Saw the article this morning and all I can say is wow. I believe this project has the potential to have a greater positive impact on downtown than the Post Office District redevelopment. Way to go Pyramid.....

I have to leave for a meeting, but the St. Louis Business Journal reported that John Steffen has St. Louis Centre under contract and plans to turn it into 120 luxury condominiums. The rendering looks pretty good. I will post more on the $75 million redevelopment plan when I get back.

^I'll have to steal a copy of today's Business Journal. I'm on pins and needles over here.

I don't have the article yet, but this morning on KSDK news, they interviewed the rep from the Business Journal (forgot her name) and she described the project. It sounds very similar to what has been suggested here, mixed use, bridge to Stix/Dillards coming down, revamped office tower, etc. The condos are to begin in the $100K range, and go all the way up to $800K, and there was talk of a pool being installed on the roof of the center. Also, the green and white cladding is coming down. I can't wait to see the renderings!

Summary:



Steffen (Pyramid) has the Centre and One City, Dillards/Stix, and Jefferson Arms under contract, as well as already owning 305 N Broadway.



Construction on the Centre (now to be named 600 Washington) is to begin this summer, with a two-year completion. It will include 120 luxury condos ($155k-$800k, $195-$250 per sqft) and the atrium will have the rof removed and a swimming pool.



80000 feet of retail on ground floor for 6-12 stores/restaurants. Already talking to Borders, Whole Foods, et. al.



The skin will be replaced (rendering looks like stucco frame around glass curtain walls) and 1st and 2nd floors will have 350 parking spaces for tenants.



One City Centre will be reoriented towards a 6th & Wash entrance and be highly upgraded (already Class A).



Reported contract prices: $8MM for the mall, $18MM for the tower, and $12MM for Dillards/Stix. Sounds like all funding is in place.

That just made my day. This is very, very, very god news. It's a shame Cohen gets such a nice profit for holding the centre hostage for so long. But I guess it all worked out in the end.

We need to tar and feather Cohen and run him out of town for good. Some big redevelopment plan my eye. He was just holding out for the best offer and cut bait when the City was going to shut him down.

brickandmortar wrote:We need to tar and feather Cohen and run him out of town for good. Some big redevelopment plan my eye. He was just holding out for the best offer and cut bait when the City was going to shut him down.

Was there ever any doubt that this was his plan all along?

The front page article is pretty long, but the highlights were the fact that St. Louis Centre is under contract and will receive a massive facelift, including removing the current exterior skin and demolishing the skybridge. Plans include removing the roof, giving the building an open air atrium (I had always wondered if this could be done). A few of the amenities would inlcude a swiming pool, a dog run and 80,000 square feet of retail space for 6-12 stores. National retailers including Bordes and Whole Foods have been in contact with Steffens. The project is to be named 600 Washington.



The article also mentioned that Steffen also has the 25-story One City Centre office building as well as the Jefferson Arms building under contract. It was reported that $75 million of the $110 million planned for the mixed use develpment would be spent on the St. Louis Centre redevelopment.



I will create a new thread in the Downtown Residential forum for the new "600 Washington" condo development. I contacted someone at Pyramid and they will be sending over a rendering, which I will post once it is received.





Edit: Sorry for my summary as I didn't refresh my browser after getting back from my meeting, therefore, not seeing this last page of comments. As mentioned above, Pyramid is supposed to be sending over a rendering and I will make sure it gets posted ASAP.

St. Louis Centre -- RIP! Hello "600 Washington"!!!

Love the rendering. The project sounds absolutely amazing - what we've been waiting for for so many years. Once this gets underway, there's really nothing holding downtown back that can't be fixed.



Did the article make any mention of whether the new development will still be connected to Macy's somehow?

I think this a rendering that we can all love... Urban eyesore no longer!

The rendering shows the view from 7th and Washington looking southeast, where you can see the thankfully lost skybridge to Dillard's.

While I'm curious too about the Macy's bridge, there are two more bridges as well, to the Edison Brothers building (500 N. Broadway) and Mercantile tower (now US Bank). Maybe the developer still has to negotiate with these surrounding owners on the status of these three bridges, as Steffens will only own the Centre and Dillard's complexes, and hence only fully that bridge over Washington.

The rendering looks nice. My question is where will all of those crummy kiosks go?



I'm sooo excited, the city is on a roll in 06

The Dillard's skybridge has to go away.



Southsider what do you (and rest of you) think should happen to the Mercantile and Macy's bridges?



I can't say the Mercantile bridge bothers me and I'm having trouble recalling the Macy's bridge.



The Mercantile bridge is at least only one story tall, one relatively tall story from the ground and translucent. Unlike the Dillards bridge which three stories tall, low to the ground and you can't see through it.

Yeah, we affectionately refer to the U.S. Bank bridge as the "Gerbil Tube." I can't see any reason to keep it. The same could be said about the bridge to One Financial Plaza, although that one technically connects the mall to the parking garage, so they may want to keep that one for residents.



The bridge to Macy's really doesn't feel like a bridge - it's more like the mall butts up against the Railway Exchange Building.

DeBaliviere wrote:Yeah, we affectionately refer to the U.S. Bank bridge as the "Gerbil Tube." I can't see any reason to keep it. The same could be said about the bridge to One Financial Plaza, although that one technically connects the mall to the parking garage, so they may want to keep that one for residents.



The bridge to Macy's really doesn't feel like a bridge - it's more like the mall butts up against the Railway Exchange Building.

I think you're probably right, the tunnel to US Bank would probably go but the one to One Finacial Plaza would probably stay so the garage can be connected. It's not nearly the eyesore as the one over washington connecting the dillards building.

My hat's off to Steffan and the gang at Pyramid. They've been a force downtown, but this is really spectacular. Imagine what it took to pull this off (besides the monetary aspects). Also, the Jefferson Arms was probably something Cohen wanted included in the deal so that he could get out of town without any ties to the city.

I'm looking forward to hearing what MayorSlay.com has to say about this project!

The article makes no mention of the Walgreen's.

I hope they keep a downtown presence.