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Which team are you betting on to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?Ballpark a catalyst for interest in nearby projects
Historic Restoration Inc. (HRI) started showing the model of one of its 131 apartments in the developer's Cupples Station warehouse building in late February.
Five people had a look. All five signed a lease.
What's the appeal? Melissa Crowell, HRI's regional supervisor, said one of the building's biggest draws is its proximity to the new Busch Stadium. "I think I had one person who said he was not a big fan, and that was it. Everybody else is. They want that east view (of the stadium)."
As the new stadium emerges, projects around the ballpark are gaining momentum. Among them:
- The former Pet Building, now dubbed Pointe 400, will have a leasing trailer for its apartments at the start of the baseball season and has signed one tenant, with a second lease pending;
- Pete Rothschild's Fulton Bag Co. building redevelopment to the south of the stadium should be finished before the start of the season April 3, and the developer is purchasing a nearby lot for a retail project;
- Potential tenants came courting as soon as McGowan|Walsh Historic Renovators put three Cupples Station buildings under contract;
- Conrad Properties is starting renovation of a Cupples Station warehouse building, and has advertising firm Rodgers Townsend lined up as the main tenant.
Balke Brown's Pointe 400 building, 400 S. Broadway, soon will have a nine-story wrap on part of the building advertising the 118 apartments to be leased, in addition to the leasing trailer. Leasing will "go like gangbusters," at that point, said Wendy Wakefield, general manager of Balke Brown's residential division. "The stadium's huge. A lot of people think that whole part of town is going to emerge with the new stadium."
Rothschild plans on adding to his Fulton Bag Co. building redevelopment south of the stadium with the purchase of a lot next to Paddy O's restaurant. First-floor retail space, with covered parking in back for residents of the Fulton Bag's 16 apartments, and a balcony for Paddy O's would be constructed.
Work on the Fulton Bag building, 612 S. Seventh St., has moved from inside to outside work, so tuckpointing on the part of the building visible from the stadium will be finished by the time the baseball season starts. The project was held up because partners in the redevelopment were hesitant to spend money on construction when there still was a possibility that the building would be bought by the Cardinals or the Missouri Department of Transportation to make way for highway improvements or stadium construction, Rothschild said.
Construction of the new stadium was a "very important part" of convincing lenders to back HRI in the redevelopment of a Cupples Station building on the northeast corner of 11th and Spruce streets, said Ron Silverman, senior vice president and regional manager.
The Cupples Station complex is a group of buildings constructed about 100 years ago, with four buildings already redeveloped into a Westin Hotel. Conrad Properties' 57,000-square-foot building is at the southwest corner of Clark and 10th streets; and McGowan|Walsh plans an $86 million renovation of the buildings it recently purchased in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Spruce Street.
The stadium has helped attract tenants as well, since it wasn't easily apparent from site plans that the main entrance to the ballpark is a short distance from the building, Silverman said. "When the stadium started to come up out of the ground, it was like a light went on."
Even without the stadium, the redevelopment of Cupples Station buildings has its own momentum, developers said. "When we put the buildings under contract, the interest came to us instantly," said Kevin McGowan, chairman of McGowan|Walsh. National restaurant chains called about the first floors of the buildings, and two commercial groups, including law firms because of the proximity to the Thomas Eagleton federal courthouse, also called, he said. Architects and ad agencies also have expressed interest, though no contracts have been signed as yet.
With Rodgers Townsend as anchor tenant and a restaurant on the first floor, Conrad Properties has only 11,000 square feet left in its Cupples building, said Wendy Timm, chief operating officer. "The stadium is exciting, but the Cupples block is intent on keeping its own identity. A big attraction is the proximity to Interstate 64."
hcole@bizjournals.com
