A Baltimore-based company has gotten the initial go-ahead to redevelop the site of the long-vacant Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis.
The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday authorized Cordish Cos. as the developer of the land at 200 S. Fourth St. The $670 million project calls for upscale residential, Class A office space, an amphitheater, a food hall, an improved streetscape and other amenities.
“What we are hoping to inspire through this new development that's being proposed by the Cordish Group is something that our constituents in the city of St Louis can be proud of,” said Neal Richardson, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corporation, which provides professional staff to the LCRA. “We're setting a new vision for where downtown can be. We're creating a new era for downtown.”
Cordish is best known in St. Louis for its work on Ballpark Village north of Busch Stadium. The PWC Pennant building, which opened in 2019, was the first new Class A office space to open in St. Louis in 30 years.
“We see this project as a natural complement for Ballpark Village,” said Cordish chief operating officer Zed Smith. “We've learned a lot over the years. We know the St Louis market well, and we believe now is the time to double down our commitment to its future.”
Smith said the Millennium project was not a replacement for the completion of a third phase of Ballpark Village, which would take in three surface lots at the site’s northern edge.
Tuesday’s decision also clears the way for the Gateway Arch Park Foundation to finish negotiations to buy the hotel from its current owners, a Singapore-based hospitality company. The nonprofit had wanted an identified developer before it took on the financial risk of purchasing the building.
“This is what St. Louis can do when we work together in this public-private partnership,” said foundation Executive Director Ryan McClure. “We don't know how to do anything differently than that. And so this is how this is going to get done. This is how it has to get done.”
There is no timeline yet for construction to begin on the project. The LCRA cannot officially sign a deal with Cordish until the Board of Aldermen approves the redevelopment plan. The board’s next session begins in April. However, the timing of the legislation may depend on the outcome of the mayor’s race. Cara Spencer, whose 8th Ward includes the Millennium site, is running for mayor. If she wins, there will be a special election to fill her seat within 90 days.
Gateway South deadlines
The LCRA on Tuesday also gave the developer of the Gateway South project until Dec. 31 to purchase the land needed for the first phase of the project.
Good Developments Group wants to turn 95 acres south of the Poplar Street Bridge into a hub for the building industry in St. Louis. The first phase, for which the company got $155 million in industrial revenue bonds last June, centers on rehabbing the buildings in the Crunden-Martin Manufacturing complex.
The company originally had until Dec. 31, 2023, to acquire 14 parcels of land that would make up the first phase. An amended redevelopment agreement extended the purchasing deadline to June 30, 2024.
Michael Fletcher, general counsel for Good Developments, said the company has nine of the 14 parcels under contract. He said the latest extension will be more than enough time to secure the remaining five parcels, all of which are currently owned by the same entity.
