Old Post Office Project Moves Forward







In October 2004 the GSA transferred title of the Old Post Office to the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB), a division of the State of Missouri. The MDFB entered into a master lease for the entire building for 99 years to a partnership in which an entity affiliated with DESCO and DFC is the General Partner. The partnership will then sublease space in the building to various tenants including the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District; Webster University; the St. Louis Public Library; The Pasta House Company; and the St. Louis Business Journal.



The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will occupy the entire third and fourth floors. The massive two-story courtroom in the southwest corner of the third floor will once again be utilized as a courtroom for the first time since 1935. The courtroom in the southeast corner of the third floor will become the law library for the Court.



Webster University will expand its downtown St. Louis campus and will occupy all of the Mid Level (first level below grade), with a small administrative office on the Mall Level (street level).



The St. Louis Public Library, Pasta House Pronto, and the St. Louis Business Journal will occupy prime space on the Mall Level, with 3,000 square feet currently available. The plans also call for a 1,050 car parking garage known as the "Ninth Street Garage" being developed by DESCO/ DFC to be owned by the Missouri Development Finance Board on the site immediately to the west of the Old Post Office. This garage will have over 20,000 square feet of street level retail space available. The projected timeline for the project is 15 months for the Old Post Office and 23 months for the Ninth Street Garage.



The addition of the $77 million Old Post Office (OPO) project to downtown will bring the total invest in downtown St. Louis to over $2.5 billion since 1999. For more information and leasing opportunities contact Gwen Knight or Mike Goellner of the DESCO Group at 994-4444.

Nice job...

You know, I am actually looking forward to this new district... it will really create another "after 5pm" atmosphere in the CBD.

I think it's so important for DESCO to land a high-quality tenant for the retail space in the new garage. The retail space in the Laclede Gas Building garage is still vacant after several months, with the exception of the place to pay traffic tickets.



I'm really looking forward to the completion of the Paul Brown Building, and hopefully we'll see a new restaurant or retail in the Roberts Bros. building. I don't really see the new plaza adding much to the scene though. I know that the Mayfair addition will open up to the plaza, but other than that, it seems like a total waste of space.



I haven't heard any plans to actually have a post office in the Old Post Office, which would make sense. When I lived downtown, I would often use the branch there (it has since moved to the LaSalle Building).

Don't forget about the cleaners in the laclede gas garage. You can get your suit cleaned while the city cleans your wallet.



You would think that the post office would put the location back into th OPO, but you would think they would put the new garage on the surface lot to the north of the OPO too.

Has any major retailer been confirmed as a tenant in the OPO? I've heard Webster University, Missouri Court of Appeals, and some restaurant so far.

There's going to be a Pasta House Express there, which will be very close to the similar 10th Street Italian just a block away.



There will also be a STL Public Library branch there.

The St. Louis Business Journal will also have their offices in the OPO.

I'm not trying to be incendiary here, but, these tenants are supposed to revitalize the OPO District? I hope there are going to be lots of Webster U Students walking around...



Which reminds me...I wish that St. Louis could get a university (large scale) to move downtown. To my knowledge, SLU at one time was downtown. But if nighttime foot traffic is what downtown needs, what better way to do it than a large university? Students would patronize local bars and restaurants and retail would need to go in to support them as well. Sounds like a cure-all to any downtown district that could secure a university.

I'm pretty sure that Wash U. was also downtown at one point. It's unfortunate that UMSL is in north county and not the city, especially considering how big of a school it is. Wash U. has a loft building for its art students (and I think that art students from other schools can rent lofts there), and it would be cool to see SLU do something like that, although SLU would be more likely to do something in Grand Center.



The OPO tenants aren't really adding anything new - the Business Journal will just be leaving a vacany in Met Square. The library is nice, but then again, the downtown branch is just a few blocks away. Webster is moving from the Lammert Building, and the Court of Appeals is moving from another downtown location. Whoop-de-do.

Hopefully those buildings that are being left will fill with new tenants. I'm sure Met Square wil have no problem, and I know the state already has plans for the appealate court space in the wainwright. I'm sure lammert will get a new tenant, it has a good location. It's a shame, but not surprising that they did not bring anyone new except pasta house pronto.

Regarding SLU relocating from downtown to midtown... not sure everyone knows why, but it is a very interesting story to say the least. All I could find online was a snippet on SLU's website, but it did not tell the story.



quote from: http://www.slu.edu/about_slu.html

The St. Louis campus has been the site of the central administration since 1888, when the Jesuits moved the University from its original downtown campus.

The University needed more space. Also it has been, historically, an assumption that colleges and universities should be located away from cities. The idea being that the students would benefit from the open space and fresh air. More importantly, however, the young men would be isolated from the temptations of the city, i.e., bordellos, taverns, and women of the night. This is why many universities are in the middle of no where, creating the proverbial "college towns."



At the time--I think 1888--Grand and Lindell was indeed in the country. Can you believe it?

DeBaliviere wrote:I'm pretty sure that Wash U. was also downtown at one point. It's unfortunate that UMSL is in north county and not the city, especially considering how big of a school it is. Wash U. has a loft building for its art students (and I think that art students from other schools can rent lofts there), and it would be cool to see SLU do something like that, although SLU would be more likely to do something in Grand Center.



The OPO tenants aren't really adding anything new - the Business Journal will just be leaving a vacany in Met Square. The library is nice, but then again, the downtown branch is just a few blocks away. Webster is moving from the Lammert Building, and the Court of Appeals is moving from another downtown location. Whoop-de-do.

I'm gonna have to agree with you here. Not until the residential base gets stronger the more attractive retail tenants will wait their turn.

DeBaliviere wrote:I'm pretty sure that Wash U. was also downtown at one point. It's unfortunate that UMSL is in north county and not the city, especially considering how big of a school it is. Wash U. has a loft building for its art students (and I think that art students from other schools can rent lofts there), and it would be cool to see SLU do something like that, although SLU would be more likely to do something in Grand Center.



The OPO tenants aren't really adding anything new - the Business Journal will just be leaving a vacany in Met Square. The library is nice, but then again, the downtown branch is just a few blocks away. Webster is moving from the Lammert Building, and the Court of Appeals is moving from another downtown location. Whoop-de-do.

Exactly my point.

^Yep. The developers and the city are creating a false concept of this project as "adding" so much to downtown, when in fact, they are simply moving tenants who are already downtown into new digs a few blocks away. When you consider the loss of the Century Building and the potential it held, the only thing we have gained by this project is a NET LOSS in vitality downtown.



Oh yeah, we get a Pasta House Pronto. I give it two months before it folds like the others.

Yeah. It's too bad SLU isn't considering any campus expansion beyond Midtown. They'd be prime tenants for the OPO. So would Wash U for that matter.



I'm a SLU student, and there'd be nothing I would enjoy more than to go to school downtown.

Regarding the library, I read that the OPO branch will cater more to businesses in the area, unlike any of the other branches in the city. I don't remember the specifics, but I'll keep looking.

The OPO would be great for the public policy department. What better place than downtown for an urban planning program. The both of us could go to school downtown, which would be so cool.

It is a pretty uninspired list of tenants, I don't think enough study was done to see what the potential adaptive reuse of this building could have been. Definitely not the "highest and best" use.

MattnSTL wrote:The OPO would be great for the public policy department. What better place than downtown for an urban planning program. The both of us could go to school downtown, which would be so cool.

Agreed. Maybe we should start lobbying to Biondi?

Maybe. I doubt they would consider it though. But it would be cool.

MattnSTL wrote:Maybe. I doubt they would consider it though. But it would be cool.

Seriously, though, maybe the City should pursue this more. I recall in my trip to downtown Chicago last summer that there were college campuses located downtown and, though it was the summer, I'm sure these students that possibly live downtown as well add to the foot traffic and vibrancy of downtown Chicago during the rest of the year.