http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... j=74413142

Mike Sarimsakci said he envisions building a 50-story high-rise on the Mississippi riverfront, just north of the Four Seasons St. Louis.......

Biz Journal cut off the article for members only... Anyone want to share the rest of the article????

This would be huge... Not sure I like the location as much as others, but I'd take it!
Hopefully, his vision comes to fruition soon!

Where Downtown would you prefer a new 50 story tower be built?

I prefer something the in the heart of the CBD or just barely south of Busch. In a place that would really fill in the skyline. The positive of a tower to the north, is that it could spur development from the North riverfront, to NGA. If a tower were to be built on the North RF, I would be more excited about an MLS stadium somewhere on that site.

How about some of our more graphically artistic individuals, give us some renderings of the STL skyline, with a 50 story 'Devon-like' tower on the North RF??

DogtownBnR wrote:Biz Journal cut off the article for members only... Anyone want to share the rest of the article?

The rest of the article says this "SYKE!"


Here are some snipitz

When we enter into new markets we have to do multiple projects because I'm mobilizing my entire team.
We're likely opening a St. Louis office on Wash Ave in September.
Alterra is eyeing $400 million worth of development in downtown St. Louis over the next 10 years.
I'm sorry we missed out on the Chemical building
I'm sorry we missed out on RX
I've seen this before in Dallas, where things start to snowball as developers start on projects and that's what i'm betting on.

^ At least he is "betting on" St. Louis!

^Thanks!

It appears that the area north of the Lumiere and Carr St is in the K Unrestricted zoning district (source). Building heights in this district are the same as in the E Multiple-Family Dwelling district where is says:

Buildings may exceed eight (8) stories or one hundred (100) feet in height provided they are set back from the side yard regulations one (1) foot for each five (5) feet of additional height above eight (8) stories or one hundred (100) feet. The required set-back may be provided at the base to permit a vertical structure without physical set-back in the upper stories, or the set-back may be provided at any one (1) or more floor levels to govern the permitted height above such set-back.

So far I'm in the he is full of it section. Realistically where is the market for a 50 story building downtown whether it be residential/hotel or office space without a major brand/corporate anchor?

For class A space in the city Wexford might be breaking ground soon on a very modest CORTEX midrise and Koman is asking for a boatload of incentives for a very modest mid rise. On top of it the market will take time supporting all the space when ATT One center lease is up and that is what 44 floors. It would have to be a major corporate move

As far as new hotel/residential infill you got a KC developer who proposed and then pulled plug on a new twenty story residential tower & BPV and or Drury won't pull the trigger on a high rise hotel/residential. I think you might see something substantial out of Koplar/Koman/Clayco on Koplar's prime CWE location if do propose something but doubt it will go much beyond 30 stories and believe W Pine might be another 20-25 story proposal if that gets announced. Anything proposed from established developers in the region has not even come close to 50 stories from what I have read....

I was already impressed that he wants to take on Jeff Arms, then announces interest in Butler building. Just don't ruin it by announcing everything under the sun and then disappear in a year or two because you can't close the financing on a Jeff Arms rehab and everything was a sham. Go out and get the Jeff Arms done.

^Couldn't agree more. My Show Me State mentality is in full effect here.

For projects like these, I don't think the demand issue applies the same way as it would to a typical apartment building. A newly constructed fifty story tower would be so large and distinct that people would immediately gravitate towards it when seeking a place to live, and those that don't move there will probably end up "settling" for other places downtown. If it is priced high enough, it may cause the rest of rents downtown to go up with it.

^On Tucker in the lot currently occupied by the single floor U.S. Bank branch. Perfect for a new signature tower.

Are you skeptics doubting the group's capacity or our market? Certainly the vision they're laying out is ambitious for Saint Louis, but I don't think you can argue they aren't a capable outfit if you look at their body of work.

And while I haven't seen the article yet, it appears they are sketching the tower out for several years from now... like them, I believe Saint Louis is going to be much different in the early 2020's than it is today and I don't see why a tall tower can't work by then if the macro-economics cooperate.

I'd rather have 10 5-story buildings. I know, Debbie Downer.

^^ I think that's fair; I just want to make sure folks don't think this is a group with no track record on difficult projects (no offense wabash, but your original comment about their Dallas work was off-base). Yes, they'll have to prove themselves here, but I don't see why they can't do some great work here over a decade's time like they have begun to accomplish in downtown Dallas. And in terms of the tower, give them a lot of slack... they're just sketching things out for what they'd like to accomplish down the road; maybe it turns out to be 30 or 20 stories or nothing at all. but I like their ambition.

We'll see soon on whether they can get this 42 story off the ground in Dallas:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/ ... tract.html

... Construction on the 42-story tower is slated to begin at the end of the year after Alterra International completes the $90 million redevelopment of 500 S. Ervay St. adjacent to city hall. The project could take two years to complete.

Alterra International — which has its global headquarters at 211 N. Ervay — is also planning a major redevelopment of the Jefferson Arms building in St. Louis, which would be similar to the Butler Brothers Building redo.

The firm also plans to demolish a former Woolworth retail building at 27 S. 1st Street in San Jose to build a 22-story residential tower with roughly 300 apartments.

^^STLRB, not sure what about it you find off base, but no offense taken and I hope you're right. I'd love to see Alterra pour $400 million into Downtown over the next few years. However, since my post on the 24th their announced interest in the Butler Brothers and a 50 story high-rise has me more convinced than ever that this is smoke and mirrors. I think outsized, overblown projects, and/or overzealous, unscrupulous developers tend to surface on the back end of economic expansions, as with The Bottle District and Chouteau's Landing (and that's not special to St. Louis, i.e. Chicago Spire). But again, I really hope they prove me wrong. Just getting the JeffArms up and running would be a huge feat and major contribution to Downtown.

^ wabash, right, I was referring to your comment on the Jefferson-Arms thread that included this...

I'm dying to see the JeffArms redeveloped, but this one doesn't pass the smell test. Too many buzz words and BS, and too thin of a track record (the mentioned Dallas Divan Hotel is nothing more than a rendering, and the Marriott that was supposed to go in the Dallas Butler Brothers project is now being described as "Phase II"). So far they seem more adept at keeping the PR machine humming and spinning a good story (too good?) to keep Chinese EB-5 investors interested, than redeveloping dilapidated buildings: Trash Chute Fire Sparks Two-Alarm Blaze at Butler Brothers Building

I expect the Chemical, Union Trust, International Shoe, and 1706 Washington to be done before this gets anywhere.

https://urbanstl.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 00#p270295

Instead of being mere pr hacks with a lack of a track record in Dallas, they already have an award-winning save of an abandoned MCM tower that the city wanted to demo a few years ago by turning it into a successful tech oriented office project.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/smal ... artups.ece

And the Butler Bros. residential portion is nearly complete with the hotel portion due to wrap up by the end of the year. So that's two demonstrated saves of long abandoned buildings there. When they complete the Butler Bros. work they intend to start work on new construction. It seems clear they have a solid, well-thought out game plan (that smells pretty sweet!) and want to use that here, too.

DogtownBnR wrote:Where Downtown would you prefer a new 50 story tower be built?

First National Bank on IBM Plaza II.

AKA; Market, 9th, Walnut, 10th.

^ honestly, and it sounds crazy to say it out loud, but on olive just west of 20th. That area is ripe for towers among the old warehouse lofts of downtown west. I think it would elongate the skyline and add continuous activity about an area already open area and with potential for density which a real urban neighborhood could thrive.
There or the open lots north of wash ave and south of Delmar between 11th and 9th. I only wish that area would fill in and towers would create a truly active and sustainably dense northern downtown


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^ Not crazy. And if the 22nd Street interchange plan ever moves forward an anchor tower would be great for that end, although I was thinking at the terminus of the Gateway Mall.