Arcade-Wright Building - 800 Olive Street

ImprovSTL · PostAug 21, 2012#4012012-08-21T12:05+00:00

What a huge boon that would be for Downtown. Now if a big company would just announce a move down there and it would wash a bit of this violence taste out of my mouth.

I did a tour of the Metropolitan to see if I wanted to move there. It was really well done and the ameneties were impressive given the low price point. I imagine there will be even more high end touches since the top 4 floors will be market rate. Very excited to see this get off the ground, as I think the location is killer. Metrolink at your doorsteps!

south compton · PostAug 21, 2012#4022012-08-21T14:21+00:00

rawest1 wrote:I'm unfamiliar with processes involved in development like this.

What are the chances of this actually happening? What needs to happen?

The Business Journal lists several contingencies: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... l?page=all

The one that strikes me as odd is the requirement for a 30 year lease from a credit tenant(s) for the entire 73,000 commercial space. Is 30 years normal for this type of project? I would assume standard 5 or 10 year leases would be what the market would want. Maybe the reporter misunderstood something?

Anyway, my two cents on the prospects for this project is that (1) Dominion is a serious developer (good sign) and (2) they need to locate serious commercial tenants (not easy) and hope that the residential market remains stable before this project can get financing and move forward. Two years to close on financing seems too ambitious to me, but (1) I have no idea how much work on the financing has already been done (for example, do they already have NMTC allocations lined up?) and (2) maybe they'll catch lightening in a bottle and sign a good prospective tenant quickly.

moorlander · PostAug 21, 2012#4032012-08-21T15:02+00:00

Man they sure are very bullish on "artist" lofts. I guess the Leather Trades and Metropolitian Building are high occupancy? Who knew we had so many artists in this city?

It's a shame the St. Louis Art institute opened in St. Charles. It would be a perfect fit downtown or midtown.

gone corporate · PostAug 21, 2012#4042012-08-21T16:40+00:00

moorlander wrote:Man they sure are very bullish on "artist" lofts. I guess the Leather Trades and Metropolitian Building are high occupancy? Who knew we had so many artists in this city?

It's a shame the St. Louis Art institute opened in St. Charles. It would be a perfect fit downtown or midtown.

Agreed, my first thought upon reading 185 artists' live/work lofts was, "Don't we have two of those already?" That said, I think this is an exceptional targeting of the demographic and could produce some real (I hate this word) synergies between the artists at all 3 buildings.

While not wholly organic, this will create a symbiotic community of artists with foundations stretching from the heart of the Central Business District, to Downtown West, to the center of Midtown. Along this East-West corridor, we can expect multiple artistic venues to open up, from more art galleries and exhibition spaces to more performance venues and maybe even a future theater or two. I see a real benefit coming to Automobile Row / the Locust Business District.

Meanwhile, if you could turn the Arcade's arcade into a series of shops specifically for the 3 buildings' residents' photography, paintings, and sculpturework, it would be an incredible draw for people seeking quality art for their homes to visit Downtown. Not just STL residents - I see such a venue as a draw for conventioneers, possibly attracting art-based conventions to town, and even more so being another prime attraction to meeting planners when considering sites for their events. Combine this with the MX retail sites, and the National Blues Museum, and the draw of Downtown to visitors may spike.

dredger · PostAug 21, 2012#4052012-08-21T17:28+00:00

You have to give the city some credit on this one. Waiting on/patience for a developer who has followed through on a number projects is big instead of committing to the first thing someone proposes (give the building for a buck plan). More importantly, A developer with track record of financing. Yes, they will secure all the tax credits they can get there hands on but it will take some private financing to make it happen. A big stumbling block to JA's initial Teach for America plan was an utter reliance on all tax credits/public financing package to make it happen

It will be interesting to see by the end of year where most of the multi resident units will be under construction in the region. It looks another big push could happen in the city in the near future. The city has some legit projects that could break ground by end year, from Highlands to City Walk on Euclid to now Arcade. Maybe Averna phase II sooner than later in FPSE (if I got the name correct)

Alex Ihnen · PostAug 21, 2012#4062012-08-21T17:52+00:00

^ Aventura in FPSE - phase II is already in the works. So...

FPSE = 202 units
Highlands = 276 units
City Walk = 157 units
= 635?

debaliviere · PostAug 21, 2012#4072012-08-21T18:03+00:00

gone corporate wrote:That said, I think this is an exceptional targeting of the demographic and could produce some real (I hate this word) synergies between the artists at all 3 buildings.

And don't forget that there are two other artist loft buildings, both on Washington: Wash U.'s University Lofts and the Art Lofts building, which has been around for years.

downtown2007 · PostAug 21, 2012#4082012-08-21T18:49+00:00

And the Lifts at the City Museum. I think it will be a lot for the artist community to absorb but lets keep in Mind downtown was almost solely occupied by artists in the 90's and early 2000's. They helped start the upswing and helped create the City Museum. It would be nice to have them back.

newstl2020 · PostAug 21, 2012#4092012-08-21T19:02+00:00

Dominium has developed two projects extremely similar to this proposal recently here in St. Louis. In both prior projects, they received applicants to rent their available inventory of apartments. I think we can safely assume that they are determining the viability of this proposal not only through market analysis, but have potentially seen first hand how much demand there is for this type of housing.

If they had not gotten enough interest in the Leather Trades and Metropolitan building, I think it would be safe to say they would not be looking at the Arcade right now. It seems as though we should be fairly confident in their ability to accurately determine the market for these units.

Alex Ihnen · PostAug 21, 2012#4102012-08-21T21:19+00:00

And I don't think we should get too caught up in the "artists lofts" label - that can mean many different things. Perhaps the Dominium projects will be similar, but they may all have different requirements, different aesthetics, etc. We're a region of 2.8M people - perhaps we're selling ourselves short when we think the "arts" population is rather small.

goat314 · PostAug 21, 2012#4112012-08-21T23:51+00:00

Alex Ihnen wrote:And I don't think we should get too caught up in the "artists lofts" label - that can mean many different things. Perhaps the Dominium projects will be similar, but they may all have different requirements, different aesthetics, etc. We're a region of 2.8M people - perhaps we're selling ourselves short when we think the "arts" population is rather small.

These are my exact thoughts on a lot of things in St. Louis. People always say "St. Louis is so small", "St. Louis aint no Chicago or New York", "St. Louis is too slow for that". Yet they conveniently forget that St. Louis is the center of a metropolis of nearly 3 million people. There is a pent up demand for a lot of things that currently either exist in a small capacity, no longer exist in St. Louis, or haven't become available yet in St. Louis market. Sometimes I seriously ask myself why St. Louis is so hung up on this small town mentality thing. You never hear Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore, Tampa etc. or any other similar sized city refer to themselves as small time towns, little big cities or any other stupid expressions. Downtown could probably support a lot more residential and even more retail, but nobody is really bullish on St. Louis.

jlh · PostAug 21, 2012#4122012-08-21T23:54+00:00

I'm also sceptical about these "artist" lofts. I wish the developers could get this done without the low income housing tax credits. Is there really enough demand to fill 185 units with low income artists. There are already a few properties nearby that offer these section 42 affordable units and they all had vacancies last time I checked. The Syndicate has these "artist" lofts with common studio space/galleries, but rent them out to anyone who qualifies. I imagine they will have to accept anyone who meets this criteria not just artists to fill that many units. I'm not sure the demand is there considering the restrictions for section 42; max income approx 28k and ft students not allowed.

newstl2020 · PostAug 22, 2012#4132012-08-22T02:05+00:00

^They have vacancies? This developer's other property (Leather Trades) is 100% full. Metropolitan building coming online soon and according to their website out of 72 units in the building they currently list only 4 available for rent as of September move in date (When the building opens for occupancy). This is via the website for the building. Not sure if they have everything up online, but they have plenty of floor plans listed as "sold out" and it seems as though they would want to list them as available if they were since they already have an operational website.

zink · PostAug 22, 2012#4142012-08-22T03:20+00:00

Article states that at a minimum it will be 3.5 year till completion. 2 years to get the money. 1.5 for construction.

jlh · PostAug 22, 2012#4152012-08-22T03:37+00:00

I wasn't referring to LT, but other section 42 properties near the arcade like Merachdise mart, Paul Brown, Cupples, etc. You do make a good point about the developers positive track record. It has been a few months so things could have changed, but when I was looking below market apts had more vacancies than the market rate ones. For example Paul Brown's market rate apts only had a few vacancies, the below market had at least 20 available. Don't get me wrong any development downtown is a good thing, I just think we have plenty of section42 and that more market rate apartments would be better for downtown.

newstl2020 · PostAug 22, 2012#4162012-08-22T03:50+00:00

^Could be true for the other buildings. Keep in mind this does have ~70 market rates apartments included in their proposal (AKA almost an entire Metropolitan Building's worth).

Not saying they deserve less or that rehabs are in ANY way a low quality product, but do you think rehabs are probably better suited for artist lofts or low income? Finish the rest of the rehabs and get potential supply off the market. Then build new construction market rate apartments. It would seem to me that people with disposable income would prefer the "nicer" aspects of ground up construction, meaning a building completely constructed for current lifestyles. Just a thought. We might end up with more development in the long run doing it this way. Build up demand while the last renovations come online.

Not than any individual developer would think that way. Just my opinion on why this could potentially end up being a big net positive for the city.

downtown2007 · PostAug 26, 2012#4172012-08-26T19:24+00:00

Would be happier if here were more market rate apts and less artists lofts. The Park Pacificspilled up 6 months quicker than planned. I think the market can absorb the increase in market rate apts.

wabash · PostAug 27, 2012#4182012-08-27T03:36+00:00

If Park Pacific is full and SLU Law students haven't even started moving DT, then this project should be a slam dunk, especially considering it's on top of a Metrolink Station and neighbors with Culinaria.

I too would like to see more market rate apartments. Hopefully the Roberts Tower is turned into 100% market rate (perhaps with more weighting to 2 & 3 bedrooms) to add some higher end rental options to OPO Square.

What could work in the Arcade Portion?
My suggestions:
-A Walgreens/CVS
-New DT Lunch/Dining Options: Chipotle, Chick-Fil-A, Steak n' Shake, Five Guys
-Bissingers Chocolates
-Kaldi's Coffee
-Brooks Brothers or Jos. A. Bank for the local/travel business crowd
-BMO Harris Bank (formerly M&I Bank, formerly Southwest Bank), the biggest in the metro without a DT location
-A Rams/NFL Shop (an OPO Square location would get so much more business/attention than whatever they have in the dome)
- A Worlds Fair Donuts and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (one can always dream)

debaliviere · PostAug 27, 2012#4192012-08-27T13:41+00:00

wabash wrote:-BMO Harris Bank (formerly M&I Bank, formerly Southwest Bank), the biggest in the metro without a DT location

Isn't there one at 100 S. Fourth Street?

stlien · PostAug 27, 2012#4202012-08-27T16:03+00:00

debaliviere wrote:
wabash wrote:-BMO Harris Bank (formerly M&I Bank, formerly Southwest Bank), the biggest in the metro without a DT location
Isn't there one at 100 S. Fourth Street?

Yes there is.

PostAug 27, 2012#4212012-08-27T16:06+00:00

wabash wrote: I too would like to see more market rate apartments. Hopefully the Roberts Tower is turned into 100% market rate (perhaps with more weighting to 2 & 3 bedrooms) to add some higher end rental options to OPO Square.

Is there a price per sq ft # that you guys think is 'market rate'? I have an idea on whats going on price wise with the Roberts tower.

For reference: Park Pacific was around $1.50 per sq ft (rental rate) and the Laurel was around $1.30-$1.40.

Alex Ihnen · PostAug 27, 2012#4222012-08-27T18:27+00:00

Market rate for new apartments in FPSE is ~$120/sq ft.

wabash · PostAug 28, 2012#4232012-08-28T16:53+00:00

I stand corrected. On closer scrutiny it looks like the biggest bank in St. Louis (by assets) without a downtown location is Enterprise Bank & Trust.

gone corporate · PostAug 28, 2012#4242012-08-28T23:29+00:00

LCRA Approves Dominium's Arcade Redevelopment Plan
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... l?page=all

stlcolleen · PostOct 02, 2012#4252012-10-02T20:14+00:00

The owner of the Arcade submitted an application for 4% ("non-competitive") low-income housing tax credits. According to the list of applications to MHDC for the FY '13 funding round (http://www.mhdc.com/nofa/FY2013_Applica ... P_Apps.pdf), they plan on having 118 1-bedroom units at rents from $594-$675 and 67 2-bedroom units at rents from $715-$822. MHDC is expected to make their funding decisions on 12/21/12.

Arcade-Wright Building - 800 Olive Street

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