The Better Business Bureau is on the move.

The consumer watchdog agency has signed a lease to move into the Metropolitan Square Building downtown, spokesman Chris Thetford confirmed today. The move will happen around the end of the year.

The nonprofit agency has been in the Sunnen Business Park in Maplewood for 13 years, but its lease is soon to expire and it was looking around at various sites in St. Louis City and County, Thetford said. It settled on Met Square, where it will take 6,700 square feet.

The BBB was founded downtown in 1917, and the move represents a return to its roots, Thetford said. It also will put the agency closer to many of its client companies, both downtown and in Illinois, and "shows our commitment to the city's revival," he said.

"We looked throughout the metro area and ultimately decided the City of St. Louis best meets our needs and those of the business community we serve," Thetford said.

The agency will likely get some help. It applied for a $25,000 loan from the St. Louis Development Corp. to help fund moving expenses. Thetford said the BBB had not yet heard if it was receiving the loan; officials at SLDC did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The Better Business Bureau has 32 full-time employees.

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