ST. LOUIS – There’s big news about one of the biggest projects ever in St. Louis: a dramatic, billion-dollar-plus overhaul of the South Riverfront, known as Gateway South.

FOX 2 has confirmed key developments; the project is actually happening.

Nearly a year ago, FOX 2 learned of the massive plan to revitalize the derelict old warehouse district just south of the Gateway Arch, which is roughly bounded by Interstates 64, 55, 44, and the Mississippi River. If you didn’t know better, you’d think the plan was dead because things look the same now as they did then.

We’ve confirmed that much is going on behind the scenes.

Property records show multiple LLCs with the same New York address buying key tracts of land in the project zone, including a $1.8 million purchase earlier this year.

“No, it hasn’t gone away,” Alderwoman Cara Spencer (Ward 8) said of the project.

The site is in her ward.

A spokeswoman for New York developer Good Developments Group, which is spearheading the project, gave FOX 2 the following statement: “We continue to make rapid progress on Gateway South. To date, we’ve closed on several key pieces of the assemblage, including a large multi-property closing at the end of last week.”

Sources also confirm the sale of the old Crunden-Martin buildings, centerpieces of the project, is expected to be finalized within weeks, ushering in the first phase of the $1.2 billion transformation and turning empty lots and vacant buildings into a neighborhood anchored by a new hub for pre-built components aimed at streamlining the construction industry nationwide.

You see graffiti and broken windows in the buildings when you walk or drive by; developers see assets like warehouse space with idle loading docks and unmatched transportation access.

“Taking advantage of the nation’s largest riverway… the access point to all six class A railway lines,” Spencer said. “There’s a whole host of assets right along the riverfront there this group is taking advantage of.”

Expect to see hardhats soon.