RGA Hopes To Build New, $150 Million Headquarters in Chesterfield

Reinsurance Group of America is moving ahead with plans to build a new, $150 million headquarters in Chesterfield and is seeking tax break from the state and county to help.

A Fortune 500 Company, RGA is currently headquartered in Chesterfield in an 185,000-square-foot structure on Timberlake Manor Parkway off of Highway 40 and employs about 800 people. The new complex would be located on a 17-acre parcel on Swingley Ridge Road and would include two five-story office building for a total of 405,000 square feet, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Chesterfield Economic Development Director Libby Malberg-Tucker said the company estimates its new headquarters would bring with it an additional 300 jobs over a period of 10 years. If the plan goes through, it could mean good things for the local economy.

“It’s a huge impact because they are a national company and the largest re-insurer in the world,” she said, explaining that the development would provide increased revenue for entities such as school and fire districts and “ancillary economic impacts” from RGA employees spending money in Chesterfield.

Although the plan received approval from the Chesterfield Planning Commission by an 8-1 vote Nov. 26, not everything is finalized. Malberg-Tucker said that “it is all still up in the air” until the incentives RGA is seeking are approved.

The company is asking for breaks on real estate and personal property taxes from St. Louis County, which Malberg-Tucker said would involve a 50 percent abatement to help RGA cover the cost of bonds associated with the project. State assistance is also being sought.

The Post-Dispatch reported that RGA had $8.8 billion in revenue last year, ranking it 289th in the Fortune 500 and is the fourth-largest publicly traded company based in St. Louis.

Chesterfield Patch previously reported on RGA’s plans in June, when the company sought an amendment raising the cap on the maximum amount of building square footage allowed in the 225-acre Chesterfield Village area – a region loosely bounded by the circle of Chesterfield Parkway.