ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Future plans for the old Jamestown Mall in north St. Louis County became clearer Thursday afternoon.
The vacant shell at North Lindbergh Boulevard and Old Jamestown Road caught fire Wednesday night and two firefighters were injured while knocking it down.
On Thursday, officials with the Black Jack Fire Department noted that the two firefighters were released from the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Port Authority of St. Louis County, which owns the property, held a meeting where members approved the use of $6 million from the county to go with another $6 million from the state to begin the demolition process.
Johnnie M. Greenlaw, who owns a house nearby the old mall, has always loved where she lives. She has been there since 1993.
"It was like all hopeful dreams with a house you know everybody was real friendly," she said.
One of Greenlaw’s favorite memories of living in north St. Louis County was her exercise routine.
"Walk over to the mall, walk around the mall then rest at the food court. Unfortunately, you would buy stuff at the food court then I'd walk it off and come back home," she said.
Since 2017 when the mall closed, Greenlaw, like many others in the neighborhood have been faced with the eyesore.
“Leaders would say well we going to start this or we're going to do that and it just kept dragging on and dragging on till I stopped going to the meetings,” she said.
5 On Your Side brought the long wait to the attention of the Port Authority of St. Louis County.
"This is a very expensive process to undertake, and the initial effort has been ongoing for several years trying to identify the funding,” Jacqueline Wellington, with the Port Authority of St. Louis County, said.
Residents expressed what they would like to see happen to the property once the demolition process is over.
“Something that got clothes. They got shopping. They got jewelry for the ladies. Something that also has a little car service,” Greenlaw said.
There are a lot of homeless people. Something for the homeless. Something for gardening. Whatever they can do to survive it. That would be amazing,” Cheryl Applegate added.
The goal is for the demolition to start within four months.
The cause of Wednesday night’s fire is still under investigation.
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