Business Pulse Survey:
Which team are you betting on to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?John Steffen buys St. Louis Centre
Developer John Steffen has plans to transform a major piece of downtown St. Louis, converting the four-story St. Louis Centre into a luxury condo development and the One City Centre office building into a combined $110 million mixed-use development called 600 Washington.
Steffen, president of St. Louis-based Pyramid Construction, also has several other buildings under contract in the vicinity of the mostly empty shopping mall, including the former Dillard's building at 601 Washington, owned by Gundaker Commercial Group. Steffen already owns 305 N. Broadway, which he plans to develop into condos. Steffen also has the Jefferson Arms building under contract from owner Barry Cohen.
Steffen plans to seek $20 million in tax increment financing from the city for the redevelopment of St. Louis Centre. The city set aside $8 million in New Markets Tax Credits for the redevelopment of the mall in November 2005. Construction is set to begin this summer on the redevelopment project, with completion in two years.
Steffen said the redevelopment plans have been on the drawing table for more than three years. The plans picked up steam in recent months as Cohen, owner of St. Louis Centre, and Angela Whichard, owner of One City Centre, a 25-story Class A office building at Sixth and Washington, agreed to sell their properties. "The real mixed-use event has not happened downtown and here it is," Steffen said. Combined, the two buildings have 850,000 square feet of space.
Mayor Francis Slay said the mall project will be a boon to the city's redevelopment efforts. "It's the one area of downtown that really sticks out as a problem property. With this development, it will help create a better environment and remove the last remaining eyesore from downtown."
St. Louis Centre, built in 1985 for $95 million, was once the largest enclosed urban shopping center in the country with 120 stores and a food court with 20 restaurants. The mall has deteriorated in recent years and now only a handful of stores remain.
The $75 million redevelopment plan for St. Louis Centre, financed by National City Bank, includes 120 luxury condos priced between $155,000 and $800,000 or between $195 and $250 per square foot. The middle of the center will have the roof removed to expose a football field-sized open air atrium. Inward facing condos on the first floor will have terraces overlooking a swimming pool. A dog run and other amenities also will be included in the development.
On the ground floor, 80,000 square feet of retail will be available for between six and 12 stores or restaurants. Steffen said he has talked with several major national retailers about the space, including Whole Foods and Borders. "We're looking at a lot of options," he said. Pyramid Architects is the architect; Paric is the general contractor on the center redevelopment.
St. Louis Centre will undergo a major facelift, including removing the green and white skin on the exterior and tearing down the skybridge that links the mall to the former Dillard's building at 601 Washington Avenue.
In the interior of a newly constructed mezzanine on the mall's first and second floors, 350 parking spaces will be built to accommodate condo owners and office tenants in One City Centre.
