[newstl2020]

"THE MERCANTILE EXCHANGE"

"St. Louis development firm Pyramid Cos. is aligning itself with Chicago-based General Growth Properties to develop a new retail district in downtown St. Louis to be known as The Mercantile Exchange. The project is expected to cost more than $600 million and is slated for completion in 2010.

The district will be anchored by some of Pyramid's latest developments including the Laurel condominium, hotel and retail project to be built in the old Dillard's building on Washington Ave.; its conversion of the now-closed St. Louis Centre mall into condominiums with street-level retail; the soon-to-be refurbished One City Centre office building; and the Mercantile Library building. The district would also include Macy's department store on the south and the Edward Jones Dome and St. Louis Convention Center on the north."

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/09/24/daily29.html?jst=b_ln_hl

600 MILLION in street-level outdoor retail along a multi-block portion of downtown!!!! Formal announcement of the project will be this morning (Wednesday, 9/26/07)!

[erasercut]

Close to a billion $'s in development announced in 2 days. So good to hear this.

[matguy7070]

http://www.ksdk.com/assetpool/images/07926134624_concord.jpg

CNN:

Big St. Louis Development Announced
Plans for Major Downtown St. Louis Development Announced
September 26, 2007: 02:47 PM EST

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Plans for a six-block, $450 million hotel, condominium and shopping development for downtown St. Louis were announced Wednesday, marking the second time in four days a major project for downtown has been unveiled.

St. Louis-based Pyramid Cos. and Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc. are teaming on the new Mercantile Exchange project that will include several buildings, all but one of which are owned by Pyramid and its partner, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners LLC of Connecticut.

The project will include redevelopment of the St. Louis Centre shopping mall and renovation of the vacant Mercantile Library building. Also to be renovated are the One City Centre office tower, the Macy's building and the former Dillard's building, which will be renamed the Laurel.

The project is expected to be completed in phases, some of which should be finished by the end of 2008. John Steffen, chief executive of Pyramid, said the entire project should be finished in 2010.

"Downtown is on an upswing, and we can push the momentum up," Steffen said.

St. Louis Centre opened in 1985 and was expected to generate downtown revitalization. But retailers soon began leaving. Pyramid purchased the mall in August 2006 for $9.1 million, and the center was closed less than a month later.

On Sunday, Centene Corp. announced it will move its headquarters from Clayton to Ballpark Village, an area being developed near Busch Stadium. Centene's $250 million development will add up to 1.2 million square feet of office space and up to 75,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a hotel.

The developers of Ballpark Village, Baltimore-based Cordish Co., plan an additional 360,000 square feet of retail space, 100,000 square feet of office space and condos.

:tup:

[DeBaliviere]

I work in the building on the left in the background of the pic above - I can't wait for this project to be completed!

[djvandrake]

This is awesome news. I've seen billboards for The Laurel all over town so they push is on there. That portion of Washington is a little dead, so this is a very much needed shot in the arm to keep the momentum going in downtown.

My head is still spinning from the Centene Centre announcment and now this! :tup:

[Xing]

All these new projects are major people attractions, and should create an interesting amount of pedestrian traffic, as people walk between the places. Good news!

[newstl2020]

I don't know how most people outside of St. Louis feel about this (Well, actually, I do) but to me it feels like we are on the cusp of a major building boom in downtown. For the last decade or so momentum in downtown has been building to a breaking point, and I just can't see it taking that much longer. We are in a small boom right now, as we have construction of 7 mid-size projects right now (skyhouse,Roberts,Centene (x2), BPV condo, Lumiere Place, Cityside), but I can't help but think we are about to see a few big ones popping up here in the next few years. Ballpark Village and The Mercantile Exchange are both increasing the viability of both South and North downtown, respectively, and the West has also become increasingly viable with the improvements to Washington Avenue and historical renovation. It's almost time.

[LeoSTL]

That is a vast improvement from the creepy mall.:)

[MplsTodd]

Congrats on the great news St. Louis!!

I visited your city last August and had a great time. I was especially impressed with all the adaptive reuse of the older buildings into condos (along Washington), plus the density of other urban, but non-downtown areas (like Central West End, Grand Ave and even Delmar Loop).
These two announced developments should further the momentum your city has going for it!

[bw87a]

great news for st. louis...i've always liked st. louis but cringed at its lack of creating a nice livable space downtown. this is a great start for bringing more people back downtown. another great thing for st. louis is to concentrate on reconnecting the city with its former best friend...the river.

[Wheelingman04]

I am proud for St. Louis.

[Roy McDowell]

In beginning, I was skeptical about the growth of downtown St Louis coming back to life but after seeing other projects in person like Ball Park Village with all those cranes popped up, I'm now a believer. The construction and rehab activity I seen there seems reassuring that downtown St Louis is coming back. I look forward to taking some time off there while leaving my tractor trailer parked across the river.

[newstl2020]

There is no action on BPV yet, but Centene and phase 1 begins construction in March. Downtown revival has been going incredibly and we are ending the era of historical renovations and are beggining the era of new high-rise construction (Roberts, Skyhouse, City-side, BPV, Etc.). Please visit again soon!

[Xing]

Downtown revival is so strong that the developments are now moving on to bordering areas, like Downtown West, the Near north and south sides, and even a recent announcement of a development plan in Downtown East St. Louis, by a respectable developer !

[Classico]

I really like some things that are shaping up in St. Louis.

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Mr. Rollin Stanley(director of planning for the city) last weekend in Traverse city for the annual MAP(Michigan association of planners) Conferences. Great guy. He did a presentation on Urban redevelopment with St. Louis as his case study. Excellent philosophy.

[vodnik]

I would be curious to read that case study. Any idea how??

Also, I have not heard anythig about East STL. Where did you read that info.

[JivecitySTL]

Pyramid has some grand plans for downtown E. StL.

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2007/09/24/story9.html?jst=s_cn_hl

[Evergrey]

what's up with Skyhouse?

[Xing]

what's up with Skyhouse?

:eviltongue:

[the urban politician]

Really great news.

I'd love to see a private developer invest in some sort of transit line to serve this new district

[Evergrey]

Skyhouse was one of my favorite proposals in the country... loved the sleek design and green elements

[Xing]

Skyhouse was one of my favorite proposals in the country... loved the sleek design and green elements

:eviltongue:

[Cincinnatis]

:eviltongue:

What does this mean? Is it not going to be built or what? lol

[DeBaliviere]

What does this mean? Is it not going to be built or what? lol

SkyHouse is dead, unfortunately.

[Cincinnatis]

SkyHouse is dead, unfortunately.

What was the reason for the bailout?

[JivecitySTL]

^Shitty economy. The developer is still interested in developing the site.

[DeBaliviere]

Despite the fact that the SkyHouse plans have been dropped, the Roberts Tower, another exciting new residential building, is under construction across from the Old Post Office. Should be pretty cool.