urbanSTL

Was there not some/all retirement apts in that building?  And why not add some retirement apts in the new mix?

^Yes, it was all retirement apartments, until Pyramid kicked everyone out to start their renovation...

And why not retirement apartments?

That incubator space is part of what makes Alterra a different type of developer, he said. It's a non-traditional tenant, even risky given the nature of startups, but one that can change the energy of the building and surrounding neighborhood."

'Cuz lots of snoozing retired people aren't going to "change the energy of the building and surrounding neighborhood".  Also, most retired people are not interested in living downtown, unless they are huge Cardinals fans and can afford One Cardinal Way.  Or, unless they have few other choices outside of downtown, which would also mean they wouldn't be able to afford a renovated Jefferson Arms.

urbanitas wrote:^Yes, it was all retirement apartments, until Pyramid kicked everyone out to start their renovation...

And why not retirement apartments?

That incubator space is part of what makes Alterra a different type of developer, he said. It's a non-traditional tenant, even risky given the nature of startups, but one that can change the energy of the building and surrounding neighborhood."

'Cuz lots of snoozing retired people aren't going to "change the energy of the building and surrounding neighborhood".  Also, most retired people are not interested in living downtown, unless they are huge Cardinals fans and can afford One Cardinal Way.  Or, unless they have few other choices outside of downtown, which would also mean they wouldn't be able to afford a renovated Jefferson Arms.

This is inaccurate. One of the largest demos of people moving/living Downtown is retirees.


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"This is inaccurate. One of the largest demos of people moving/living Downtown is retirees." Thank You I knew I was spot on!  Again the Jefferson could potentially be a great mix of residential demographics.

Didn't see this posted elsewhere.

Top St. Louis officials oppose Jefferson Arms developer’s request for 3-year extension

ST. LOUIS — The city’s top three elected officials on Wednesday opposed a developer’s request for a three-year extension of the deadline for rehabbing the long-vacant Jefferson Arms building downtown.

While the unanimous vote by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment signaled members’ displeasure with the years of delays in the $104 million project, it doesn’t necessarily kill it.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... f4c82.html

This project and numerous other projects e.g. Boulevard II YMCA are not going anywhere anytime soon nor in the foreseeable future 

RIP. The Unbuilt St. Louis thread is unfortunately going to be getting active here pretty soon

And yet they give Northside yet another extension? This is a joke.  At least some work has been done on the site.

Jefferson Arms is a huge project
Anyone know what shape is the building in roof etc?

chris fuller wrote: ↑

Oct 17, 2020

Jefferson Arms is a huge project
Anyone know what shape is the building in roof etc?

It has trees growing on it.....
I’ll take a closer took from my roof when I go to the gym later today

Maybe it's just one of those green roofs.  

^^That wing of the building was a much later addition, so probably cheaper construction than the original. I'm not sure when the addition was built, but it was definitely after the Shell building opened in 1926:



Edit: The addition was built in 1928 right before the Crash. Thank you, Wikipedia.

It is a pretty parking garage.

Soooo what’s the latest on the redevelopment. Last I heard...


https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... f4c82.html


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Some news.

Alterra Worldwide has reached an agreement to employ local labor unions for its more than $100 million redevelopment of the Jefferson Arms building in downtown St. Louis. 
Alterra has been in a yearslong dispute with labor organizations over the redevelopment of Jefferson Arms, with labor officials alleging Alterra intended to use out-of-state workers and was not likely to use union workers.
On Monday the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council said in a release this week that Alterra has agreed to "exclusively" use union labor to redevelop the building pending the extension of $20 million in tax increment financing due to expire at the end of 2020.
In March, Alterra had asked the city of St. Louis' Board of Estimate and Apportionment, comprised of Mayor Lyda Krewson, President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed and Comptroller Darlene Green, to extend its TIF in order to close on financing. The board unanimously declined that request. 
Jacob Long, spokesman for Krewson, told the Business Journal that Alterra has not yet to returned to the city or its economic development arm, St. Louis Development Corp., with new plans.

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... yptr=yahoo

Well that's a big step, anyway. 

This is good news to see. We need to get it going and with this agreement being made, it does give me some hope that it will happen. However, I wonder if any aspects of the project have changed. Like, I wonder if the hotel was dumped in favor of more apartments.

sc4mayor wrote: ↑

Oct 20, 2020

^ Might not be the worst idea to dump the hotel right now for more apartments.  I know pre-Covid demand was pretty strong, even with all the new hotels being built...but I wonder how long it'll be before we get back to those occupancy rates.  Is the Shell hotel conversion still moving along?

Shell is On Hold until at least early 2021 based on bidding stuff. Some people say later but I don't know. Construction elevator is still up for that.

There's no way this ($100 million+ project) happens with only residential, unless they can somehow renovate the building in sections/phases or the labor unions are willing to invest a big chunk of their own money...

^I sincerely hope they save the ballroom. This may well be a pipe dream, as there may not be enough demand for one, but . . . I still hope they can. That's a gorgeous space and I've been drooling over it since those pictures first came out.

Even if construction started today, this is a long haul project. Even the least optimistic estimates have COVID subsiding by early 2022 which is probably before construction would finish. I don't see why hotel demand wouldn't return when COVID is in the rearview, especially if it takes down some of downtowns other hotels in the meantime.

If you have the cash to build a hotel, today may be the best day to break ground.