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Old Post Office is new again
By
Tavia Evans
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Mar. 15 2006
Construction dust is clearing and foot traffic and tenants are returning to the
Old Post Office, after a $45 million restoration of the 122-year-old landmark.
Its historic 14-foot-tall wooden doors opened to about 300 people Wednesday,
including federal officials who attended the building's rededication.
With about 30,000 square feet of usable space, the Old Post Office on Olive
Street was seen by some as the linchpin of redevelopment in downtown St. Louis,
consuming an entire city block.
"This was the beginning of it all, the building that gave other developers the
confidence to come down here," said Mark Schnuck, president of Desco Group
Inc., which is redeveloping the building jointly with DFC Group Inc.
Dr. William H. Danforth, former chancellor of Washington University, said the
building was to be the centerpiece of the original Downtown Now plan that
called for a billion dollars of investment in downtown St. Louis.
"The Old Post Office and the surrounding area would be the magnet for people of
all ages," Danforth said. "The spirit and energy and investments would
stimulate others and multiply as they spread across the downtown area."
Old office buildings that sat empty and dilapidated just five years ago around
the Old Post Office are now under renovation -- they're becoming loft
condominiums, apartments and retail space. Except for one -- the 108-year-old
Century Building, at Ninth and Locust streets, was torn down last year to make
way for a
$32 million parking garage.
"The renovation of the Old Post Office has breathed new life into what was one
of the most depressed areas of downtown," said Mayor Francis Slay.
Tenants in the Old Post Office include Webster University, the Missouri Court
of Appeals, Teach for America and several state administrative offices.
The Empire-style structure was originally built in 1884 by the U.S. General
Services Administration at a cost of $6 million. It's the only U.S. Customs
House and Post Office built in the 1800s that's still standing.
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