2 developers bid on Syndicate Trust

By Martin Van Der Werf

Of the Post-Dispatch

01/13/2005



The Syndicate Trust and Century building

(P-D)



Two local developers bid Thursday to convert the historic Syndicate Trust Building in the heart of downtown into a mix of condominiums, apartments and shops.



Both Loftworks LLC and Pyramid Construction Co. confirmed Thursday that they had submitted bids to redevelop the building now owned by the St. Louis Development Corp.



Loftworks would be joined in the project by Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates Inc.



Bids were due by noon Thursday, but it was unclear whether other companies submitted proposals, too. Though the Development Corp. is a public agency, it refused to release any information about bidders or proposals.



The 16-story building at 10th and Olive streets was built in 1907 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The ornamented terra cotta facade is considered one of the city's most beautiful exteriors. At almost 500,000 square feet, it also is one of the largest vacant buildings downtown.



The Syndicate Trust once was home to the Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney department store, which closed in 1967. The building is west of the old Century Building, which is being demolished to make way for a parking garage.



Pyramid and Loftworks have been among the leading builders in the burgeoning downtown loft market.



Craig Heller, managing partner of Loftworks, said he proposes to build 84 loft apartments on the fourth through ninth floors of the Syndicate Trust, and 91 loft condominiums on the seven floors above them. The top floors would have three-level penthouses with private rooftop decks. Plans include parking in the basement, second and third floors, and 21,000 square feet of retail space at street level.



Sherman Associates is building apartments and condominiums at Midtown Exchange in Minneapolis. At 1.1 million square feet, it is one of the largest loft conversion projects in the United States. Owner George Sherman said he has been looking for opportunities in St. Louis and was led to the Syndicate Trust by US Bank, an investor in his company.



"We specialize in urban redevelopment," Sherman said. "This one is in a core area, and there is a lot of activity going on around it, which seems perfect to us."



Heller said the renovation would cost $69 million.



Pyramid wants to build apartments, condominiums, parking and retail, but it would add offices to the mix, said President John Steffen. He said he could not be specific about the total number of residential units. Based on the amount the company is spending to renovate the nearby Paul Brown lofts, the pricetag for renovating the Syndicate Trust figures to total more than $80 million.



Link to story

Great news on one of my favorite buildings!!



My girlfriend used to intern with sherman associates so I've seen a lot of what they have done. Here is a photo and a rendering of the midtown exchange mentioned in the article so you guys can get an idea of what they are used to working with ...sherman associates is a highly respected company here so I know that the Syndicate Trust will be in good hands if they get it...





http://midtowncommunityworks.org/exchange/



Here's another loft project of theirs in St. Paul

http://www.ninthstreetlofts.com

I'm kind of surprised that there were only two responses to the RFP. I would have thought that the McGowan Bros. would have been interested in this one.



Either way, I am definitely glad that this project is moving forward. Either developer will do a great job!



I noticed that the LoftWorks proposal would include parking - wasn't that the whole point of the Century garage?

DeBaliviere wrote:I'm kind of surprised that there were only two responses to the RFP.

There were more than two, as you may have already assumed. The St. Louis Business Journal said there were at least five interested developers... two from out-of-town and at least three local developers. The third local developer not mentioned above is the Roberts Brothers Properties. They are also considering a mixed use of Apartments and Condos, along with retail and entertainment venues on the first and second floors.



Here is the article --



EXCLUSIVE REPORTS

From the January 14, 2005 print edition



<A HREF="http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... .html">Eye on the prize: Developers bid for Syndicate</A>

Heather Cole



Last, but not least. The Syndicate Trust Building, the last major building in the Old Post Office District downtown to be claimed for redevelopment, is drawing interest from at least two out-of-town developers and three local developers.



<A HREF="http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory1.html">>>> read more</A>

I'd go with Pyramid or Loftworks/Sherman Associates. The more people who own their condo the better. I know more people want apartments, but it would be good for downtown, I think.



But having G.J. Grewe on the Loftworks plan is enticing because they are definitely skilled at getting national retail tenants.

I like the Pyramid plan (based on what was posted by urbanstlouis). It sounds like a true mixed-use development with the inclusion of the office space, and the affordable condos would help ensure that younger home-buyers are able to buy units.



Did the article make any mention of parking inside the building?

I agree, I prefer Pyramid's, but I do like all of the plans.

DeBaliviere wrote:Did the article make any mention of parking inside the building?

Yes, there was a small mention of parking...

LoftWorks' plan also includes parking in the basement and on the second and third floors of the building. The other proposals call for parking on the basement level.

here is the article --



EXCLUSIVE REPORTS

From the January 21, 2005 print edition

<A HREF="http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... .html">$20 million spread on Syndicate proposals</A>

Heather Cole



The Pyramid Companies' $80 million proposal for the Syndicate Trust building weighs in as the most expensive of the three submitted for the historic building in the Old Post Office district.



<A HREF="http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory1.html">>>> read more</A>

How about turning the Syndicate Trust into a word class, multi-level aquarium? It's an absolute crime that St. Louis doesn't have a large scale aquarium. The City Museum's aquarium is nice to have, but we need more. This central location would be perfect.

<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 01A7FBA">3 firms vie to renovate 98-year-old building</A>

By Tavia Evans

Of the Post-Dispatch

03/14/2005



Competition to renovate the Syndicate Trust Building downtown moved into its final stages Monday, as the last of three groups of developers presented plans to the city to convert the building into retail and condominium units.



LoftWorks and two other local companies, Pyramid Construction Inc. and Roberts Cos., submitted proposals in January to make over the 98-year-old building. Barb Geisman, deputy mayor for development for St. Louis, said a selection committee will meet in the next two weeks to review all proposals for the property.



<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... C5001A7FBA">>>> read more</A>

I like that the Roberts proposal mentions "artists lofts".



It's good to see this project moving forward, and I hope that the Arcade Building is moving forward as well.

Nice article from the Msp/StP business journal. Interesting read.



Sherman, Dominium compete to land St. Louis area project

Sam Black

Senior reporter

Two Minneapolis workhorses are competing with each other in a race to develop a historic department store building in downtown St. Louis.



Sherman Associates Inc. and Dominium Management Services Inc. have each teamed up with their own St. Louis-based partners on plans for refurbishing the 450,000-square-foot Syndicate Trust building.



The city of St. Louis issued a request for proposals last fall and is expected to select a developer by the end of March.



Sherman's $69 million redevelopment plan would include artists' lofts, affordable and market-rate condos, an artist studio and galleries and about 20,000 square feet of first-floor retail space.



Sherman Associates is looking for places to expand, said Brian Gorecki, project manager, who was in St. Louis on Monday with company principal George Sherman to make the final of three presentations to a selection committee.



Sherman Associates took a look at this project at the urging of its banker, Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp., Gorecki said.



"We're urban developers and over the course of the last 10 years, we've really made our mark in Minneapolis and St. Paul and Duluth and Des Moines, [Iowa]," he said.



"Kansas City, Milwaukee and St. Louis are ripe for us to jump into," he said. "They're about three to six years behind where Minneapolis and St. Paul are in terms of its urban redevelopment cycle."



The Syndicate building would be Dominium's second project in St. Louis. Dominium teamed up on the Syndicate proposal with St. Louis-based Roberts Bros. Properties to pitch a $60 million mix of apartments, condos and retail.



The third group fighting for the right to redevelop the Syndicate building is St. Louis-based Pyramid Cos., which proposed an $80 million mix of condos, apartments and office space.



The Syndicate building entered the national development scene because of its size and beauty, said Craig Heller, principal of St. Louis-based Loftworks Inc. which is working with Sherman Associates.



St. Louis was the fourth largest town at the turn of the century, and as a result, there is a wealth of historic buildings, including warehouses, that have been converted into residential lofts.



Missouri has spurred redevelopment of its downtowns with historic tax credits that can be used for new condos, while the federal historic tax credits can only be used on rental housing projects, Heller said.



A new Cardinals' baseball park is also going to be built in downtown St. Louis and there's an incoming mix of retail and hotels, he said.



"Adding residents here is a critical part of the transformation of downtown."



Sherman Associates will not back away from the Twin Cities, but Gorecki acknowledges things are changing in the downtown Minneapolis condo market.



"I think [in Minneapolis] the market is getting saturated and there's less and less opportunities," he said. "I think St. Paul continues to have opportunities."



Sherman Associates has three projects on the table in St. Paul and at least two in Minneapolis, including a housing component in Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc.'s Midtown Exchange project. Sherman also has projects planned in the outlying suburbs of Burnsville, Chaska, Chanhassen and Blaine.



sblack@bizjournals.com | (612) 288-2103

By Martin Van Der Werf

Of the Post-Dispatch

04/05/2005



SHOWDOWN: The winner of the derby to get development rights to the Syndicate Trust, one of the jewels of downtown historic buildings, should be decided today.



City leaders are giddy about the three choices, because each offers a huge investment. Two of the offers include deep-pocketed Minneapolis firms, which have not invested before in downtown St. Louis.



Still, the smart money is on hometown boy John Steffen, owner of Pyramid Construction Co. He once had the Syndicate Trust and neighboring Century Building under contract. But he lost $300,000 in earnest money when the deal went sour. The Century has since been torn down to make way for a garage.



Steffen has been a pioneer in redeveloping downtown lofts and is a political ally of Mayor Francis Slay. But that doesn't mean it won't be a wrenching decision for the selection committee.



Picking Pyramid would mean turning its back on Michael and Steve Roberts, the multimillionaire TV executives who began redeveloping north St. Louis and increasingly are focused on downtown. They partnered with Minneapolis-based Dominium Inc., which has generated a lot of good feeling for its redevelopment of the Homer G. Phillips Senior Living Community, helping spark a residential revival in that neighborhood.



Sherman Associates, the other Minneapolis developer, impressed the city with its deep pockets and experience in converting historic buildings into lofts. It teamed with local developer Craig Heller of LoftWorks LLC.



The fact that Pyramid proposes to spend more money - $80 million - and create more housing units - 253 - than the other two teams won't hurt, either.

Anyone care to guess which developer will be chosen?



All the plans sound great, so we really can't lose. I just hope that whoever is chosen can get started quickly. Pyramid has an awful lot on its plate right now, and so do the Roberts Bros., so maybe Loftworks would be a good choice.

I think it would be huge to get some big box retailers downtown. Can you imagine the traffic a target or best buy would create? I've been to other downtowns where people walk from a restaurant to a record store and then pick up some household items/groceries on the way back. St. Louis needs something like this to entice people to live downtown, and I imagine it would generate much more traffic for the other small businesses down there. Any opinions about this?

I would love to see something like a Best Buy or Target down there. I've been thinking that same thing for a while. I think another thing that would help would be some big name grocery stores like Dierbergs.

Two thoughts:

Although I wish the bids by the Minneapolis Company the Roberts Brothers had a larger number of units, I think it makes sense to maybe let the out-of-towners do this one, hoping that it can get done quickly and can spur more outside development in downtown. Think HRI, a New Orleans based firm, becoming part of the St. Louis development market.



Secondly, yes I think it would be great to get some big name relailers into downtown. However, untill downtown has a larger perminant population or a vast increase in its daily workforce, it will be some time before there is a Target or Best Buy in downtown. St. Paul, MN is trying to lure Twin Cities based Target downtown, but with a population of only 7,000, there just are not enough people to support it. Minneapolis had to give a ton of money to get Target to build a downtown location. However, if downtown were lucky, it might be able to snag one of these new supper Sears stores that combine K-Mart and Sears.

Just gotta remember, as more people move downtown, more retail opertunites will become viable. Neither Schnucks or Dierbergs have locations downtown, but given time, you could see such stores in areas such as the Old north side and other near city neighborhoods.

I would support any of these suburban retailers coming downotnw, but the city also needs a healthy does of small operators, cause they will be the first places with the ablity to make a go of it in downtown.