Macy's Downtown, 601 Olive Street

[JMedwick]

This seems like good news. Getting the building out of the hands of Macy's and into those of an investor or developer who is interested in repositioning the aging office building seems like a great deal, particularly if the goal of the developer is to make the building largely residential. One thing to watch is whether the building sale will be separate from the parking lot and parking garage on the other side of the street. If the developer's goal is to make the building largely residential, then the aging parking garage and worthless parking lot on the other side of Olive may present a real opportunity for new Class A office space in downtown.

[ThreeOneFour]

They didnt do their research. We lost Dillards.

True enough, and we also lost Scruggs Vandervoort & Barney in 1967. But I think they were simply pointing out that St. Louis is still among a small and select group of cities that has at least one traditional department store left in its downtown. Even vibrant cities like San Francisco and smaller metro areas like Minneapolis and Indianapolis that have multiple downtown department stores have lost major retailers amid all of the consolidations that have taken place in retail over the last 20 or 30 years. So it's significant that St. Louis still has one store remaining, especially when you consider the many major cities like Atlanta, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Detroit that no longer have a traditional downtown department store.



Oh, and JMedwick, I like the way you think about the block immediately south of Macy's. I'd love to see a Class A office tower there eventually.

[MattnSTL]

Developers are now doing due diligence for a sale of the Railway Exchange Building. More from the Building Blocks Blog at the PD.

The planned sale of the Macy’s building in downtown St. Louis means the department store will remain, a company spokeswoman said this morning.



Although the store will shrink to three from seven floors, what remains will be remodeled after the sale closes in January, said Macy’s spokeswoman Sharon Bateman.



The city’s tax-increment financing commission reviewed the project this morning.



Local developers Rick Yackey and Bill and Brian Bruce plan to buy the building and reconfigure Macy’s to occupy 125,000 square feet on the building’s first three floors. Two floors of Macy’s office space on the upper floors will also be preserved. The new owners plan to lease the remainder of the building for office and other non-residential uses.

[JMedwick]

Not sure whether I like the idea of using the building largely for non-residential. I wonder whether that is the short term plan, with the long term plan being a transition to residential.



No mention in the article of whether the garage and parking lot on the south side of Olive are included in the transaction.

[DeBaliviere]

Not sure whether I like the idea of using the building largely for non-residential. I wonder whether that is the short term plan, with the long term plan being a transition to residential.



No mention in the article of whether the garage and parking lot on the south side of Olive are included in the transaction.

In the Biz Journal, it mentions that the garage would be receiving renovations as well. I wouldn't worry about the "non-residential" aspect - if they bring in some office tenants, it would be great for that part of downtown.

[ThreeOneFour]

Not sure whether I like the idea of using the building largely for non-residential. I wonder whether that is the short term plan, with the long term plan being a transition to residential.

Like DeBaliviere, I'm not concerned about the Railway Exchange Building being re-purposed for non-residential tenants. Like you, however, I really would have liked for the developer to make the upper floors residential.



Once again, there is a missed opportunity to create residential density in this part of downtown that desperately needs it. First, we learn that Pyramid's original plans to convert St. Louis Centre into The Concord, which would have been mostly residential, have been stripped down to a parking garage serving 600 Washington (and presumably, Thompson Coburn in the US Bank Building). Now the vast space above what will become a shrunken Macy's store won't be residential after all. Like DeBaliviere, I think that's okay and still quite good for downtown, but I think that part of downtown really needs more residential to maximize its potential.



Finally, I really hope Macy's will include some sort of restaurant and/or auditorium space in the downsized store so they can continue to host Breakfast with Santa and other holiday special events. We've taken our son each year Macy's has offered it, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It ain't no Santaland, but it recaptures some of the magic and turns on a new generation of kids to what has become an extremely rare (and sadly, still endangered) asset- the traditional downtown department store.

[Dredger]

ThreefourOne, I don't thinkg this is a loss opportunity for more residential development when downtown has a stalled Park Pacific, next Cupples Warehouse and Dillard/Laural still waiting in the wings plus plenty of infill space available. Instead, getting 850 lost jobs back downtown into the building should be the priority. It might also convince a person or two to move downtown if they have a job downtown.

[ThreeOneFour]

^ You may be right, and certainly, bringing more jobs downtown would certainly help the area (and the downsized Macy's underneath).



I'm not quite sure where the developers will find tenants that will make up for the jobs lost when Macy's eliminated the Macy's Midwest division (850 jobs were cut then, and that figure goes well over 1,000 when May Company jobs before the initial round of cuts are taken into account). I trust that they will eventually find tenants, and I'm glad the sale is moving forward as planned, but I'm cautiously optimistic about the opportunity to find new tenants given current economic conditions regionally and nationally.



And while I suppose it might be just as difficult, or maybe even harder, to market residential space there in this economy, I was just under the assumption that the office space above Macy's wasn't the most attractive option for many businesses. I was a kindergartner when I was last on the upper floors of the Railway Exchange, and that was 30 years ago, but I remember the offices had very low ceilings, and on the highest levels, the floorplates are significantly smaller if I recall correctly. That's no deal breaker, especially if the renovation of the space turns out well and the price is right, but I just assumed it might make a better space for residential based on my foggy memory of the upper levels of the building.



Finally, downtown could use more residential east of the Old Post Office. For now, besides The Marquette and whatever the Mansion House complex is now called, there's a void between the OPO and Memorial Drive, Market Street and Washington Avenue. When The Alexa, The Laurel, (and hopefully, the Arcade) are renovated, that should bring at least 1,000 new residents into the area which will help fill the void.



That said, if the Railway Exchange can be successfully converted into an attractive commercial property again, that will still be quite good for Macy's and for downtown.

[DeBaliviere]

^

You're right - I remember interviewing with May right out of college and thinking the same thing about the low ceilings. I wonder if that's just the way the building is, or if it had more to do with the way May finished their office space. Maybe a good design firm could reconfigure things and make the space feel more open.

[bikin'_man]

do you remember if it had the ceiling tiles or drywall on the ceiling? that's the cheap way of getting an old building modernized. i bet you that it has something in the range of a 10' floor to floor height.

[DeBaliviere]

do you remember if it had the ceiling tiles or drywall on the ceiling? that's the cheap way of getting an old building modernized. i bet you that it has something in the range of a 10' floor to floor height.

It had tiles like you would see in someone's basement. Or directly above my head here in my office.

[bikin'_man]

they can raise that ceiling then.

[matguy70]

MACY'S FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, ARRIVAL OF SANTA CLAUS AND HOLIDAY WINDOWS UNVEILED FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20



11/20/2009



Festival of Lights Celebration at Keiner Plaza and the arrival of Macy's Santa Claus 4:30 p.m.

Macy's Downtown St. Louis, 6:30pm to 9:00 p.m. Holiday Open House

Join Macy's for a special night of celebration. There's magic and excitement on all 7 floors. Enjoy Radio Disney, a performance from the Nutcracker performed by the St. Louis Ballet, Frilly and Miller, Santa Claus on the 3rd floor and much more!



12/05/2009 - 12/19/2009

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA AT MACY'S

Breakfast with Santa at Macy's Downtown St. Louis

6th Floor

December 5, 12 and 19 - 9am

December 6 and 13- 10am



Santa Claus is coming to town! Join us at Macy's Downtown St. Louis for a memorable visit with Santa as you and your family enjoy a taste breakfast with the jolly guy. Also delight in a performance and sing-along with Frilly and Miller. Remember to bring your camera for photos with Santa. Tickets are $10 per person, plus tax. Free holiday parking is available with validation for Macy's guests. Seating is limited. Please call 1.800.206.1995 and reserve your space at the table.



This event always sells out fast - so don't wait!

[matguy70]

The place was more packed than last year... an incredible crowd downtown tonight. The windows are new this year - mostly clothing and merchandise holiday designs - almost every window is now decorated which is nice and the west side windows are animated - but not the same as years before - bigger animations.

The store looks more fabulous than ever... the Holiday Lane and Santa area are on 3 and completely together which is much better - the ground floor looks awesome and they have added a John Pils gallery and shop on the first floor too. The restaurants were even open til 9 tonight as well. Like I said, the place was packed. The line for santa tonight was nearly an hour long at times.

[audioguy09]

The place was more packed than last year... an incredible crowd downtown tonight. The windows are new this year - mostly clothing and merchandise holiday designs - almost every window is now decorated which is nice and the west side windows are animated - but not the same as years before - bigger animations.

The store looks more fabulous than ever... the Holiday Lane and Santa area are on 3 and completely together which is much better - the ground floor looks awesome and they have added a John Pils gallery and shop on the first floor too. The restaurants were even open til 9 tonight as well. Like I said, the place was packed. The line for santa tonight was nearly an hour long at times.

That's exciting, but my problem is, where are all these people during the rest of the year? Not shopping at downtown Macy's. Not eating at downtown restaurants. Not living downtown. Not supporting downtown businesses during the rest of the year.