In the Business Journal article on Express Scripts' search for a new headquarters, the Dillard's Building is briefly mentioned as an option:

Gundaker Commercial Group President Mike Hejna would neither confirm nor deny receiving the request for proposals, but said the firm "absolutely" would be interested in Express Scripts as a tenant if asked to submit a proposal. Gundaker would amend plans for a mix of residential and hotel space at the 558,000-square-foot former Dillard's building downtown for a large corporate user like Express Scripts, Hejna said.

I have to hope that there are better options out there than the Dillard's Building. Shouldn't the city be stepping up with options at Ballpark Village, The Highlands, Cupples Station, etc.??? Just think of the incredible impact that Express Scripts would have on downtown.

That would be huge if Express Scripts decided to move downtown. I would figure they would ne a fairly good sized office. They would be a good reason to build some new office space downtown for the first time in a while. You would think the city would offer a similiar deal to what Bryan Cave was offered.

According to the article, they're looking for 200,000 sf initially to 600,000 in a few years.

The city should definately line up some developers willing to build a new office building and propose that to Express Scripts. Unfortunately from the article, it sounds like they want to stay close to Riverport, and will need X amount of acreage for their "office park". My guess is the executives at Express scripts want to stay in the burbs near there St. Charles homes.

My guess is the executives at Express scripts want to stay in the burbs near there St. Charles homes

I'd bet that this is the main issue. Even if only a minority of the workers live in Chuckyville I bet they will throw a fit if downtown is a strong candiditate. Just think if lil ole Chucky had decent mass transit then getting downtown for the residents would be a cinch and the decision to move downtown wouldn't be that big of a deal. Well I guess hindsight is 20/20.

It would be great to see them use the Dillard's building or a place in the Highlands....anywhere in the City would be great and have a nice impact for the city's growth.

<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 8F">States scurry to land Express Scripts</A>

By Eric Heisler and Judith VandeWater

Of the Post-Dispatch

03/09/2005



A bidding war has Missouri, Illinois and other states scrambling to offer Express Scripts Inc. millions of dollars in incentives to land the company's headquarters and an estimated 1,200 jobs.



<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... C00010EB8F">>>> read more</A>

Deal on business park aims to lure Express Scripts

BY ERIC HEISLER

Of the Post-Dispatch

Thursday, Mar. 17 2005



St. Louis County will announce a key agreement today to jump-start a 600-acre

business park near Lambert Field that the county hopes will be the next home of

Express Scripts Inc.



The park, which could attract an estimated 12,000 jobs and $500 million in

investment, will rise in a mostly abandoned area that was cleared in an airport

noise buyout.



Plans to draw commerce to the troubled site have sputtered at times over the

past decade. But an agreement signed Thursday commits a team of developers to

invest $38 million to get the park off the ground. The team, McEagle

Development, TriStar Business Communities and Claycorp, could begin site work

this summer.



The project may also be St. Louis County's best hope to keep one of its largest

employers, Express Scripts, which is based in Maryland Heights. The Fortune 500

company has been offered millions of dollars in incentives by other states to

move its headquarters and 1,200 employees.



The county hopes Express Scripts will be drawn by the park's prime location and

by the $29 million in public funding that will be used to help build the park.



For a built-out county, the park also represents a rare asset: open land suited

for industry. Even if Express Scripts commits to the park, hundreds of acres

will be left for other employers.



"People said this (park) would never happen because we couldn't get enough

people in this region to work together," said St. Louis County Executive

Charlie A. Dooley. "This park will be the key to creating jobs in St. Louis

County for years to come."



The park will be developed by three companies who are more often rivals than

partners. The three joined together last year to form NorthPark Partners. The

group's plans call for a mix of offices, industrial buildings and technology

labs. The team also has agreed to build a new MetroLink station at the park.



"From our standpoint, this is an opportunity you don't just get everyday," said

Christopher McKee, vice president of McEagle Development. "First of all, you

have to look at the location. It would be hard to find a better site anywhere

around here with that much available land."



In recent years, many U.S. cities have used land near their airports to draw

coveted employers and stoke job growth. But Lambert Field is mostly locked in

by older development. This park, and a smaller one on the western side of

Lambert, provide hope to change that.



Up until the early 1980s, the 600-acre site was mostly filled with modest

homes. At that time, the city of St. Louis began acquiring and demolishing

houses to prepare for airport expansion. But plans for the airport evolved, and

Lambert officials no longer plan to build there.



Despite its prime location, the site has seen several failed development

attempts. Those efforts were thwarted by fighting among Kinloch, Ferguson and

Berkeley, the three cities that each have a stake in the park. More recently,

the late County Executive George "Buzz" Westfall stepped in and pressured the

cities to instead work together.



The result of Westfall's effort is a commission of public officials overseeing

the development of the park made up of members from those three cities, St.

Louis County and other jurisdictions. Last year, five teams of developers

submitted plans for the park to that commission. St. Louis County will announce

in a news conference today that an agreement has been reached with NorthPark

Partners.



While the agreement marks the crossing of an important hurdle, developing the

park will be no easy task. The site was built to hold homes, not industry. Many

houses still stand, while foundations of demolished homes remain in the ground.



But county officials want to move quickly to nab Express Scripts - if they can.

Last week, it was learned that Nebraska, South Carolina and Illinois had each

made bids to land the company's headquarters.



The company says it has narrowed its choices to the St. Louis area, including

St. Charles County and southwestern Illinois. Of the $29 million in public

financing for the park, about half could be used to draw Express Scripts or

other employers to the site, said John Temporiti, chairman of the commission

overseeing the park's development.



Dooley has met with Express Scripts Chief Executive Barrett Toan to lobby for

the park. The three developers, meanwhile, have each agreed they won't be

involved in luring Express Scripts to any competing sites, Temporiti said.

Express Scripts could make a decision within the next month, he said.



"We know Express Scripts is going to ask for a lot," said Temporiti. "There's a

point where they might be asking for too much ... But we want to do what we can

to get them as an anchor for this site."



Plans for business park



NorthPark Partners has signed an agreement with a public commission to develop

the 600-acre business park east of Lambert Field. NorthPark is made up of three

local developers: McEagle Development, Claycorp and TriStar Business

Communities. The team's plans tentatively call for the following types of

buildings:

Office: 680,000 square feet

High-tech labs and retail: 400,000 square feet

Service center and office-light industrial: 433,000 square feet

Warehouse: 1.6 million square feet

Warehouse-light industrial: 2.4 million square feet

Retail-restaurants: 20,000 square feet





Reporter Eric Heisler

E-mail: eheisler@post-dispatch.com

Phone: 314-340-8183

A $50 million plan unveiled by Gundaker last year called for converting one of the buildings into a 150-room hotel and the other into condos, apartments and retail.



But those plans were held up when the owner of St. Louis Centre resisted Gundaker's plan to tear down a skywalk that connects the former store to the struggling mall, Hejna said.

I find this really sad that the owner of a dead and worthless mall can hold up a project. Although we don't need more hotel rooms downtown.



On the brightside, it would be a major coup for Gundaker and downtown to snag Express Scripts. The Old Dillards has great MetroLink access, and access to several new restaurants. For Illinoisians the Eads Bridge practically leads right to it. The skybridge still needs to go.

I really like this plan and hope that Express Scripts will come downtown... their employess would benefit compeltely and so would the companies image of a downtown corp.

I truly think that the city needs to jump on this now too.

I also think this plan is best for the finge area of the CBD. So many buildings are going residential and we need to keep a hardcore availability for businesses... a move by Fortune 500 Express Scripts to downtown will also show that the downtown arena for business is also open and available.

I wonder what building they'll insist the city tear down for the Express Scripts employee parking structure?

stellar wrote:I wonder what building they'll insist the city tear down for the Express Scripts employee parking structure?

St. Louis Centre?

I think it's up to us, as people who really care a great deal about downtown, to do anything we can to push for ES to move to the Dillard's Building - write letters, talk to elected officials, etc. The impact of a company like that moving downtown would be unbelievable.



And what exactly is the deal with St. Louis Centre? We haven't heard anything from the new owner except that he doesn't want the skybridge torn down. I'm getting sick of having a lifeless mall in a prime downtown location.

As I mentioned in the St. Louis Centre topic, I am conducting an interview with the Centre's mall manager for a school project. I will ask her when I do the interview with her. In fact, if you guys have any concerns which you feel need to be answered, I will write them down and ask her in the interview. You guys could help me come up with some good questions.

I just found out Sat. that UMSL is trying to get Express Scripts to relocate to the old hospital on Natural Bridge. While I think this would be good for this part of Mid-County- Express Scripts needs to go downtown.



Any more word on the relocation in general?

Is the Dillard's Building out of the running? Maybe, maybe not...



Express Scripts bidding heats up

By Eric Heisler

Of the Post-Dispatch

06/08/2005



The high-stakes bidding war to land Express Scripts Inc. is intensifying, with a few finalist sites vying to draw the company's headquarters and more than 1,200 jobs.



Last month brought disappointment to jilted suitors. But for others, it was a busy time of preparation for a final pitch to land the Fortune 500 company, now in Maryland Heights.



Finalists include multiple sites in St. Louis County, officials said Wednesday. Illinois is in the hunt, too, a state official said.



Among rejected bids was a plan to draw Express Scripts to downtown St. Louis, though the site may now be back in the race, a developer associated with the plan said. A location in Edwardsville appears to be out of the running, officials said.

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A company spokesman declined to discuss whether a final list has been crafted or what sites might be on it.



But John Temporiti, chief of governmental affairs for St. Louis County, said Express Scripts informed him in May that it has narrowed the field to about four sites, including three in the county.



"This would be a huge win for the county," Temporiti said. "But we're aware there's very intense competition from other sites and other states."



Express Scripts is one of the largest pharmacy-benefits managers in the nation. It's seeking a new headquarters site that can accommodate its rapid growth.



Early on, the company was courted with tens of millions of dollars in incentives from other states, including Nebraska and South Carolina, Missouri officials said. More recently, it narrowed its search to the St. Louis metro area. Since then, local competition has heated up.



St. Louis County sites still in contention include a proposal to move Express Scripts to a high-profile site near Lambert Field, Temporiti said. He said he and others met with Express Scripts in May to lobby for the airport site and were told it was a finalist.



Also in May, Express Scripts informed Gundaker Commercial Group that it had ruled out a move to the vacant Dillard's building downtown, said Mike Hejna, president of Gundaker. But city officials recently sweetened the plan with more tax incentives, he said, and the company again is considering the site.



Express Scripts also gave some thought to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, but that idea died when no developer emerged, said Brian Donnelly, director of SIUE's University Park.



Talks between Illinois and Express Scripts are continuing for at least one site, said Andrew Ross, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.



Express Scripts will make a decision this summer, said spokesman Steve Littlejohn.



"I can't go into how or what," he said. "All I can say is that the process continues, and we're pleased with the number and quality of the sites."



In addition to the airport site, St. Louis County also is pitching a site near Page Avenue and Interstate 270 and a proposal for Express Scripts to expand at its current site in Maryland Heights, Temporiti said.



Earlier this year, Gundaker said it was placing an initial plan to redevelop the Dillards' building on hold to try to draw Express Scripts instead. The initial plan called for converting the old department store into a boutique hotel, condos and retail. At the time, Hejna said Gundaker would return to that plan if Express Scripts opted to go elsewhere.

Frankly, i am not suprised that express scripts turned down the city. I am sure they are looking for alot more space to develope a campus, something that the dillards space didn't work really well for.

I would rather Express Scripts build their own building near cupples and keep cupples residential .... but this would definately be a good development. As long as they put some retail/resteraunts on the first level ... too great a location to let that slide

Could even put express scripts in ballpark village. They could build a 40-50 floor tower to anchor the development.

And a great letter to the editor:



An open letter to Express Scripts



Thank you, Express Scripts.



I am Downtown St. Louis, located at the center of this great country, writing to thank you for considering me as a future home. A company as successful, as large and as growing as you will understand why anyone would seek you out as a neighbor -- and so we tried. From Francis to Zach to Jerry to Barb to Jack, and a hundred other people who knew they may never in their lifetimes have the opportunity to court another Fortune 150 company to venture a move downtown, we thank you for allowing us to extend to you our heartfelt invitation. Over the past five years, I've gone through a complete transformation and am thrilled with my progress. I've waited in anticipation for the day when a great company like Express Scripts would one day call this area home, and I regret that you may not be joining us.



We knew you cared about your employees, so we included them in our proposal. Who wouldn't love our parks, gardens, parades, festivals, three professional stadiums and MetroLink access within walking distance of home or office? Thank you to the developers who offered your employees $10,000 to $30,000 or more off of any new loft in downtown, as well as a 15 percent discount in rent in the fastest-growing and highest-appreciating neighborhood in the region. The finest restaurants also came together to feed your employees at discounts of 10 percent to 15 percent. Thanks also to our hotels for offering special pricing to your company. The growing number of downtown shops also sought your business and offered unprecedented discounts to your employees. All aspects of our vibrant lifestyle will greatly miss your long-awaited presence.



We knew pricing would be critical to making or breaking the deal, and so we made you an offer that no one has ever seen in this city. We envisioned what your presence would do for us in the eyes of the rest of the country.



Unlike any other location in this region, a downtown address for Express Scripts makes us both better. An Express Scripts move downtown also elevates us in the eyes of other companies who might also be looking for a great city to call home. With this joint venture, both of our profiles would be raised.



For these reasons, we offered you a long-term lease at a flat $10 per square foot rate and free parking, unmatched by any of the other proposed sites. We also offered you ownership in the project, allowing you greater control in your own future growth. I'd like to thank the elected officials, bankers, developers and lawyers who dedicated their time to make ours the outstanding offer that it was.



We can't forget all of those responsible for making our resurgence possible. Thank you to the thousands of new residents who have moved into our new downtown.



Please know that without your foresight and energetic spirit, no Fortune 150 company would have considered a move here.



Remember that the eyes of this nation are frequently upon me, and it is the spirit of all of you that allows me to shine.



Thank you, Express Scripts, for bringing us all together and for helping us to realize that we are a strong downtown, capable of making you and your employees the offer we did.



Sincerely,



Downtown



(As dictated to Kevin McGowan and Nat Walsh, founders of McGowan|Walsh)