Louis announced approval of the project’s conditional-use permit in April, the city said it will not issue permits until all Green Street properties are current on taxes.
That means resolving delinquent taxes is more than a separate financial issue surrounding the property. Under the city’s announced conditions, tax compliance is directly connected to the development’s ability to move forward through the permitting process.
Oct. 6 Tax Sale Scheduled
The City of St. Louis Collector of Revenue lists Land Tax Sale 240 for Oct. 6, 2026.
The first publication associated with the sale occurred Sept. 22, with a second publication scheduled for Sept. 29.
Under the city’s delinquent real-estate tax process, unpaid parcels can become subject to a tax suit. A land-tax sale generally occurs approximately one year after a delinquent tax suit is filed, according to the Collector of Revenue.
The Sheriff’s Office conducts the eventual sale and handles post-sale procedures.
Being scheduled for a tax sale does not mean ownership of 3728 Market St. has already changed, nor does it mean the proposed data center has been canceled.
The delinquency could still be resolved.
This has already happened at this property.
The Business Journal reported that the parcel had been scheduled for an earlier tax sale but was removed after its owner paid more than $588,000 in July.
The newly reported outstanding balance exceeds $2.4 million.
That makes the period between now and Oct. 6 an important one for both the property and the proposed development.
City Records Identify Property Owner
City property records reviewed by STL.News identify GS 3728 Market Investors LLC as the owner of record for 3728 Market St.
The same entity is also listed as the owner of an associated property at 3840 Market St.
Missouri equipment-inspection records provide another connection. Those records list GS 3728 Market Investors LLC as the owner and identify Green Street Management Group as connected to the property’s management.
That ownership distinction matters because the property owner and the developer proposing the data center should not automatically be treated as interchangeable entities.
TerraWatt is advancing the data center, while city records continue to identify GS 3728 Market Investors LLC as the property owner.
The tax liability therefore should be attributed to the property and owner of record rather than simply described as taxes owed by the proposed data center itself.
City Made Tax Compliance a Condition
Perhaps the most important additional detail is contained in the city’s April 21 announcement approving the project’s conditional-use permit.
St. Louis imposed a lengthy series of requirements covering water consumption, electricity, renewable energy, noise, jobs, pedestrian infrastructure and community benefits.
The city’s published terms also set a performance schedule requiring the data center to be fully operational by the end of the fourth quarter of 2028.
Immediately after that requirement, the city states that it will not issue permits until all Green Street properties are current on taxes.
That provision makes the delinquent-tax situation directly relevant to the project’s development timetable.
If the outstanding taxes remain unresolved, the issue could affect permitting even if the property never reaches an actual Sheriff’s sale.
$3 Billion-Plus Development Planned
The stakes are unusually high because of the scale of the proposed development.
The Armory data center project has recently been valued at approximately $3.09 billion.
Plans call for a 120-megawatt data center inside the massive former Famous-Barr warehouse, while the neighboring Armory is expected to be redeveloped as office space.
The project has been described as an anchor for a larger technology and innovation district in Midtown.
Earlier development plans also envisioned potential expansion along South Grand Boulevard near Saint Louis University, creating the possibility of a broader technology-oriented development corridor.
The data center alone represents an enormous infrastructure investment.
Large-scale facilities of this type provide computing capacity for artificial intelligence systems, cloud services, financial companies, and other data-intensive industries.
St. Louis officials have argued that the city’s existing technology, geospatial, financial, and health care industries make data infrastructure increasingly important to the regional economy.
City Projects $432.3 Million in Taxes
The contrast between the current delinquency and the project’s projected future tax contribution is significant.
When the city approved the conditional-use permit in April, officials estimated the completed development could generate $432.3 million in tax revenue during its first 10 years.
The city projected first-year revenue of approximately $27.4 million for the City of St. Louis and another $33.4 million for St. Louis Public Schools.
Other taxing jurisdictions and public institutions would also receive revenue.
Those figures are projections, not guaranteed receipts.
They depend on the project being built, reaching the anticipated level of investment and operating according to assumptions used in the financial estimates.
The city has attempted to add accountability to those projections.
Under terms announced in April, the developer agreed to confirm tax-revenue estimates and potentially pay $15,000 in liquidated damages for every $100,000 that annual projected tax revenues fall short beginning in 2029.
No Local Tax Abatement Planned
Another unusual feature of the project is what developers have agreed not to request.
The city’s community-benefits framework states that the developer will not seek local tax-abatement incentives for either the data center or Armory buildings.
That differentiates the project from many large St. Louis developments that depend on tax increment financing, property-tax abatement or other local development subsidies.
A separate city proposal introduced Sept. 11 would repeal previous legislation associated with the Armory Tax Increment Financing district and redevelopment incentives for property in the area.
The city’s summary of Board Bill 74 says property adjacent to the Armory is now expected to be redeveloped without tax abatement.
The bill had been introduced and referred to the Board of Aldermen’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee as of the latest city record.
Nearly $16 Million Community Contribution
The project also carries substantial community-benefit requirements.
The city negotiated a contribution of $30 per square foot of approved data-center space, initially estimated at approximately $15 million.
The community-benefits agreement approved this month has been reported at approximately $15.75 million.
The money is intended for projects including multimodal transportation improvements such as the Brickline Greenway, digital-access programs, weatherization, distributed energy, and environmental-justice initiatives.
The developer must also install and maintain sidewalks along Market Street and provide a pedestrian connection to the Grand MetroLink station.
Employment requirements increase over the project’s early operating years, reaching at least 100 qualifying jobs from the third year onward under the city’s framework.
The city has said the broader development is expected to support approximately 200 permanent jobs, including about 150 associated with the redeveloped Armory.
Those remain projections because the facilities are not yet complete.
Water and Electricity Conditions Are Extensive
The data center’s size has raised questions about its demands on St. Louis infrastructure.
The city consequently attached unusually detailed operating requirements.
The facility must use a closed-loop cooling system and air-cooled chillers designed to reduce water consumption.
The developer must fund a hydraulic study, pay applicable large-user water rates, and correct detrimental effects the project causes to existing customers.
The data center also must meet power-efficiency standards and obtain an increasing percentage of its energy from renewable sources.
Noise-producing equipment, including backup generators, must be enclosed in acoustically treated structures.
The city says it can ultimately revoke the occupancy permit if it does not correct violations.
Developer and City Are Also in Court
The tax problem is not the project’s only unresolved issue.
TerraWatt recently sued the city’s Board of Adjustment over conditions attached to the development.
The developer is challenging requirements involving renewable energy and an approval provision related to the community-benefits agreement, arguing that the Board of Adjustment exceeded its authority.
That litigation is separate from the tax-sale proceeding.
Environmental organizations and residents have also challenged the city’s approval of the data center.
Those lawsuits do not mean the project has been invalidated. They represent unresolved legal disputes surrounding specific approvals and conditions.
St. Louis Just Adopted New Data Center Law
The latest developments are occurring as St. Louis establishes a new citywide policy for an industry expected to grow rapidly because of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.
Mayor Cara Spencer signed Board Bill 49 on Sept. 17.
The ordinance establishes specific zoning and operating standards for data centers, including setbacks for major facilities, noise limits, restrictions on water-intensive cooling, utility-capacity requirements and escalating renewable-energy requirements.
For major data centers, the new framework generally establishes a 600-foot setback from residences, schools, parks, and certain transit facilities.
It prohibits water-intensive evaporative cooling and requires written verification of available electric-grid capacity before operations begin.
The Board of Aldermen approved the legislation unanimously.
The Armory project predates the completed citywide framework but has played a major role in the broader St. Louis debate over how to regulate large data centers.
Tax Issue Creates Immediate Test
Much of the public debate surrounding the Armory Innovation Data Center has focused on what could happen years from now — projected tax revenue, jobs, electricity consumption, water use, and Midtown development.
The tax-sale issue creates a much more immediate question.
Before a proposed multibillion-dollar project can deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in projected future tax revenue, the existing property must pay millions of dollars in taxes already due.
The City of St. Louis has made that relationship explicit, stating that it will not issue permits until the applicable Green Street properties are current on taxes.
That does not establish that the project is collapsing.
The property was previously removed from a tax sale after a substantial payment, demonstrating that the situation can change before an auction occurs.
But unless the latest delinquency is resolved, Oct. 6 is now a significant date for one of the largest proposed private developments in St. Louis.
For the city’s business community, the next development may therefore be far less complicated than debates over artificial intelligence, renewable energy, or data-center infrastructure.
The immediate question is whether the taxes get paid.
STL.News will continue monitoring the 3728 Market St. tax-sale status and the Armory Innovation Data Center as additional public records become available.
Read Local News at STL.News
