© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Multi-million dollar Centene expansion underway in Clayton

Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Niedorff talks with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens at the company's ceremonial groundbreaking in Clayton on Friday.
Wayne Pratt | St. Louis Public Radio
Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Niedorff talks with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens at the company's ceremonial groundbreaking in Clayton on Friday.

Centene has taken another big step in expanding its downtown Clayton headquarters. The managed care company for Medicaid recipients held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for the $770 million project.

The event featured officials from throughout the region, including new St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and Missouri Gov. Eric Grietens. While preliminary work on the project has been underway for months, Friday marked the ceremonial start of construction.

Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Niedorff talks with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens at the company's ceremonial groundbreaking in Clayton on Friday.
Credit Wayne Pratt | St. Louis Public Radio
Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Niedorff talks with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens at the company's ceremonial groundbreaking in Clayton on Friday.

Centene Chief Executive Officer Michael Niedorff said governors from other states called him to attempt to lure the headquarters away from the St. Louis region.

"At no time did I raise that with any official here," Niedorff said Friday. "I was not trying to leverage that. And the point being, we have a commitment to Missouri and we think it's important — our commitment to this community and to the broader region."

The project has had some bumps in the road to get to this point. It involves more than $75 million in tax incentives, which were controversial. Some Clayton residents were concerned about the size of the project and its impact on the city's skyline and views. They also wanted residents to have a direct vote on the expansion. An effort to petition the city to get the issue on the ballot failed when Clayton officials said the signatures did not comply with the city charter.

"I've never seen when you're trying to do something really worthwhile where somebody can't find some fault with it, okay?" Niedorff said. "I'm just looking at the overall benefits of this project and I want to thank the really overwhelming number of people who supported us."

A rendering of the new Centene expansion in downtown Clayton.
Credit Centene Corporation
A rendering of the new Centene expansion in downtown Clayton.

Centene says the expansion project will eventually bring another 2,000 jobs to Clayton.

The first phase of construction includes a 28-story building. That should be completed by 2020.

Follow Wayne Pratt on Twitter: @wayneradio

Follow Bill Raack on Twitter:  @billraack

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Wayne Pratt is a veteran journalist who has made stops at radio stations, wire services and websites throughout North America. He comes to St. Louis Public Radio from Indianapolis, where he was assistant managing editor at Inside Indiana Business. Wayne also launched a local news operation at NPR member station WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, and spent time as a correspondent for a network of more than 800 stations. His career has included positions in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Ontario and Phoenix, Arizona. Wayne grew up near Ottawa, Ontario and moved to the United States in the mid-90s on a dare. Soon after, he met his wife and has been in the U.S. ever since.
Raack has been in radio for over 20 years. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1983, he worked at commercial radio stations in Kansas and then Illinois. He moved to public radio in 1990, joining the staff of WILL-AM/FM in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, as a host/reporter and then as news director in 1993. He returned to his hometown of St. Louis in 1995 as the local host of St. Louis Public Radio's