Downtown Improvements and Construction
 

Look for more businesses beginnning to move to or start up in downtown St. Louis. Why? Well first, it is the most logical location and the tax credits St. Louis offers qualified new and relocating businesses are among the highest in the nation. It's not widely known - but St. Louis is one of the top-ranked centers for computer research in the country. The program that is beginning to make this all possible is the "Rebuilding Communities Program". This program has designated a number of cities and towns in Missouri as communities that would benefit from economic stimulation through the growth of business. Through the Rebuilding Communities Tax Incentive Program, the Department of Economic Development now offers tax credits and financial incentives to encourage businesses to locate in areas of the state that are the most in need of a powerful financial boost. To be eligible for the program, a business must be located within one of the designated rebuilding community areas. The business must also have more than 75% of its employees at the facility in the rebuilding community, must have less than 100 employees, and must be a manufacturing, biomedical, medical devices, scientific research, animal research, computer software design or development, computer programming, telecommunications, or a professional firm."      Need more details?
Make Saint Louis the place to start your business - or take it to a new level!
 

• 12/18/00  Cybercon answers call of city amenities, incentives
• 11/30/00  Washington Avenue project is slated to begin after long lapse
• 11/29/00  Mayor envisions Rockefeller Center-type skating rink here
• 11/18/00  Lambert Pharmacal Building Imploded at St. Louis Commerce Center
• 11/17/00  Stadium plan entices top Illinois lawmaker
• 11/13/00  Schlafly looks at Cupples Station for second brewery
• 11/13/00  Cardinals, city ready plan for legislators to consider
• 10/06/00  Public financing for new Cardinals stadium is key issue among lawmakers
• 10/01/00  Construction downtown creates some obstacles for drivers
• 09/14/00  Washington Avenue high-tech hub opens its doors for public viewing
• 09/10/00  The nation's largest courthouse - It's a new face on our downtown's skyline
• 09/08/00  Economist says Cards should pay more to build new stadium
• 09/06/00  New concert venue is almost ready to open on Delmar
• 09/06/00  St. Louis Downtown Streetscape Design Guidelines
• 08/25/00  Internet firms begin to drive urban redevelopment
• 08/16/00  Cardinals alter strategy in drive for new baseball stadium
• 08/16/00  Washington Avenue fiber-optic plan hits a roadblock
• 08/15/00  Cybercon Opens New St. Louis Internet Data Center
• 08/07/00  Glick buildings bring $56 million
• 08/02/00  Pageant opening drawing near
• 07/31/00  Forum for Contemporary Art Picks St. Louis Contractor
• 07/25/00  Work has begun to replace Darst-Webbe complex
• 07/24/00  Glennon plans $40 million expansion
• 07/19/00  Famous-Barr will spend $1 million transforming downtown alley/parking lot
• 07/10/00  The cost of NOT building a stadium
• 06/07/00  A.G. Edwards addition will bring 550 new jobs
• 05/25/00  Regional leaders will wait before committing funds to new stadium
• 04/28/00  Regional officials agree any new baseball stadium should be downtown
• 04/28/00  St. Louis area real estate experts see boom ahead
• 04/28/00  Public plaza will link hotel and office complex at Cupples Station
• 04/24/00  Downtown development would bring housing, offices and 15-acre lake
• 04/24/00  Plan to build black history museum here will take lots of cash
• 04/19/00  Life Science Technology Building and Learning Center
• 04/11/00  Gateway Parks & Trails receives boost from the Whitaker Foundation
• 04/11/00  Officials want more details on financing new ballpark
• 04/08/00  Cardinals unveil plans for new downtown ballpark
• 04/06/00  Plans are scaled back for mall near new courthouse
• 03/29/00  Campaign opens for museum of African-American history
• 03/27/00  Authority would own new stadium
• 03/19/00  Incentives help downtwon add jobs
• 03/19/00  Missouri pledges $2.8 million for visitors center near rivers' confluence
• 03/13/00  Bill would allow Cardinals to use sales tax money for new ballpark
• 03/11/00  Cardinals back bill to use sales tax money for new ballpark
• 03/01/00  Joyner-Kersee's center for children opens today
• 02/28/00  Small park will give Washington Avenue a site for street fairs
• 02/17/00  Widow leaves $4 million each to Tower Grove Park & MO Hist Soc.
• 02/07/00  Bank of America withdraws offer of $5.9 million for Syndicate Trust
• 01/24/00  St. Louis sells $22 million in Justice Center bonds
• 01/23/00  St. Louis must rebuild to attract businesses and revenue
• 01/03/00  City Museum prepares for $2 million expansion
• 01/03/00  Greenway Project to link recreation, tourism, business
   
  
  >>> For more information about the project, visit Confluence Greenway

 
Downtown Revitalization Act and the
Downtown Development Action Plan
 

The Downtown Development Action Plan is basically a master plan for revitalizing downtown St. Louis. Downtown Now! has been busy working on this $1 Billon plan since 1997. How will our region come up with this projected cost? One answer was the Downtown Revitalization Act (DRA), which was never given a chance by the Missouri Legislature to be voted on by the people of St. Louis County and City. The Act would have created a Downtown Revitalization District, with a board of trustees appointed by the County and City. County trustees would have had a 2/3 majority on the board. The District would also have had the power to submit a 0.4% sales tax to the voters of both City and County. Those against the DRA said they are in favor of more tax incentives for new businesses and development, yet on 04/20, the Senate cut the proposed tax subsidies for several urban redevelopment projects, including the Cupples Station redevelopment project and a convention hotel in St. Louis.
 

• 04/27/00  Funding for 2 St. Louis projects is revived in Legislature
• 04/25/00  Clay is marshaling support for effort to restore tax subsidies
• 04/20/00  Senate cuts subsidies for urban projects
• 04/04/00  Downtown St. Louis sales tax proposal called dead
• 04/02/00  Senators work together to find solution for downtown revitalization
• 04/02/00  Sales tax to help revive downtown has stalled in the state Legislature
• 03/15/00  Hotel Association Supports Downtown Revitalization
• 02/24/00  Leaders from St. Louis, Metro East meet to forge regional cooperation
• 02/23/00  City, county voters to decide on sales tax increase, improve downtown
• 02/05/00  Proponents push sales tax for downtown plan
  

 
City Living    Lofts - Apartments - Housing
 

In recent years, it has become clear that the demand for market-rate housing downtown has exceeded the existing supply. The existing condominiums and market-rate apartments are almost always filled to capacity, and some even have waiting lists. The downtown housing market could easily support an additional 470 new units each year, adding to the exhisting 5,700 housing units.
 

• 12/08/00  King Louis Square Rises at Site of Former Darst-Webbe Public Housing
• 10/23/00  St. Louisans support city reinvestment
• 10/02/00  Anatomy of a Renaissance
• 08/30/00  Developer Craig Heller sees the future of downtown - and it works
• 08/30/00  Lofts are planned for General American building
• 07/24/00  Construction Begins on King Louis Square to Create New Residential
• 06/07/00  Work at Darst-Webbe site is set for July
• 05/01/00  Century-old warehouses are being transformed into roomy lofts
• 04/13/00  Chicago group plans largest condo complex downtown
• 04/04/00  City Breaks Ground on Washington Avenue Streetscape Improvements
• 04/04/00  Upscale housing development hopes to attract middle-class to city
• 03/29/00  16 Community betterment projects receive funding
• 03/15/00  The Medve Group Brings Upscale Apartments to University City
• 02/28/00  Artist Selected for Public Art Project on Washington Avenue
• 02/09/00  Designers Test New Lights for Washington Avenue Loft District
• 01/25/00  City Planners Schedule Meetings for Near Northside Residents
• 01/25/00  New lofts enjoy an artistic touch
• 01/20/00  555 Washington Avenue may finally come to life
  

 
Forest Park ~ Forever
 

As of October 1st, 1999: Forest Park Forever has received about $31 million of its $43 million goal for park work. The city of St. Louis also has pledged $43 million for the project, which planners hope will be completed by 2004 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1904 World's Fair.
 

• 09/26/00  Highlights of Forest Park Golf Course Renovations
• 07/26/00  Forest Park golf courses to be redeveloped
• 05/01/00  Tax Credits are helping to preserve Forest Park
• 01/25/00  Forest Park group makes strides in raising money
  

 
Mass Transit and Highway Improvements
 

The Midwest Rail Initiative is an effort to develop and implement a business plan for improving and expanding passenger rail services in the Midwest. The rail lines radiating out from Chicago to Detroit, St. Louis, and Milwaukee were designated as official high speed rail corridors by Congress six years ago. Amtrak will spend $25 million to start a rail network designed to link nine Midwestern states with high-speed passenger trains, similar to its Northeast Corridor from Washington to Boston. The cost of the project is expected to be about $3.5 billion, with the federal government paying for at least half. The 110 mph trains will decrease the travel time from St. Louis to Kansas City from five hours 30 minutes to less than four hours and is expected to be finished in ten years.
 

• 08/28/00  Reconstruction to give U.S. 40 new, unique look
• 08/17/00  Pan Am Lifts Off in Maiden Voyage at MidAmerica Airport
• 08/16/00  FAA frees $31 million in grants to expand Lambert Airport
• 06/30/00  Mississippi River Crossing to Relieve Congestion at Downtown St. Louis
• 06/30/00  Bi-State starts fiscal year needing $8.2 million to balance budget
• 06/20/00  Bi-State receives $5.3M commitment
• 06/06/00  More airlines may follow Pan Am to MidAmerica
• 06/01/00  Officials announce plans for expanding MetroLink
• 05/18/00  Planners limit MetroLink's reach to I-270
• 05/18/00  Residents may have to fund MetroLink, planner says
• 04/19/00  St. Louis may proceed with $2.6 billion airport project
• 04/18/00  State would maintain some city roads under bill
• 04/07/00  Court upholds FAA's Lambert expansion review
• 04/07/00  Federal official will come to study MetroLink expansion
• 03/15/00  Illinois MetroLink line will get federal funds
• 03/12/00  Illinois, Missouri weigh high-speed train lines
• 03/06/00  St. Louis draws up plans for Highway 40
• 02/24/00  Planners warn money will fall short for area's transportation projects
• 01/20/00  State may move up highway project to satisfy car rental company
  

 
Renovation Projects
 

• 12/04/00  City developer's projects teeter
• 12/01/00  Pyramid may get some help to buy Arcade/Wright building
• 11/20/00  Pyramid fails to meet date to buy buildings
• 10/30/00  DESCO puts stamp on Old Post Office project
• 09/29/00  Company seeks court ruling to halt demolition of Syndicate Trust building
• 09/29/00  Judge says Syndicate Trust "hulk" must be demolished
• 09/25/00  Mark Schupp buys historic building at Fourth & Pine
• 08/28/00  HOK lights up distinctive St. Louis area monuments
• 08/22/00  Syndicate Trust building is sold to developer
• 08/20/00  Can the Old Post Office be saved?
• 08/01/00  Lighting the city’s historic art and monuments
• 07/18/00  Famous-Barr Retail Streetscape Project
• 07/11/00  Tower Grove Park renovation is in homestretch
• 07/05/00  A Run on the Bank
• 07/01/00  Profile: Leader of the Loop - Joe Edwards
• 07/01/00  Progressive Preservation
• 06/21/00  Auto Warehouse renovated into $8.5 Million Headquarters
• 06/19/00  $13 million renovation of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium Building
• 06/13/00  South Side National Bank Feasibility Study Completed
• 05/15/00  Historic Row House Reopens as Mounted Police Stable
• 05/12/00  Jewel Box in Forest Park named to National Register of Historic Places
• 05/01/00  Tax credits and unique, creative spaces spur redevelopment
• 04/10/00  Developers buy the long-vacant Arcade building
• 04/10/00  Plan to fix up Soulard Market is alive but uncertain
• 04/03/00  Culling some buildings could jump start downtown
• 02/20/00  Merchants reject plan for upgrading Soulard Market
  

 
St. Louis Kiel Opera House
 

The Kiel Opera House was last used in 1992, temporarily closed while the adjacent Kiel Center was being built. Owners of the new Kiel Center, Clark Enterprises, and the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority had agreed to renovate the Opera House. The Opera House was never renovated, and the only repairs made were for damage the structure suffered while Kiel Center was being built. Even though the Opera House was supposed to be closed temporarily, St. Louisans find themselves fighting to reopen the Kiel Opera House as the performing arts center it was.
 

• 02/19/00  Kiel Opera House has new "historic" status; development may cost less
  

 
Eads Bridge
 

The latest news on Eads Bridge is that the blueprints call for four lanes of vehicle traffic with a five-foot-wide path for pedestrians and cyclists on the north side of the bridge. Harmon recently said two lanes of traffic would be closed on the weekends for use by bicyclists, joggers and pedestrians. The Port Authority plans to relight the Eads Bridge with decorative lights that will outline the arches and columns and illuminate the arcades. Design elements feature a decorative handrail and period type street lamps from the turn-of-the-century. The project is now estimated at $35 million and is scheduled to be completed in the Spring of 2002.
 

• 02/01/00  Money turns up for Eads Bridge improvements
• 09/02/00  Eads Bridge renovation gets lift from individuals, groups
• 02/01/00  This Bridge was Made for Walking
  

 
St. Louis Arena 1929-1999
 

Balke Brown Acquisitions Corp. completed an agreement with St. Louis city to buy the Arena site for $9 million. A commercial and mixed-used development is planned for the 26-acre site and construction should start this summer. The city bought the Arena in 1986 for $15 million, of which a $6 million debt remains. The Arena, which has been vacant since 1995, was demolished on February 27, 1999.


- Saint Louis Business Journal; February 10, 1999

 

• 09/11/00  A.G. Edwards signs lease at The Highlands
• 03/23/00  Construction of The Highlands @ Forest Park Can Begin
• 03/06/00  A nostalgic look at the future
• 02/27/00  A year after arena came down, site remains barren
• 01/19/00  Spirtas, state argue over what to do with Arena debris
  

 
Downtown Hotels Plans
 

The funding package was unveiled for the $245 million convention hotel downtown. If everything goes as planned, construction should start March 2000 and be finished by mid 2002. The Board of Aldermen also signed off on two other projects early this year: $5.3 million in tax aid for renovation of the old Edison Brothers warehouse and $600,000 in tax assistance for the Robert E. Lee riverboat. With these projects under way and the Drury Inn and Suites almost finished with the restoration of the old Fur Exchange and adjacent buildings, not to mention the Cupples Station renovation, Saint Louis is looking rather brilliant and more projects are on the way. Historic Restoration Inc.(HRI), the developer of the convention hotel, said it's eyeing other St. Louis sites for renovation. It already had submitted a proposal to transform the Merchandise Mart building on Washington Avenue into luxury apartments. They also expressed interest to be working in St. Louis long-term. They want to carry out 8 to 10 projects in the area over the next decade.
 

• 11/30/00  Convention hotel financing called complete
• 07/17/00  Hotel price climbs to $260 million
• 07/11/00  Group plans eight-story hotel near Barnes-Jewish Hospital
• 06/15/00  Convention hotel's rising costs delay project again
• 05/04/00  Gundaker will take 4 floors of Edison Brothers building
• 05/04/00  Missouri Senate OKs state subsidies for convention hotel
• 04/21/00  Convention Hotel Is a Go!
• 04/18/00  Aldermen approve new proposal for financing the convention hotel
• 04/17/00  Drury Plaza Hotel Celebrates Grand Opening
• 04/10/00  7,400 hotel rooms being added here, 20% increase
• 03/25/00  City will sell additional bonds for new convention hotel
• 03/17/00  Developer says hotel complex will go ahead
• 03/16/00  Union dispute could threaten hotel project
• 03/15/00  Downtown’s New Historic Hotels
• 02/27/00  Downtown convention hotel hinges on large amount of public money
• 01/27/00  Schoemehl would drastically change Centre
• 01/30/00  Drury Plaza Hotel Opens For Travelers
• 01/26/00  Schoemehl offers plan for downtown convention hotel
• 01/05/00  New casino hotel opens at East St. Louis casino
• 01/04/00  Chase owners will seek different financing
• 01/04/00  New hotel at Casino Queen opens with views of St. Louis skyline
  
  

  For more hotel information, visit Saint Louis Hotel News