|
 |
GARRETT BALKE
CEO/chairman,
Balke Brown Associates
|
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
|
BY PAM DROOG
You may not know Garrett Balke, but thousands of St. Louisans pass
his work every day on Highway 40—the wavy-roofed Highlands @ Forest
Park office complex on the former Arena site.
The first building on that hallowed ground “is a little different
than what the City has seen before,” says Balke, CEO and chairman
of Balke Brown Associates real estate developers. “It’s not a ho-hum
building. It evokes emotion.”
In other words, the building meets Balke’s criteria: it pushes the
envelope of architecture, while contributing to creating a better
community.
Balke developed his philosophy as a working architect. Born in Racine,
Wisc., he received his undergraduate degree from Valparaiso University,
then did graduate work in architecture at the University of Minnesota.
He served in the Army’s counterintelligence corps in Europe. When
he returned, he opened an architecture firm with a partner, a structural
engineer, in Minneapolis.
“I did that for a number of years and realized that, although I
had wanted to be an architect since high school, it didn’t provide
the broad perspective I had become excited about,” Balke says. “So
I spent some time getting credentials.”
For a while, Balke worked for large Minneapolis contracting firms,
and also for Honeywell in its international real estate development
group. In 1970, the family moved to St. Louis, so his daughter could
attend St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf.
“That turned out to be one of the best decisions that we as a family
ever made,” Balke says. His daughter had great success at the Institute
and beyond, and Balke had a successful 10-year career at the LinClay
Corporation—and beyond.
“I was 42 then, and realized that to be completely happy, I wanted
my own business that followed the philosophy I was beginning to
crystallize: that we have a tremendous responsibility as developers
in creating our communities, not just in building buildings,” Balke
says.
The business began in 1979 with Balke and an answering service.
He spent more time out of the office than in it, developing business
relationships. “Then it feeds on itself,” he says. “But it was tough
going for a while. It took six months for me to get my first income
of $4,500!”
Today the company employs 30 people who oversee $50 to $75 million
in development annually, and also handle asset management, financing,
leasing and marketing. Balke estimates the company has developed
more than $300 million in properties throughout the region, including
the 26-acre Highlands @ Forest Park, the largest commercial property
to be developed in the City of St. Louis in decades, and Union Station
Office Center, where his own office is located
That project, Balke points out, is a perfect example of the impact
a building can have on the community.
“The Union Station redevelopment created a critical mass that gave
Ameren UE, among others, the idea to move to the neighborhood,”
Balke says. “Then A.G. Edwards did the same, and that changed the
character of everything west of 12th St.”
Balke also proudly cites a recently completed, 500,000-square-foot
industrial project on the near North Side.
“We bought six city blocks in a very depressed area and put up new
buildings. That changed the character of that area permanently and
as a result, other investors came in,” he says.
Balke is a board member of Missouri State Bank and St. Joseph Institute
for the Deaf, where he’s chairing the school’s $6 million endowment
fundraising drive, which will officially start later in the year.
A member of the RCGA’s Leadership Circle, Balke also serves on the
surface transportation committee. He’d like to see St. Louis become
“a 24-hour city,” he says. And that can be achieved only by “expanding
inward,” not outward.
“In a broad sense, when you continue to spread, the community becomes
more insulated. You tend to migrate to your own area and get further
apart,” he says. “But the real strength and health of a community
stems from interdependence. That’s why you’re energized when you
go to New York City, for example, and see ethnic groups together
and the benefits of cultural diversity.”
An avid fly fisherman, Balke travels from Belize to Montana, Russia
to Idaho, to pursue the sport. He’s also “serious hiker” who’s explored
the Matterhorn and remote parts of New Zealand. When he and his
wife travel, “it’s not just to see the countryside, but to understand
the people’s spirituality and values and how we can learn from them,”
Balke says. This quest recently took them to Bali and Indonesia,
and this year they’ll visit Machu Picchu in Peru. The Balkes have
five children and three grandchildren.
Looking ahead, Balke plans to expand the company’s residential business
and do more work in southwestern Illinois. On a personal level,
although he plans to stay “deeply involved” in the company, “I’ll
be migrating toward more charitable work and serving on boards,
and as we see the need, I’ll help where I can in developing countries,”
he says.
“I have a great time in life!” Balke says. “There’s no reason to
slow down, yet.”
Pam Droog is a frequent contributor to St. Louis Commerce Magazine.
|
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
-
-
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
-
-
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
-
-
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
-
|
