By Bill Beggs Jr.
What was old has become new. Turn-of-the-century warehouses,
office buildings and hotels with vintages from the late 19th
century into the 1970s are brand-new residences, ranging from
traditional to très hip. Developers in this town with “great
bones” are intent on raising, not razing.
And if you blinked, you’ve missed a lot of what’s been going
on downtown just since June, when the last Downtown Living Tour
was held. Deals have been closed, debris cleared, and downtown
is being repopulated: over $4 billion invested and more than
4,000 new residents since 2000; over 70 new shops and restaurants
within the past three years, according to Jim Cloar, who heads
up the not-for-profit Downtown St. Louis Partnership.
The next opportunity to see up close what all the buzz is about
will be Oct. 13th and 14th. More than two dozen are expected
to participate in The Tour this fall. Shuttle buses will operate
in a continuous loop and stop at most properties on the tour
(in any case, no further than a block away). At $7 a ticket,
the tour price has been cut by nearly 50 percent.
Grace Lofts
The Avenida
Historical
restoration is only part of the story, of course. Construction
of Roberts Tower, new condominiums, will begin in November at
North 8th Street. Lumiere Place, on the north end of the Laclede’s
Landing, is on track for opening before New Year’s Eve. The
last few hundred yards of red tape have been cleared for development
of housing in Ballpark Village to the south. And the lights
are going on in between, and to the west, as new residences
connect the dots between neighborhoods. New, distinct neighborhoods
like Post Office Square and the Cupples Station complex have
already, or will soon be, rubbing shoulders with well-established
urban neighborhoods such as Soulard and Lafayette Square.
Folks from the “County,” whether that’s Jefferson, Madison,
St. Charles, St. Clair or St. Louis, are likely to be amazed
by the progress, not to mention office workers who drive from
the ’burbs into their parking garages in the morning and back
out in the evening without venturing too far for lunch.
“People have no idea that it’s so far along,” says Kevin Farrell,
senior economic director for the Partnership. “If they get out
they don’t only see the restaurants, but the streetscape, the
community—the whole ‘feel’ that downtown has to offer.”
There have been many renaissance periods in this historic, comparatively
compact downtown, the heyday arguably when St. Louis was a manufacturing
and industrial giant and so many of the ornately detailed buildings
were erected near the turn of the (20th) century. When shoe
manufacturing and other industries idled between the 1960s to
’80s, headquarters buildings and properties that had sprouted
to serve the vibrant area, such as hotels, shuttered. St. Louis
Centre, a mid-’80s urban mall developed to rival the likes of
Chicago’s Water Tower Place, opened to great fanfare in 1985,
then gradually declined to become symbolic of Downtown’s sorry
state of affairs by the early 1990s.
But now, Pyramid Cos. is redeveloping the long-dormant complex
into modern office and first-floor retail space, with plans
for up to 120 luxury condominiums and private parking for residents.
The Laurel, the former Stix, Baer & Fuller-cum-Dillard’s building
anchoring the north end, is just one of dozens of spaces downtown
being converted into mixed-use—residential hotel, and first-floor
retail. And the Laurel will be included on the Downtown Living
Tour.
Majestic
Stove Lofts
The Marquette
Railway Lofts
Kitty Ratcliffe can’t believe her eyes. President of the St.
Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, Ratcliffe was a CVC
convention sales exec when she left town in 1989 for opportunities
in Baltimore, Jacksonville, Fla., and New Orleans. Upon returning
last year, Ratcliffe must have felt like someone had fast-forwarded
a videotape. She says the City’s transformation during the time
she was away has been dramatic, and continues to inspire awe.
During her absence, two of downtown’s most impressive hotels
have risen from the ruins, so to speak: The Sheraton, once a
vacant warehouse just north of I-64/U.S. 40, impresses citizens
and visitors alike with its intricately painted trompe l’oeil
murals and ornate detailing. Another is a true renaissance story:
The Renaissance towers over a site once occupied by the long-condemned
Hotel Lenox.
But, to Ratcliffe, one of the biggest turnarounds has been St.
Louis Centre, a white elephant for over 15 years. “It was an
eyesore,” she says, matter-of-factly.
Farrell points out that there will be an urban space appropriate
for nearly every taste.
“There’s a growing diversity of product,” he points out. “If
you don’t like the loft environment, you can choose a property
with fully furnished units.”
These are perfect for young professionals or empty nesters that
want a maintenance-free lifestyle. City folk can be seen up
and down Washington Ave. at all hours, jogging and walking their
canines. The kitchen can be just for show, what with any of
a dozen different cuisines available within an elevator ride
and walk of a few blocks.
For urbanites fond of showing off the rawness of their city
spaces, exposed brick and ductwork are available nearly anywhere.
On the other end of the spectrum, buildings like The Laurel,
at 11 stories and a total of 597,000 square feet, will feature
finished condominiums. In between are projects such as the King
Bee Lofts at 1703 Washington Ave., where the new owner can tailor
the finished product completely to personal preference. Some
downtown residences feature a doorman and lobby that is manned
24-7.
Properties are too numerous, varied and in different stages
of development to all be mentioned here, as they range from
the newly-refurbished Mansion House at 4th Street and the former
Days Inn on Tucker to brand-new—from soon-to-be, from-the-street-up
towers, to venerable buildings of various vintages with different,
unique appeal (compare, say, The Dorsa to the Avenida. No comparison).
For updated information on the Downtown Living Tour, call the
Downtown St. Louis Partnership at (314) 436-6500. Or visit www.downtownstl.org.
Commerce Magazine is pleased to be a sponsor of the Fall Downtown
Living Tour.
Visit early. And visit often.
