More development planned in the Central Corridor near CORTEX and across from IKEA.
A $232 million plan to redevelop the former Federal-Mogul foundry site moves ahead
By Tim Bryant
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
8 hrs ago
Work could begin this summer to redo an old foundry as a food hall flanked by new offices, stores and apartments in a $232 million overhaul of 14 acres in Midtown St. Louis.
Behind the project are Lawrence Group and the Cortex technology district. Dennis Lower, chief executive of Cortex, and Steve Smith, Lawrence Group’s chief executive, said Thursday that the project would bring new jobs and companies to St. Louis.
The site in the 3700 block of Forest Park Avenue is between Vandeventer and Spring avenues on the north side of Highway 40 (Interstate 64).
Smith said he hoped cleanup of the former Federal-Mogul foundry could begin this summer, followed by construction of as many as four new buildings by some time in 2018.
“This is not just a building,” Smith said. “This is a comprehensive vision for a district that spans all the way from Vandeventer to Spring.”
Lower said the project, which is just east of Cortex, was part of the district’s effort to attract more “knowledge economy” entrepreneurs and companies to St. Louis.
“We’re not just moving widgets around the board,” he said.
The developers hopes the project, called East of Cortex, could eventually produce more than 2,500 jobs.
Alderman Joe Roddy, whose 17th Ward includes the Federal-Mogul site, has scheduled a public meeting to provide details of the project. The two-hour meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Library Annex, at 3693 Forest Park.
The project would begin with renovation of the Federal-Mogul foundry, which closed in 2007. The redevelopment plan envisions rehabbing the building, dubbed the Idea Market, as a food court with local merchants and offices. Other parts of the project include:
• A mixed-use, 90,000-square-foot building on Spring. Smith said he was confident a grocery would occupy part of the building.
• Two office buildings, both with retail space, along Vandeventer. Renderings show the taller building would rise to about 13 floors.
Along Forest Park Avenue, a midrise building with at least 200 apartments.
• Reconstruction of the unused railroad trestle on the site as part of a recreational trail for hikers and bicyclists. The Great Rivers Greenway District has proposed incorporating the rail line into the district’s regional network of bikeways.
• Parking for more than 2,600 vehicles.
Also planned, next to Forest Park Avenue, is a plaza between the apartment building and the office building.
Smith said potential tenants were already showing interest in the project.
Read More &
NextSTL:
Cortex, Lawrence Group Team Up for $232M Midtown Project
Threaded Mode