|
 |
Kevin
Kloster, president, Conrad Properties |
CUPPLES HISTORIC REHAB
|
by
Linda F. Jarrett
While much is being written about the resurgence in downtown
living with eclectic lofts and condos emerging in once derelict
buildings, it’s not only good living that’s discovered downtown.
Retail is following on the coattails of these urban denizens,
and one of the newest projects on the horizon is the $18.5 million
redevelopment of the Hammermill Paper Building, 1000 Clark Street.
Conrad Properties in partnership with Rodgers Townsend Advertising
LLC is spearheading the development, and Rodgers Townsend will
move from its current location at 1310 Papin Street to become
the main tenant.
Part of the historic Cupples Station Complex, the building,
built in 1897, was known as Cupples Station No. 1. The renovated
building with 78,240 square feet will provide 50,560 square
feet for Rodgers Townsend Advertising’s new offices on the third
through sixth floors. J Buck’s Restaurant, making its initial
appearance downtown, will open on the first floor. The second
floor remains available for retail space says Conrad President
Kevin Kloster.
Partnering with Conrad gives Rodgers Townsend, who does not
have experience in construction, an opportunity to have a say
in the building design. It will also give the firm a new downtown
visibility.
Advantage Capital, U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation,
Enterprise Bank and Trust, and the St. Louis Development Corporation
put together the financing package for the project. Funding
also came from Brownfields remediation credits, State and Federal
historic tax credits and the SLDC’s allocation of $2.5 million
of $52 million in New Market Credits.
“It’s important for us to keep the momentum going,” says Rodney
Crim, SLDC executive director, “not only in terms of downtown
development, but all across St. Louis. “We were fortunate to
be allocated $52 million in New Market Credits to apply to projects
that were fairly difficult projects to accomplish.
“The attractive thing about the Hammermill project is that it’s
basically all commercial office and retail space, after attracting
residential projects throughout downtown.”
Bill Seddon, manager in charge of the New Market Credit program,
says the project qualified through the Department of Treasury’s
demographic research. “Every census tract is based on levels
of unemployment and income levels, things like that. The City
and most of the county qualify.”
WHY HERE AND NOW?
Scott Zajac, managing director for Advantage Capital, says that
they look for developments that are both stable economically,
and have a strong community impact. In the case of the Hammermill
project, we felt it was a viable project and would also have
tremendous impact on the community in an area of the City that,
I think, is poised for tremendous growth.
Zajac feels that the Hammermill project and that entire area,
lying as it does at the perimeter of Ballpark Village, can serve
as a link between downtown and Union Station and the Scottrade
Center.
Walker Gaffney, vice president and project manager for US Bancorp
Community Investment Corporation, a subsidiary of US Bancorp,
says the company found the area ripe for investment. “We’re
very involved in historic rehabilitation projects around the
country, primarily in downtown urban cores that are undergoing
a renaissance.”
Much of the downtown urban revitalization takes advantage of
the federal and state Historic Tax Credits, and New Market Tax
Credits.
“It made sense to do this because the project was in such a
derelict building, and because historic rehabs are so challenging
and expensive,” he says. “The truth is, it’s really cheaper
to tear down than to rehab, so even with federal and state historic
tax credits, there is still a gap in the budget, and the New
Market Credits enabled us to finance and fill in.”
Outgrowing their space on Papin Street, Rodgers & Townsend were
looking for a place that would allow for growth and, at the
same time, showcase their office. The Hammermill Building, with
its unobstructed views of the Arch and Busch Stadium, filled
the bill.
“It was great to find a building that had historical significance,
and was both inspirational and efficient, and that’s what this
building offers,” says Tim Rodgers, CEO. “Part of our way of
doing business is everything is in the open, figuratively and
literally, and we will retain that in this new space.”
“With our proximity to the new Busch Stadium and the Scottrade
Center,” Kloster says, “we feel like we’re on the corner of
Main Street and Main Street. With JBuck’s occupying the entire
first floor, it will be a destination for sports fans as well
as downtown workers and residents.”
CREATING NEW FROM OLD
When a building qualifies for historic tax credits, developers
have certain requirements to follow when they go in and rehab,
the largest being that they have to maintain the historic character
of the building.
Tim Rowbottom, associate principal with The Lawrence Group,
who is doing the core restoration, says since it is within a
local historic district, the Urban Design Commission and the
Office of Cultural Resources have input on how the exterior
of the building is renovated.
“There’s a large amount of historic fabric that’s already in
place,” Rowbottom says. “In this case, it’s the original heavy
timber construction and exposed masonry walls. We’re really
serving a minimal approach with not a lot of walls, an open
environment.”
All windows will be replaced and replicated in accordance with
historic tax requirements.
Referring to the HVAC systems, he says, “As an architect, your
challenge is to thread new systems through the building in a
way that does the least amount of harm to the existing structure.
Our approach has been to utilize a center bearing wall that
runs through the building from north to south, and all systems
will curve along this wall.”
While most of the floors were damaged from years of heavy equipment
rolling over them, Rowbottom says they were able to “salvage
a substantial amount of the original wood floors. Major spaces,
such as the mail lobby and elevator lobby, will have the old
maple floor complete with the nicks and scratches that it has
seen over time.”
Kloster says it’s a challenge anytime a developer goes into
an old building to save it, and the Hammermill was certainly
that.
“The old wood pilings had deteriorated to the point where we
had to do underpinnings to shore up the building,” he says.
“We’ll do masonry restoration and basically bring back the building.”
Part of this was due to the fact that the Cupples District sits
over the location of the old Choteau Pond, and the Hammermill
Building itself sits at the corner of the location of the pond.
The building will also feature a rooftop with a meeting room
and an outdoor patio overlooking downtown.
BUILDING GREEN
The developers hope to qualify for Silver LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) Certification.
“That is something we cannot get certified until the project
is complete,” Rowbottom says. “So there are a series of items
built into the design and other things that will be utilized
and tracked throughout the course of construction.”
One way of acquiring LEED points is making alternative forms
of transportation, such as MetroLink or bicycling, easier and
more attractive for employees to utilize. “We will have showers
and changing rooms for people who want to use their bicycles,”
Kloster says. “We are also conserving energy with a heat reflective
roof.”
This project promises to enhance St. Louis’s downtown renewal
effort that is drawing attention all over the country.
CUPPLES
HISTORY
Built between 1984 and 1917, the Cupples Station Warehouse
complex was a precursor to the present office-industrial
parks.
Entrepreneur Samuel Cupples, with partners Harry and Robert
Brookings, enlisted the St. Louis architectural firm of
Eames & Young to design the massive complex. Soon, 22 huge
red brick buildings covered a downtown area bordered by
Seventh, Eleventh, Clark and Poplar streets.
The unique part of the project, however, lay below the surface,
where an extensive network of tunnels connected each warehouse
and linked them with the riverfront. The use of the Terminal
Rail Road Association tunnel near Eighth and Spruce streets
made it possible to make the Cupples Complex a hub for all
of the warehouses. Each was built over and next to railroad
freight lines. These tracks were at the site of the former
Choteau Pond which resulted from a grist mill dam.
Today, the remaining 10 build-ings stand between I-64/ Highway
40 and Busch Stadium. The Westin Hotel encompasses four
of the historic structures, and the Hammermill Building
will soon join the Cupples Historic District. |
|
|
|
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
