urbanSTL

There were times I've had less-than-stellar service, but I can't say I've ever had a bad meal at the Macy's restaurants, and I've been going there ever since I sat in a highchair. (BTW, I am fairly certain those are the same highchairs that were used when I sat in one, because my grandmother took a picture of me sitting in one. For the record, the photo was dated 1976.)



I'll admit the decor of the St. Louis Room is quite dated, but once again, for me it is like a trip down memory lane, as that's how it's always looked to me. I normally wouldn't be caught dead in a place with decor like that, but we're talking about some good ol' Famous-Barr history here. And if it still bothers you too much, I have good news for you: the Saint Louis Room will likely cease to exist when Macy's downsizes the store next year.

AN OUTLET MALL IN THE MACY’S BUILDING?
June 18th, 2010 | Author: jberger

Then, Kathy and LHM’s Bob O’Loughlin joined Bruce and O’Loughlin suggested an outlet mall would be ideal for the Macy’s building, which was greeted with enthusiasm by Bruce.
http://bergersbeat.com/an-outlet-mall-i ... -building/


Among those making the rounds was developer Bill Bruce, who revealed he has already snagged a few tenants for his downtown Macy’s building. “Macy’s has seven more years to go on its lease,” said Bruce
http://bergersbeat.com/conan-obrien-rob ... ob-costas/

Does anyone know what the status of the condensed version is?

Wow, I think an outlet mall is a terrible idea. Hope that doesn't happen.

Outlet mall? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

And what's with the "seven years to go on their lease" talk? That talk is nothing new to me, but it makes it sound as if Macy's will stick out the length of their lease and close the store once it's over. I was under the impression that Macy's was going to try and make a go of the location- with additional retail nearby and more hotel guests and residents at The Laurel nearby- I'd hope that Macy's would be willing to stick it out downtown and renew their lease.

And speaking of leases, why couldn't Macy's negotiate the most favorable terms possible when it owned the building? It seems like something that could have been done as a condition of selling the building.

The outlet mall idea sucks. It'd probably look like an overgrown junk store. Besides, aren't their other vacant buildings in and around downtown better suited for this?

Are they referring to a Macy's outlet or outlets for multiple different companies? If the Macy's goes to an outlet then you might as well put it out of its misery.

That's the danger of putting too much stock into what Jerry Berger claims. I suppose the developers were merely thinking aloud. I can certainly understand why they'd want to plan for the Railway Exchange's future without Macy's just in case the company decides to walk away from the location at the end of its lease.

I must admit, that is a troubling scenario, and it seems like Macy's could have committed for a longer period of time or on more favorable terms since they were the ones selling the building in the first place. I like to believe they are committed to maintaining a presence in downtown St. Louis for the long haul. This is where adjacent developments like 600 Washington may help. With additional retail adjacent to the store, a rising tide may raise all the ships, and the area surrounding Macy's may become a retail destination again just as it was when it was anchored by Famous-Barr and Stix, Baer, and Fuller for decades.

I'm also hopeful that the renovations Macy's has planned will lead to an improvement in the array and quality of merchandise available downtown. There have already been some improvements in those areas, but taking things a step further would be great for downtown workers, residents, and visitors.

I would be interested to know, however, what Macy's brass thinks about staying downtown once the seven-year lease is up, and how the downsizing of their store will impact their events calendar since Breakfast With Santa and the window decorations have become a tradition since the Famous-Barr nameplate was replaced by Macy's. Hopefully these things won't go away when the store is downsized and remodeled.

If you dont sell it, they wont come.

I was just at the downtown location last weekend. I picked up 2 shirts, but was looking for ties and a belt. They had 2 or 3 tables of ties, not much of a selection. I then went to the Macys at the Galeria, and they had about 7-8 tables of ties. I mean, how can downtown compete with that?

I've said this a million times, but what if they opened up the store to the street, so that you could actually see through their windows into the store? This building could easily be on Fifth Avenue in NY. It was BUILT as a flagship store. this should be FAR superior to suburban locations. If they actually made this THE hip store, people would flock to it. repainting the purple white was a nice "redo" for the Macy's, but come on, they could do some very basic things that wouldn't be that expensive. I'd argue that 90% of people that read this site don't shop at department stores. They could give us a reason to go. They could "bring back" the generation they lost. this building has so much potential it's sick. ALL of their other current Macy's store are totally expendable, architecturally. this could work, if they did it right. look at the galleria macy's too..now going ghetto.. or so it seems to be everyone's perception, maybe then people could come back downtown..

I think the idea of incorporating an outlet mall into downtown St. Louis is an amazing idea. The areas surrounding St. Louis are pretty much devoid of real outlet malls. The big companys such as Prime outlets and Premium outlets were kept away by the headquarters of May Dept. stores location in St. Louis. Thus we are left with the much weaker second rate outlet malls such as Wentzville and The Mills. Atlantic City turned their downtown area between the train/bus/convention center into an urban outlet district with HUGE success. We definitely have the storefront/retail space to get this rolling.

This store needs a lot of work to compete with other Macy's stores and other downtown locations. I recently walked through the downtown Macy's store in Minneapolis, MN. The downtown district in Minneapolis is a few years ahead of STL, but their Macy's is many years ahead. One could easily notice that the store was renovated, up to date, fully stocked and had a clean open feeling while retaining some historic character. This store had at least 6 tables of ties and all the escalators worked. The ceiling was not water stained and the walls were white. The condition was also apparent in small details, such as display tables not being hand-me-downs from closed stores 1981. Overall the STL store just needs some work, I'm sure they noticed this and found that it would be much more cost effective to consolidate. Hopefully they will stay around after the lease period, but I'm sure it will depend on the economic conditions as well as other St Louis based corporations utilizing downtown.

Minneapolis has a good retail presence downtown, and has invested a lot of resources in the betterment of the downtown environment. If anyone is visiting I recommend a walk down Niccolet mall. The city invested and it payed off. It is a good case study to present for improvements in downtown STL.

Sounds like Macy's is following through on their pledge to upgrade their offerings - they're adding Ralph Lauren and Tasso Elba.

Debaliviere, any word on the Railway Exchange building itself? It would be nice to see a tenant or two landed for the office space above as well as a few more jobs for downtown. Adding a $122 million dollar project to an impressive year for downtown during a down year wouldn't hurt either

Dredger wrote:Debaliviere, any word on the Railway Exchange building itself? It would be nice to see a tenant or two landed for the office space above as well as a few more jobs for downtown. Adding a $122 million dollar project to an impressive year for downtown during a down year wouldn't hurt either

According to the P-D, the sale closed yesterday. Renovation of the Macy's store will begin next year, but no word on improvements to the rest of the building or any prospective tenants.

It was a bit unclear, but the Building Blocks article made it sound like they would be seeking additional retail.

I think this would be an ideal location for the clothing retailer based out of Chesterfield, I think the company is called Urban Outfitters if not mistaken or something like that, something that references an urban fashion as its mainstay. I always get a good chuckle every time I hear the name.

Urban Outfitters is a Phily company. Their only StL location is at the Galleria.

I'm glad to see the sale of the Railway Exchange Building has finally closed. Now that Macy's can begin planning for a smaller store, hopefully they will find a way to seek the input of shoppers- those that use the store regularly and those that may work or live in downtown or the city but pass it up for other alternatives- when they redesign the smaller space.

I find it difficult to fathom how the new owners of the Railway Exchange would accommodate new retailers within the building unless Macy's plans to surrender part of its ground floor space as part of its downsizing. Years ago there was a small Baskin-Robbins on the northeast side of the main level, and later it was replaced by a snack bar serving Edy's ice cream, and now it is walled off for storage. It seems like there might be space to do something similar, or perhaps the space where the former employees' entrance on Locust Street could be converted into a small cafe of some sort. I suppose the upper floors that will be vacated by Macy's could also be used, but access would be an obvious issue that would need to be addressed.

If I remember correctly, part of the incentive package granted to Macy's will also be used for its parking garage. After 40-something years, it is looking shabby, and the vacant retail and restaurant space on the ground level (especially Swifty's) looks terrible. Years ago the garage ground level space was home to several businesses ranging from Zales Jewelers to Pope's Cafeteria. Obviously the garage is here to stay, so anything that would add some vibrancy to the block south of Macy's and tie in with the shops north of Macy's that will be part of Mercantile Exchange would be great for this part of downtown. (I still can't believe May Company tore down the Boyd's building and part of Terra Cotta Row along Olive Street...I don't see where that parking lot provides all that much space. Perhaps the new owners could sell it to a developer for new construction at some point?)

Guess we'll have to wait and see what Macy's plans to do for the holidays- hopefully their window displays and events won't be scaled back.

Thanks Moorlander, missed that one by half a continent. For some reason I think a clothing retailer has offices out in Chesterfield.

I went to Macy's Saturday afternoon after I ran some errands. I was pleased to notice the presence of additional clothing lines, including private labels like Tasso Elba and International Concepts (INC) that were previously absent from the downtown store, as well as the addition of Polo Ralph Lauren to the men's casual sportswear department as DeBaliviere previously reported in this space.

I also talked with a salesman that I usually go to whenever I am shopping there. He confirmed for me that the plan is to renovate and downsize the store after the first of the year, and said the process of developing plans and architectural drawings for the renovated space is in progress. He also said Macy's is only about halfway complete with adding more merchandise to the men's section, so there should be a much better selection of merchandise (for both the brands that have been featured at the downtown store and those that were recently added) in the coming weeks.

I also asked about the holiday-related events like Breakfast With Santa, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony, and the decorated storefront windows, and he said as far as he and other employees knew, those traditions will continue this holiday season. Meanwhile, the demolition work at St. Louis Centre continues, and it looks like it won't be long before the Macy's skybridge is demolished. Or at least, one can hope!