urbanSTL

Nice letter.



Hopefully they will still consider downtown.

$10 per square foot + free parking is a pretty unbelievable deal, not to mention all the other incentives they're throwing in.



Hopefully, Express Scripts will make the right decision and decide to move. It sounds like a win-win for everyone involved.

I was amazed at $10 a square foot. I'd like to get that deal.

par wrote:I just found out Sat. that UMSL is trying to get Express Scripts to relocate to the old hospital on Natural Bridge.

Express Scripts plans to make a decision by Sept. 21, a spokesman said Wednesday. University of Missouri at St. Louis is still the front runner and now with the new state tax breaks that have taken effect, Express Scripts could get up to $3 million by keeping jobs in state.



Here is the story in the Post-Dispatch:



<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... E3C91">New tax breaks could lure Express Scripts HQ to UMSL campus</A>

By Eric Heisler

Of the Post-Dispatch

08/31/2005



A final decision on the site of Express Scripts Inc.'s new headquarters may come soon, now that a new set of state tax breaks has taken effect.



<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 6F000E3C91">>>> read more</A>

Interesting to see that there is no mention of the Cupples Station site/ offer. I thought that would have worked out much better than the dillards location.

I have mixed feelings on this one. UMSL and the surrounding area could use a shot in the arm, but I would also really like to see ES downtown. If ES chooses UMSL I hope all those involved take a serious look at building 'Green' and not just another office park. IMO this region has way too few LEED certified buildings and this could be a great fit. A 21st century company about to reposition itself, a Univ. looking to attract attention and therefore students, and Normandy which needs the taxes, spin-offs, lunch traffic etc.



Just to recap the site:

>large chunk of land (doubt old hospital will be reused)

>directly adjacent to MetroLink stop

>less than 2 miles to both hwy 170 and 70

>4 or 5 stable neighborhoods nearby



I wish there was someone in charge who could say 'this is a good opportunity, let's not pass it up'. This could be a real multi-use TOD unlike any in the region. An actual opportunity for urban infill.

Tax breaks will keep Express Scripts here

By Eric Heisler

Of the Post-Dispatch

09/07/2005



Gov. Matt Blunt is expected to announce today that Express Scripts Inc. will stay in Missouri and move its headquarters to a fledgling business park at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.



The news will end a high-stakes bidding war for the region's second-largest public company, as measured on the Fortune 500. And it means that more than 1,200 jobs will remain in St. Louis County.



Blunt has scheduled a news conference this afternoon to unveil a multimillion-dollar package of tax breaks designed to prevent the company from leaving the state, sources familiar with the deal said.



To keep the prized employer, St. Louis County beat out sites in the Metro East area and downtown St. Louis, among other areas.



As they have done for several weeks, most officials involved with the deal declined comment Wednesday.



"The only thing I can tell you is that the governor may be doing something at UMSL tomorrow," said Steve Littlejohn, a spokesman for Express Scripts.



Asked if the company had finalized its decision, Littlejohn said: "I really can't tell you anything more. You can ask the governor or UMSL, but right now there's nothing more I can say."



Express Scripts is one of the largest pharmacy benefits management companies in the nation. The company, now in Maryland Heights, is seeking a new home to accommodate its rapid growth.



Early on, Express Scripts was courted with offers of tens of millions of dollars in incentives by other states, including Nebraska and South Carolina, Missouri officials say.



During that time, the company became a symbol for the Missouri Quality Jobs Act. The law, which includes tax breaks to keep companies in Missouri, took effect last week.



"Quite frankly, our companies are frequently targeted by other states," John Temporiti, chief of governmental affairs for St. Louis County, said last week during an interview on the Quality Jobs Act. "It's not just about Express Scripts."



For months, Express Scripts has said it would announce a decision on the new headquarters by Sept. 21.



Landing Express Scripts will be a major victory for UMSL. The new headquarters is expected to rise in a planned business park just west of UMSL's North County campus, southeast of Lambert Field.



Express Scripts narrowed its search to the bi-state area earlier this year. Since then, local competition has heated up. Other sites considered included an empty Dillard's building downtown, a government-planned business park near Lambert Field and a site near Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.



Blunt tentatively scheduled an announcement on Express Scripts Aug. 29, but later called off the event for reasons that weren't completely clear, sources said.



Blunt's office did not return a call Wednesday.

EXPRESS SCRIPTS INC. & UMSL PARTNERSHIP



In March 2007, Express Scripts Inc. (ESI) will open its new corporate headquarters on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, making ESI the highest ranking Fortune 500 Company to have a corporate headquarters on a university campus.



This collaboration between the city?s second largest company, with 3,000 employees here, and the region?s largest university will promote opportunities such as health-economics research and information technology, which are key strengths for both organizations. Each organization also realizes the need for promoting growth and synergy within their structure, which makes this joint venture even more advantageous.



?We need a talent pool to continuously draw from,? George Paz, president and CEO, says. ?Being centrally located next to the university will allow us to be able to tap into the market of young, aggressive individuals who, quite frankly, have just graduated from school and have a whole career ahead of them.?



With an enrollment of 15,800, UMSL will provide that talent pool. More than 75 percent of UMSL?s graduates live and work in the region?supporting the unofficial campus tagline, ?We Educate St. Louis.?



Paz says, ?The move to UMSL will facilitate an unprecedented opportunity for employee education and growth. It will enhance our position as an employer of choice for a diverse and best-in-class workforce.?



?Express Scripts is the type of company we had in mind when we began developing UMSL?s business, technology and research park,? says UMSL Chancellor Thomas F. George. ?It?s a growing company whose needs meld with UMSL?s academic strengths and diverse connections to the region.?



The UMSL-Express Scripts collaboration expands opportunities to share complementary information technology and research expertise, increase professional development and recruitment opportunities, and aligns two key institutions for the benefit of the greater St. Louis region.



Source

^True. It doesn't look very exciting. Especially since it has that suburban office park look and layout. I have never understood this style of building. And I wonder how it will be served by transit. It seems like they would be interested in taking advantage of the nearby Metrolink line.



I am glad for the jobs. Really glad. The synergy between the university and company is a good thing.

Arch City wrote:It could have been a little bolder, in my opinion.

It could have been DOWNTOWN, in my opinion.

IMO these types of structure take up a lot of real estate that could be much more wisely utilized. Surface lot parking is not attractive anywhere and all that "green space" is nothing but a boring cliche. This is my big beef with suburban developements like this anywhere, not just the St. Louis area.

A study either in 2005 or 2004 was published by the Brookings Institution on job sprawl for African Americans.

http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/wip/wip58.htm



I am glad that Express Scripts has located near college students and the African American and racially mixed zone (Asians, Muslims, Middle Easterners, Indians, and whites/European Americans) of St. Louis County.

Closer proximity=greater opportunities

ES is now looking to expand and build another building. Damn, why didn't they want to move DT into a new shiny tower?

earnings tax?

:Violin :



Good news regarding expansion - MAYBE they could expand to the west, cover a surface lot and build a pedestrian bridge to the North Hanley metro stop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used to work for Express Scripts when the plan to build the new HQ was first released. I knew it would never end up downtown. They were saying it wanted the HQ to be close to Lambert and mass transit. However, I knew what it was really about. They also didn't want to move to far from West County and St. Chuck. I knew most of the people that worked there lived in those two areas. I myself at the time lived in Maplewood, but I knew my building wouldn't be moving. At the time when HQ was still in Riverport there was about 7 buildings ESI was in. I still wish I was with the company but with the layoffs at the time due to Medicare Part D scared the crap out of me. I jumped ship even though I was told I was safe. I just hope all the best for my friends still with the company. Also I am tried of the burb office buildings but at least the jobs stay in the STL Metro Area.

Express Scripts vacated one of their newer buildings completely.



https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... dz09In0%3D