urbanSTL

@countondowntown reported on March 1st that 5/3 Bank was going into this corner via Twitter . That's 3 1/2 months ago.(You should follow @countondowntown for all your downtown news.)
Also, rumors have been swirling for quite a while now that the retailer the P-D is alluding to might be Old Navy.

^That's right!

But on a serious note and OT: I think the P-D is doing a good job. We, amateurs, can tweet instantly. They first have to verify everything three times so that slows up their processes. It must be hard sometimes to be a journalist in the age where everything's instant.

The P-D is communicating with the blogosphere and has a good presence on Twitter. I believe they're now working on adding a local blogs section to STLtoday.com

^ I agree. Of course I would never shop there because I fly to NYC, occasionally AMS, to shop at Gucci, Armani and Prada. After all, I AM The Count.

But I talk to a lot of downtown dwellers and nobody is willing to hand over big bucks to boutique stores downtown. Everybody wants to see stores like Old Navy, GAP or even a little higher end like Banana Republic. We definitely need national retailers downtown. It's all about building a critical mass. Eventually boutique stores will do fine downtown. We're just not there yet.

Alterra Worldwide to buy St. Louis' Syndicate Trust building - stltoday.com

Looks like Alterra already is solidifying more plans for Downtown even before they've finished Jefferson Arms! From the article, it looks like they're planning to add more retail in the building and make the residential part entirely condominiums instead of the current mix of condos and apartments. An exact timeline has not been released yet. The more retail, especially in this area of Downtown, the better I say. Personally, I also like the idea of adding more condos in the core of DT, but I know that's not for everyone. I wonder what happens to the apartment renters in the building. Do they just get kicked out once their leases are up? Are they given an option to buy back their dwelling as a condo?

This news does come as a bit of a surprise. I thought Alterra was looking to go after Muni Courts in the immediate future, and I think I also read something about them considering Railway Exchange. Anyway, this seems to be good news. Look forward to hearing more!

Auggie wrote: ↑

Sep 04, 2025

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/bus ... -top-story

Alterra Worldwide, the developer behind Jefferson Arms, is under contract to buy the Syndicate Building at 915 Olive St.

The building currently has a mix of condominiums and apartments with ground floor retail. Alterra wants to turn the apartments into condos and expand the retail space.

There is no timeline or financial details on the project yet.

Auggie, look at the post right above yours
Looks like we were thinking alike!

Auggie wrote: ↑

Sep 04, 2025

Ragtimer wrote: ↑

Sep 04, 2025

Auggie wrote: ↑

Sep 04, 2025

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/bus ... -top-story

Alterra Worldwide, the developer behind Jefferson Arms, is under contract to buy the Syndicate Building at 915 Olive St.

The building currently has a mix of condominiums and apartments with ground floor retail. Alterra wants to turn the apartments into condos and expand the retail space.

There is no timeline or financial details on the project yet.

Auggie, look at the post right above yours
Looks like we were thinking alike!

Lol! 6 minutes apart, I must have taken too long to type it up.

I like adding more condos downtown. I can see myself buying one someday in the far future when I am ready for that type of commitment, and this is a great building. Ideally, if the renters are just displaced, there is ample availability throughout downtown for them to move to, though I understand it's not ideal.

I am not sure how much I trust Alterra yet, I wanna see how Jefferson Arms turns out, but this type of a renovation seems like much less of a burden than Jefferson Arms or Municipal Courts, so that's probably a factor too.

As for retail, it's worth noting that the old Fifth Third Bank has been vacant for years, since at least 2016 and that was the only tenant from 2011-2016 that this space has ever seen in this iteration of the building. It's apparently been near impossible to fill the space, so I don't know if more retail is going to change much. But I'm not an expert. I'd be delighted for something like a TJ Maxx or Burlington to go in, just don't have much faith in that.

Yeah, I really like the idea of adding more condos too. I think it might attract more permanent residents to Downtown which is really important for the city as a whole. While PeterXCV's idea regarding the displaced renters would definitely the "nicest" way for Alterra to go, I also kind of doubt they would want to wait for all these people in the building to move out on their own. You're right, between all the existing apartment buildings downtown and new ones coming up like Jefferson Arms, AHM, and Millenium, the renters should be able to find another home close by. I just hope that they don't decide to leave the area after they get evicted.

It seems to me like they're doing good work on Jefferson Arms from what I've heard, but the real test will be after it opens of course. Syndicate definitely doesn't seem as involved of a project as Jefferson Arms is since I think Jeff Arms was pretty much a complete redevelopment from the inside-out. I'd be curious to hear from any current residents of the Syndicate about what sort of condition it's in.

That's unfortunate to hear about the bank space being vacant for so long. I wonder if Alterra plans to split it up into smaller spaces to make it more appealing to stores with smaller footprints. IMO, Downtown does need a larger department-store-ish thing to serve residents, especially since developers are envisioning a residential future for the area. If they can get some popular retail spaces in this building, it will really help to activate the street around it.