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ULI St.

Louis

Technical Assistance Panel


Funding for this TAP was made possible through an
Urban Innovation Grant from the ULI Foundation

ULI St. Louis Mission


The mission of the ULI St. Louis is to provide leadership
in the responsible use of land and in creating and
sustaining, thriving communities worldwide.

Technical Assistance Panel

Purpose
Objective, multidisciplinary advice on land use and real estate
issues developed over the course of one and a half days
ULI St. Louis members from across the region volunteer their
time to participate as panelists

TAP Members
Panel Chair
Chip Crawford, Forum Studio
Panel Members
Andy Trivers, Trivers Associates
John Shreve, Populous
Tyler Meyr, Forum Studio
Wendy Timm, Enhanced Value Strategies, Inc.
Larry James, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP
Hank Webber, Washington University
Technical Writer & ULI St. Louis District Coordinator: Kelly Annis
Panel Work Day: May 7, 2015

The Railway Exchange

TAP was commissioned by Downtown


STL, Inc. in partnership with ULI St.
Louis to study the Railway Exchange
Building, 1.2 million square feet
The Developer has market studies
supporting certain uses within the
building, yet significant space remains
The developer, contemplating the above
studies and draft plans, asked the Panel
to determine the best possible use or mix
of uses and related capacities to
transform the building into a healthy
place and destination for St. Louis

Context
Transportation & Transit:

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Within
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Washington Ave Streetscape


Phase 3
7th & 8th Streets Streetscape
With the CityArchRiver project in
Kiener Plaza, a dedicated bike lane
along Chestnut is being designed
Downtown Trolley Bus
Arch Circulator
St. Louis Streetcar
Metro Convention Center, 8th &
Pine renovations

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Transporta on & Transit projects near the Railway Exchange Building


Washington Avenue Streetscape Phase 3 (7th St. to Memorial) Construc on expected to start this fall.
7th & 8th Streets Streetscape (Washington to Pine) Preliminary design work done, hoping for federal funds for
construc on in 2016/2017.
With the CityArchRiver project in Kiener Plaza, a dedicated bike lane along Chestnut is being designed, which could lead
to another bike lane on Pine.
Downtown Trolley Bus Due to Civic Center Sta on expansion, Trolley to be rerouted with opportunity for adjustments.
Arch Circulator New project to be er connect the Arch Grounds to downtown. Ini al study just completed by the
Na onal Park Service. This could be a separate service from Metro and the Downtown Trolley Bus.
St. Louis Streetcar Poten al Phase 1 routes could have tracks on both Olive and Locust along the Railway Exchange.
Selec on of the Phase 1 routes expected in early 2016, but construc on 3-4 years away.
Metro is looking to renovate both the Conven on Center MetroLink sta on and the 8th & Pine MetroLink sta on.

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US Ba
MX B
S fel
City G
Merc
Galle
LaSal
Metr
Surfa
Macy

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Treas
720 O
705 O
Chem
Form
Amer
Laure
555 W
505 W
Misso
500 B
Galle

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Feder
Feder
Marq
Secur
Secur
St. Lo
Hilton
Bank
Kiene
Kiene
Wain

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39.

AT&T
Arcad
Paul B
Old P
Old P
Towe

40. Magn

41. Orph

42. Rena

Context
MX & 600 Washington: new restaurants (2)
Mercantile Library bldgs: empty, 250,000 sf (5)
Gallery at 515: 102 new apts (6)
LaSalle bldg: empty, 37,000 sf (7)
Met Square: Office, needs retail (8)
Surface parking: RX owner (9)
Macys Garage: RX owner (10)
720 Olive: 111 apts planned (12)
705 Olive: plans for boutique hotel (13)
Chemical Bldg: 1 sm tenant, plans stalled, 135,000 sf (14)
Former Hamilton Jewelers: restaurant under construction (15)
Americas Center: plans for coffee shop (16)
Laurel: Natl Blues Museum, restaurants (17)
555 Wash: new restaurant (18)
505 Wash: empty, 45,000 sf (19)
Marquette Bldg apartments to condo (25)
Kiener East Garage contemplating improvements (31)
Kiener West Garage contemplating improvements (32)
Arcade under construction, 282 living units, Webster U (35)
Tower at OPOP new residential & restaurant (39)
Orpheum Theater empty, 35,000 sf (41)
Renaissance Hotel renovating (42)

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US Ban
MX Bu
S fel F
City Ga
Merca
Gallery
LaSalle
Metro
Surfac
Macys

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Treasu
720 Ol
705 Ol
Chemi
Forme
Americ
Laurel
555 W
505 W
Missou
500 Br
Gallery

23. Federa
24. Federa
25. Marqu

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Transporta on & Transit projects near the Railway Exchange Building


Washington Avenue Streetscape Phase 3 (7th St. to Memorial) Construc on expected to start this fall.
7th & 8th Streets Streetscape (Washington to Pine) Preliminary design work done, hoping for federal funds for
construc on in 2016/2017.
With the CityArchRiver project in Kiener Plaza, a dedicated bike lane along Chestnut is being designed, which could lead
to another bike lane on Pine.
Downtown Trolley Bus Due to Civic Center Sta on expansion, Trolley to be rerouted with opportunity for adjustments.
Arch Circulator New project to be er connect the Arch Grounds to downtown. Ini al study just completed by the
Na onal Park Service. This could be a separate service from Metro and the Downtown Trolley Bus.
St. Louis Streetcar Poten al Phase 1 routes could have tracks on both Olive and Locust along the Railway Exchange.
Selec on of the Phase 1 routes expected in early 2016, but construc on 3-4 years away.
Metro is looking to renovate both the Conven on Center MetroLink sta on and the 8th & Pine MetroLink sta on.

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27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
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33.

Securit
Securit
St. Lou
Hilton
Bank o
Kiener
Kiener
Wainw

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36.
37.
38.
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AT&T D
Arcade
Paul B
Old Po
Old Po
Tower
Magno

41. Orphe

42. Renais

Panels Charge
1. With a number of potential uses
under consideration for the
redevelopment of the Railway
Exchange Building, what is the best
possible use or mix of uses that
should be pursued to transform the
building into a healthy place and a
destination for downtown St. Louis?
2. Based on the findings related to
Question 1, what are the most
viable capacities for the proposed
uses?

Stakeholder Meetings
City of St. Louis
SLDC, Urban Planning
Civic Leaders
Regional Chamber, Civic Progress
CVB, CityArchRiver
Economic Development Partnership
Real Estate & Business Owners
Developers
Business Owners
Technology Companies
Consultants

T-Rex Interviews

T-Rex started here


Need more of this kind of success
Innovation corridor/district
Shows the art of the possible

Came from other cities


They love it here
Want more space to grow
Want mixed-use lifestylelive/work

TAP Recommendations

Overall Observations
Difficult challengeIncredible scale
No one solutionbut solutions of solutions
Multi-dimensionalPhases of phases
Critical for our regions success
Attract and retain talent
Re-brand the experience
Amazing architecture and opportunity for great design
Need to build-in flexibility to adapt and evolve
Design matters
A destination and a gateway
the Railway Exchange Building

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2]
3]
4]
5]
6]
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9]
10]

Put People First


Recognize The Economic Value
Empower Champions For Health
Energize Shared Spaces
Make Healthy Choices Easy
Ensure Equitable Access
Mix It Up
Embrace Unique Character
Provide Access To Healthy Food
Make It Active

1] Put People First


Integrate health into planning
Consider health impacts over time
Walkability

Its about the full life experience


Bigger than just this building
Recreation and wellness built-in

2] Recognize The Economic Value


Marketability to lifestyle shifts
Millennials desire urban settings
Age in place

Incredible scale
Multi-dimensionalPhases of phases
Critical for our regions success
Build community/Drive jobs

3] Empower Champions For Health


Communicate the benefits
Forge unlikely partnerships
Encourage grassroots action
Build a brand

Opportunity to re-brand
Appeal to many champions
Radical partnerships

4] Energize Shared Spaces


Leverage community assets
Take back the streets
Rethink public spaces
Program early and often

Need public and private cooperation


Create a great public realm
Incorporate with-in and take up thru the building

5] Make Healthy Choices Easy


Provide a variety of healthy choices
Promote walking, biking, and multiple modes of transit
Ensure a safe environment
Make the user experience fun and interesting

Well situated for multi-modal options


Promote biking
Overcome/change current crime perception

6] Ensure Equitable Access


Design for all ages and abilities
Integrate land-use and transit
Focus on schools and education

1.2MSFsomething for everyone


Multiple product levels
Encourage diverse mix

7] Mix It Up
Ensure a variety of uses
Incentivize the mix
Remove regulatory barriers
Rethink parking

Optimize compatible mix of uses


Provide missing services for downtown community
Develop serious parking strategy
Incorporate south block

8] Embrace Unique Character


Build on genius of this place
Rediscover assets
Integrate natural systems
Build a brand

Celebrate diversity
Needs to be super cool
Leverage this key location in downtown
Opportunity to do something really different and unique

9] Provide Access To Healthy Food


Rethink the grocery store
Make food a destination
Incorporate access to healthy food into local land-use
and economic policy

Its about the healthy, full life experience


Need more dining options
Create economy around food destination
Leverage breadbasket of the world

10] Make It Active


Maximize opportunities for healthy physical activities
Begin every trip with a walk
Implement active-living guidelines
Design for flexibility

Think about rec center as core of DNA


Create as hub of bike-share in StL
Leverage this vertical neighborhood

Building Programming
21 Floors
1.2 million
Square Feet
1000
Parking
Spaces

Floor 21
Hotel Ballroom, Pool,
Sky Bar, Restaurant

Floors 14 20
Residential
200 250 units
Shared amenities with hotels
(pool, restaurant, fitness facility)

Floor 12 13
Hotel Extended Stay
Shared amenities for all hotels
(pool, restaurant, fitness facility)

Floors 9 11
4 Star Hotel
100 125 rooms
Shared amenities for all hotels
(pool, restaurant, fitness facility)

Floor 7 8
Boutique Hotel
21C or similar
Shared amenities for all hotels
(pool, restaurant, fitness facility)

Floors 3 6
Innovation Office Space
Cortex2, Gifted Space
Studio space, film production, maker space
Design center/hub, drone port

Floor 2
Sports zone/fitness
Restaurant
Learning Space

Floor 1
Food marketplace
Playground
Restaurant
Retail Walgreens, CVS, Urban Target
Destination Retail design focused

Atrium
Core atrium down and use skylights to bring
light down to lower floors

Basement
Tenant Storage
Studio Space

Surface Lot & Streetscape


Convert to Plaza and formal building entrance
Bike Share station

Garage
Improve and upgrade retail and pedestrian
experience, new skin,
7th Street is priority pull ramp off and add up
ramp in the alley, mid-block

Sky Gardens & Rooftop Promenade


Convert to Plaza and formal building entrance
Bike Share station

Building Programming
21 Floors
1.2 million
Square Feet
1000
Parking
Spaces

Strategy

Several uses, phased over time may require separate ownerships to share risk
Total cost will exceed $250m and require significant public monies
Risk can be mitigated with gray box condominium ownership
Public spaces = shared building amenities
Sponsorship stacking makes capital stacking of debt, private equity, tax credits and
other incentives more manageable
Sponsorship components can also accelerate velocity of construction and mixeduse occupancy
Explore other community partnerships (Art Museum, etc.) to provide space for
rotating exhibits
Pocket parks within each use/floor cutting back interior space to expose to
outside/environment
Play off Railway Exchange name in branding of the building Idea Exchange
Vertical circulation becomes exposed and visible to the outside.

Thank You

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