addxb2 wrote: While I love the investment downtown, North Tucker isn't nearly as MetroLink accessible. Wish it could be ATT or RX.
I agree as well. Any more central and transit adjacent location would be welcome over the P-D building. For that matter I'd love to see Square continue its role as a major anchor to Cortex over it moving to the P-D.bwcrow1s wrote:Wholeheartedly agree.^
Ask and you shall receive. Read this in the paper this morning, not really anything concrete, but a small update nonetheless.dredger wrote: The news is not related to Square of course but curious if anyone would have any updates? pending move downtown, or is not going to happen? Been quiet
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/met ... op-story-2For Dorsey, who is funding the majority of the effort, he said simply he hopes to inspire others to help in his hometown. “I’ve always looked for ways to give back to the city that gave so much to me,” he said. “We’ve been able to do that a little bit with Square.”
The San Francisco-based mobile payments company currently has offices in the Central West End Cortex tech district. Over 500 people work there now, Dorsey said, and the company is looking to expand here. Asked about comments late last year that he was interested in adding Square jobs downtown, he said only that “we’re looking to build in St. Louis.” Jim McKelvey, Dorsey’s co-founder at Square who now serves as a board member and is also a native St. Louisan, last year acquired the St. Louis Post-Dispatch headquarters building at 900 North Tucker Boulevard and is renovating it for new tenants.
Ballpark Village tower would be epic.newstl2020 wrote: Here's to hoping "We're looking to build in St. Louis" means actually building a new office tower somewhere downtown. There's been rumblings of them shopping construction loans.
Wexford next building perhaps? Wexford came up with something a little more than expected and Square taking up some of its space would certainly kick start things, including another phased garage expansion behind it. Pure speculation on my part but it does make sense for Square to stay put in CORTEX and starting to wonder if they are truly going to go downtown.Tim wrote: PD building for sure. Or, maybe one of the large new office buildings being built in Cortex (if they wait a little longer).
ST. LOUIS — Square Inc. has signed a 15-year lease for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s headquarters building downtown in a deal that will allow the Silicon Valley firm co-founded by St. Louis natives Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey to more than double its workforce here.
“St. Louis has been an amazing home and partner to us,” Dorsey said in a statement. “This city has so much energy, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”
I'm not quite sure what you mean? Meaning that Square should move into the RRX building? I don't think Square was ever actually tied to that building outside of that rendering from the developer that put their name on it as a potential concept. They may have been courting Square but once McKelvey bought the old PD building, I think that pretty much sealed where they were going.chaifetz10 wrote: Would it make the most sense for RRX and Square to basically switch spaces? If Square is going to eventually move all their employees out of Cortex, then that's a ton of space that can absorb new tenants.
I imagine this announcement along with Build a Bear coming downtown will only help RX and other developers secure the much needed finance to get off their projects off ground, or in this case start work on what is already built.bwcrow1s wrote: Great news! Hopefully that means we might see some infill around there sometime soon? Oh well, I won't complain either way. Do wonder what happens with RRX though.
I kind of figured there was a T-Rex angle in there somewhere, but wasn't sure haha. Either way, I would agree, and whether or not it's T-Rex or someone else, I think that Cortex space has a good chance at filling up pretty quickly once Square eventually vacates.chaifetz10 wrote: Eh, I just worded my reply really badly. All I meant to ask is if it meant sense to see some of the tech incubators like T-Rex maybe take advantage of the eventual open space in Cortex that Square will leaving will open up.
Could be big...maybe Dorsey will announce a Twitter office for the area in the future...Square will move its local employees into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch building in what could be the start of a new "innovation district" for the city of St. Louis. On Monday, the San Francisco-based payment processing firm (NYSE: SQ) announced it signed a 15-year lease to move all 500 employees from the Cortex tech district in Midtown to the Post-Dispatch building at 900 N. Tucker Blvd. in downtown St. Louis. The Business Journal first reported on Square's interest in the building in November, after co-founder Jim McKelvey's investment firm, StarLake Holdings, acquired the property for $3.5 million.
The Post-Dispatch, meanwhile, will move to its new home at 901 N. 10th St., also owned by StarLake, on Aug. 1. “St. Louis has been an amazing home and partner to us. This city has so much energy, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it," Square co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement. Both McKelvey and Dorsey, who is also the CEO and co-founder of Twitter, are St. Louis natives.
Square's move to downtown could be the first in an effort to create more growth for the area north of Washington Avenue. In April, StarLake co-founder and Managing Partner John Berglund signed articles of incorporation for NOW Innovation District Inc., which would "bring jobs and job growth to an area North of Washington Avenue," according to a filing with the state. The articles of incorporation list StarLake's Clayton office as its address. McKelvey and Berglund did not immediately respond to emails seeking more information about the district.
Sources in the economic development community confirmed there are discussions to create a plan for north of Washington Avenue that involve StarLake, city officials and other area stakeholders. Details like the district's boundaries, what anchors would be included and the name of the district are still being determined. A lack of parking in the area could complicate further development, though all parties are optimistic about the potential a new innovation district could bring to the area, the sources said.
Such a project wouldn't be out of character for McKelvey, who has been lauded for his entrepreneurial and philanthropic efforts in St. Louis. Berglund, in a previous interview with the Business Journal, touched on McKelvey's modus operandi of developing areas block by block. "If you look at the commitments that Jim has made to St. Louis – that stretch of Delmar with Third Degree Glass Factory and MADE and even LaunchCode — they have been in areas where people have overlooked opportunities, " Berglund said. Square, of which McKelvey remains a board member, will lease nearly the entire Post-Dispatch building and could house as many as 1,400 employees. An exact date of when the employees will move has not been determined, a Square official said. CannonDesign, one of the largest architecture firms in St. Louis, will design Square's space at the Post-Dispatch building. Nicole Andreu, design leader of commercial interiors for CannonDesign's New York City office, will head that project, the firm said in a release.
“St. Louis is full of talent and economic opportunity, so it should come as no surprise that we’re continuing to grow in our hometown," McKelvey said in a statement.
