FYI - the Solae courtyard opens to the north - to the Cortex I parking lot. I'd hoped it would open to the street.
The new Solae building is coming along nicely. Despite the courtyard facing north, the building has a decent street presence. The link:
http://www.claycorp.com/web_cams/getcam.php?t=cam_solae
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http://www.claycorp.com/web_cams/getcam.php?t=cam_solae
Every time I pass it on Metrolink they've got a ton of people working on the building and parking garage. They're really hauling a**.
The glass is all in now. This is really a cool building. It fills the block quite nicely, too.
Pics anyone?
Pics anyone?
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CORTEX seeks $15 million in tax credits toward $200 million expansion goal
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory3.html
CORTEX is setting the stage for its next major wave of development -- adding a million square feet totaling $200 million -- to the Midtown life sciences corridor over the next five years. To help it get there, CORTEX requested $15 million in tax credits from the Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) that it will pair with private funding sources.
CORTEX's backers made a preliminary presentation Feb. 19 on its request for the tax credits before the MDFB. Those making the case for continued funding for CORTEX included St. Louis Development Corp. Executive Director Rodney Crim, CORTEX Chief Executive John Dubinsky, Center for Emerging Technologies President Marcia Mellitz, and Dr. William Danforth, chancellor emeritus of Washington University and co-founder of the nonprofit Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences.
"The long-term plan is to continue building new biotech buildings," Dubinsky said. CORTEX's goal is to spur $1 billion in new construction within the redevelopment area, creating thousands of new jobs over the next two decades, he said.
In its request for the tax credits, CORTEX said it is having discussions with major users from throughout the country to locate in the biotech corridor, in addition to multiple small, biotech companies. The companies with which CORTEX is in discussions, according to the application, include a major Fortune 500 biotech firm looking to build a 300,000-square-foot facility at a cost of more than $200 million; a 30,000-square-foot medical research facility for the U.S. government; a Fortune 500 company looking to build a 30,000- to 50,000-square-foot research facility and a 100,000-square-foot production facility; and a national disease research organization looking to relocate its office from New York City.
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory3.html
I see the Business Journal still hasn't figured out where Midtown is.
I think "Midtown" is based on the definition in the Midtown Strategic Development Plan, which is a fairly broad definition: Delmar Blvd. and Enright Ave. on the north, Interstate 64/40 on the south, Kingshighway Blvd. on the west and Grand Blvd./Compton Ave. on the east.
And lots of people who live in Richmond Heights sell their homes as "Clayton" or "Ladue" because of the school district. But "Midtown" (capital M) is a defined neighborhood bounded by Lindell/Olive and Delmar on the north, Jefferson on the east, Chouteau on the south and Vandeventer on the east, as shown on this map. The vast majority of Cortex is in the Central West End.
Does the $15 million tax credit cover the cost for CORTEX to buy out Brauer Supply? Just a thought since a million square feet would require some area. My understanding was that Brauer was going to hold its ground against CORTEX. But, every good business has a price.
bonwich wrote:And lots of people who live in Richmond Heights sell their homes as "Clayton" or "Ladue" because of the school district. But "Midtown" (capital M) is a defined neighborhood bounded by Lindell/Olive and Delmar on the north, Jefferson on the east, Chouteau on the south and Vandeventer on the east, as shown on this map. The vast majority of Cortex is in the Central West End.
I hear you. The lines on the map are the lines on the map.
But when the stakeholders from the Central West End, Midtown and Grand Center got together to produce a joint development plan, they needed a name for their combined area. And they chose "Midtown". It's meant to be a general term similar to Downtown, or the South Side. Developing Cortex was a key part of the plan, so it only seems fair to credit the new development to "Midtown" rather than to one of the component neighborhoods, the Central West End. I'm sure the real Midtown (or as I like to call it, "SLU") doesn't care.
But it's a different issue.
When the independent, private group got together, it chose its own name, as you say, out of consensus and to show some sort of umbrella location.
If the BJ (or the P-D or any other media outlet) says WUMC, or even better, the Scottish Arms, is in the CWE (and it has), it can't turn around and say that Cortex is in Midtown. It's just sloppy.
When the independent, private group got together, it chose its own name, as you say, out of consensus and to show some sort of umbrella location.
If the BJ (or the P-D or any other media outlet) says WUMC, or even better, the Scottish Arms, is in the CWE (and it has), it can't turn around and say that Cortex is in Midtown. It's just sloppy.
JCity wrote:I'm all about historic preservation, but in this case, the new building is far more impressive to the three story warehouses that used to stand there. If this whole area becomes this modern, high-tec, research corridor, i'm all for it.
At the time, I helped lead the development from the Solae side. I spent the better part of a day with Clayco and the architect and engineer (both of whom had already studied the issue) trying to determine whether there was anyway to rehab the existing structure rather than demolish it. Without getting into the technical details, it wasn't feasible or practical.
The Solae Company sign has come down at their old downtown location and they are power washing the sides of the building.
Any news on what is happening with the old location?
Any news on what is happening with the old location?
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CORTEX buys Midtown properties for $3.5 million
St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown
CORTEX officials made another sizable purchase in Midtown, buying a block of commercial properties at Clayton Avenue and Sarah Street for $3.5 million.
The properties include vacant land at the northeast corner of Sarah and Clayton and several small commercial buildings in the 4000 and 4100 blocks of Clayton. The purchase from Jean Wood, a trustee of the Barbara Jean Wood revocable trust, closed March 13. CORTEX now owns the entire block of Clayton Avenue from Boyle to Sarah.
John Dubinsky, CORTEX chief executive, said there are no immediate plans to develop the property. "We're just adding it to the CORTEX inventory," he said. Tenants in the buildings will lease their existing space from CORTEX.
"With the proximity to Highway 40, it's a terrific site for future development," Dubinsky said.
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory9.html
St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown
CORTEX officials made another sizable purchase in Midtown, buying a block of commercial properties at Clayton Avenue and Sarah Street for $3.5 million.
The properties include vacant land at the northeast corner of Sarah and Clayton and several small commercial buildings in the 4000 and 4100 blocks of Clayton. The purchase from Jean Wood, a trustee of the Barbara Jean Wood revocable trust, closed March 13. CORTEX now owns the entire block of Clayton Avenue from Boyle to Sarah.
John Dubinsky, CORTEX chief executive, said there are no immediate plans to develop the property. "We're just adding it to the CORTEX inventory," he said. Tenants in the buildings will lease their existing space from CORTEX.
"With the proximity to Highway 40, it's a terrific site for future development," Dubinsky said.
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory9.html
What's the word on a metro stop at Sarah? Does this acquisition make that any more of a possibility?
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Blzhrpmd2 wrote:What's the word on a metro stop at Sarah? Does this acquisition make that any more of a possibility?
Not for some time. This is what I think is a good model for that coming to be:
1. Current land acquisition for later development.
2. Commitment by a company or nonprofit facility for specific development.
3. Construction on the site.
4. Organization moves in.
5. Repeat on sites across multiple city blocks.
6. Create clustered business district based on master plans.
7. Establishment of critical mass population.
8. Preliminary studies on usability of and market needs for proposed Sarah Street stop.
9. Construction of Sarah Street stop, partially funded by CORTEX reserves.
I think it’s going to be a while before there’s critical mass in CORTEX to necessitate a stop, but I do think it will come in a few years. Such a stop could be a good benefit for luring companies into the area, but I’d say adjacent property acquisition must be the primary expenditures by the organization. I don't think Metro will have the money for anything like this for quite some time, especially after the Cross County Collaborative payouts due.
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Thought I'd revive a dead thread with some pictures of the Solae building...
Reading the St. Louis Businees Journal this morning I couldn't help realize how much stimulus money will be plowed into NIH among others. I think the 2010 budget proposal adds even more. I think most of the postings have delt with transportation threads.
Washington University researchers expend new funds from NIH budget
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory8.html
My thought at the moment, will this give a big boost to Cortex and maybe mid-town in general considering Wash U's investment.
Better yet, can we find a way to get SLU/UMLS involved in Center for Emerging Technologies or at least keep things to Midtown. Getting multiple entities centralized would much more beneficial to the region.
SLU: $800 million worth of ‘dogs in the NIH fight’
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... ory10.html
Washington University researchers expend new funds from NIH budget
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory8.html
My thought at the moment, will this give a big boost to Cortex and maybe mid-town in general considering Wash U's investment.
Better yet, can we find a way to get SLU/UMLS involved in Center for Emerging Technologies or at least keep things to Midtown. Getting multiple entities centralized would much more beneficial to the region.
SLU: $800 million worth of ‘dogs in the NIH fight’
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... ory10.html
We better use the stimulus money wisely because the way the feds are handing out the bailout money and how fast companies are losing money (i.e. AIG 61 billion, GM, Citibank, etc.) it is likely there won't be anymore money for the government to print.
I hope this is a desrible result for Brauer Supply as reported by biz journal. I definitely think it will be desireable for the city in the long run to accomondate an established business such as Brauer and keep the possiblities of CORTEX moving forward at the same time.
Brauer Supply pays $3.3 million for new headquarters building
Brauer Supply Co. has purchased Villa Lighting Supply’s former headquarters and warehouse in South St. Louis for $3.3 million.
Brauer Supply closed on the purchase of the 95,000-square-foot building at 1208 S. Vandeventer on Feb. 3. Brauer Supply plans to renovate the building and make it the company’s headquarters and main distribution center for its three local branches, said President Jim Truesdell. “We are beginning a renovation process with a projected occupancy later this year.”
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory6.html
Brauer Supply pays $3.3 million for new headquarters building
Brauer Supply Co. has purchased Villa Lighting Supply’s former headquarters and warehouse in South St. Louis for $3.3 million.
Brauer Supply closed on the purchase of the 95,000-square-foot building at 1208 S. Vandeventer on Feb. 3. Brauer Supply plans to renovate the building and make it the company’s headquarters and main distribution center for its three local branches, said President Jim Truesdell. “We are beginning a renovation process with a projected occupancy later this year.”
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory6.html
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Dredger wrote:I hope this is a desrible result for Brauer Supply as reported by biz journal. I definitely think it will be desireable for the city in the long run to accomondate an established business such as Brauer and keep the possiblities of CORTEX moving forward at the same time.
Brauer Supply pays $3.3 million for new headquarters building
Brauer Supply Co. has purchased Villa Lighting Supply’s former headquarters and warehouse in South St. Louis for $3.3 million.
Brauer Supply closed on the purchase of the 95,000-square-foot building at 1208 S. Vandeventer on Feb. 3. Brauer Supply plans to renovate the building and make it the company’s headquarters and main distribution center for its three local branches, said President Jim Truesdell. “We are beginning a renovation process with a projected occupancy later this year.”
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory6.html
For the location on Forest Park Parkway, right next door to CORTeX One, I'm very, very happy to see such a deal being possible. As this building is adjacent to the major CORTeX-fueled developments, it could be transformed into a wonderful site for a potential biotech relocation or speculative wet lab space, and possibly done as a rehab versus total new buildout. With Brauer being able to find a comparable site within proximity to this one, and surely acquiring the new site with the support of the CORTeX initiative, I think this could be a true win-win.
Plus, looks like there may be another Forest Park Parkway site out for sale to biotech spec. Also from the BizJournal:
Source: http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory5.htmlFriday, March 6, 2009
Wachovia brokers sale of four surplus buildings
St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown
Wachovia Securities is paring its real estate portfolio by selling four vacant office and warehouse buildings near its St. Louis campus for a combined $6 million.
The buildings total 90,000 square feet of space that the financial services firm is not using. Three of the buildings have already sold, and one remains on the market.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization, closed Feb. 23 on the $1.2 million purchase of a three-story, 36,000-square-foot building at 100 N. Jefferson Ave. The brick building is located one block north of Highway 40 and Market Street.
The nonprofit group plans to move its administrative offices to the Jefferson Avenue building from space it has outgrown in a building it owns at 4127 Forest Park Ave., where it operates a thrift store. The Society has that 30,000-square-foot building on the market for $1.5 million. (Note: emphasis added) Zip Rzeppa, executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, could not be reached for comment.
lrbrown@bizjournals.com
I'm happy for the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in its new facility, especially one in a vacant building Downtown. Plus, noting that I do choose the SVDP retail store for any used furniture dropoffs I have, I would sure like seeing them turn a nice profit on their soon-to-be-redundant location, moving their retail operations elsewhere, and capitalizing on market demand revenues for both their foundation & supporting their work should they make a sale of their property.
Meanwhile, their present location is only one block due west of the CET, on the same side of the street, with only a private parking lot separating them that I believe CET operates. After the Brauer Supply site, this is about as ideal a site for biotech and new technology development, wonderful for new construction, and ideal for CET expansionary efforts.
Real Estate Developers: Location is ideal, you'll get community support, and there are enough supportive entities in the district to entice a biotech firm wanting to locate there. Plus, you'd be buying your property from SVDP, so you won't feel that bad about paying them a good premium.
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Pfizer has made three significant announcements today:
1. The company is opening up its library of pharmaceutical compounds to Washington University School of Medicine researchers, specifically 500 pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical candidates that are currently or were formerly in clinical trials. The goal would be to find new uses for these formulations, as part of a practice called Indications Discovery. Pfizer has stated such sharing of information to be “unprecedented.”
2. In conjunction with this opening up of its books to Wash U’s researchers, Pfizer is donating $22.5 million towards the efforts.
3. Pfizer will move its Indications Discovery Unit to CORTeX from its former facilities in Chesterfield, which were sold last year back to its original owner, Monsanto. A specific location has not been announced. 400 Pfizer scientists will transfer from the Chesterfield facilities to the CORTeX district.
This comes after a major corporate realignment for cost-cutting measures with Pfizer, which is eliminating 19,000 positions totally through 2011, with 600 of an original 1,000 in Saint Louis being cut (Research & Development being one of the costliest divisions of the company).
This also comes two years after a $25 million investment by Pfizer towards Wash U for research into immuno-inflammatory disorders.
Link to story: http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... aily5.html
While Pfizer is shutting down and consolidating most of their operations, both nationally and internationally, they continue to be focused on their R&D operations in Saint Louis. Such cooperation with Wash U could lead to an increase in university scientists being able to take their work into the private sector, creating new businesses in the life sciences industry from such innovation and more rapidly growing the industry’s presence in the District.
1. The company is opening up its library of pharmaceutical compounds to Washington University School of Medicine researchers, specifically 500 pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical candidates that are currently or were formerly in clinical trials. The goal would be to find new uses for these formulations, as part of a practice called Indications Discovery. Pfizer has stated such sharing of information to be “unprecedented.”
2. In conjunction with this opening up of its books to Wash U’s researchers, Pfizer is donating $22.5 million towards the efforts.
3. Pfizer will move its Indications Discovery Unit to CORTeX from its former facilities in Chesterfield, which were sold last year back to its original owner, Monsanto. A specific location has not been announced. 400 Pfizer scientists will transfer from the Chesterfield facilities to the CORTeX district.
This comes after a major corporate realignment for cost-cutting measures with Pfizer, which is eliminating 19,000 positions totally through 2011, with 600 of an original 1,000 in Saint Louis being cut (Research & Development being one of the costliest divisions of the company).
This also comes two years after a $25 million investment by Pfizer towards Wash U for research into immuno-inflammatory disorders.
Link to story: http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... aily5.html
While Pfizer is shutting down and consolidating most of their operations, both nationally and internationally, they continue to be focused on their R&D operations in Saint Louis. Such cooperation with Wash U could lead to an increase in university scientists being able to take their work into the private sector, creating new businesses in the life sciences industry from such innovation and more rapidly growing the industry’s presence in the District.
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400 employees is a nice addition to CORTEX and their close collaboration with WU is good as well. I'm guessing that this means a new building.
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^^EDIT: I’m pretty sure I’m wrong on the number of new employees in the CORTeX district. StLToday.com is reporting the number may only be 30 initial scientists actually making the move, with the remainder staying in the Chesterfield campus for now.
Link to story: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
While Pfizer will continue to base around 400 scientists in Saint Louis, I cannot confirm that all of them will be heading into CORTeX in the immediate near future. What can be stated is that the entire Indications Discovery division will be relocating, which even if not being 400 scientists new to the City is still very exciting stuff.
Any external confirmation for numbers of scientists moving, or potential location within the District, is appreciated.
Link to story: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument
While Pfizer will continue to base around 400 scientists in Saint Louis, I cannot confirm that all of them will be heading into CORTeX in the immediate near future. What can be stated is that the entire Indications Discovery division will be relocating, which even if not being 400 scientists new to the City is still very exciting stuff.
Any external confirmation for numbers of scientists moving, or potential location within the District, is appreciated.