ST. LOUIS — It was a “surreal experience†for developer Jassen Johnson as he made his way past security into City Hall earlier this month, clad in gloves and a mask with a stack of plans.
But he walked out with a building permit to finally begin construction on his long-planned rehab of the old long-distance telephone exchange, known as the Beaumont Building, at 2650 Locust Street. A final $5 million ground lease loan from Twain Financial Partners, which recently rehabbed an old building for its own new office nearby, was the final piece of a $23 million financing package he’s been working to build since purchasing the building over two years ago.
Johnson’s project, dubbed the Malone, will add 73 apartments and 25 live-work office spaces to the historic structure, which also obtained state and federal tax credit commitments. Construction is starting this month and he hopes to have it ready for occupancy next spring. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Johnson said his vision for the area straddling downtown west and midtown, which he calls the Jefferson Connector, is still advancing — one building at a time.
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The area, one of the last underdeveloped spots in the Central Corridor, has seen a flurry of development proposals in the last year.Â
“There’s still projects like Malone that are going to happen and are continuing to push through on this,†Johnson said.
Johnson has spent years rehabbing historic buildings in the area into creative office and restaurant spaces. Construction is ongoing on several smaller buildings near the Beaumont for restaurant and office space.
He acknowledged that restaurant expansions are on hold now, but he said he believes they will “reengage†as the crisis subsides. “We had a lot of good negotiations in motion,†Johnson said.
As for office work after the crisis, yes, many companies are discovering just how effective they can be working remotely and could cut real estate overhead in the future. But Johnson said the smaller creative firms his buildings cater to tell him that if they weren’t working from home before the crisis, they likely wouldn’t start after.
For those people who do work remotely, the live-work offices planned for the Beaumont are a good fit, he said.
The restaurant spaces will come online as Wells Fargo Advisors, with its massive nearby campus that is home base to some 5,100 employees, looks to be more engaged in the neighborhood. Amenities like restaurants are important for its recruitment efforts, Johnson contends.
Wells Fargo just recently sold off a portion of its campus at the corner of Jefferson and Market streets to developer Green Street St. Louis. The company had been moving employees to rehabbed space in its newer buildings and had hinted at a sale of the land with the outdated structures. It frequently hosts employee training conferences here, and officials had indicated it could benefit from a full-service hotel with large enough conference spaces to host employees.
There are no final plans — yet — for the Wells Fargo-owned northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Market Street.Â
The company Green Street used to acquire the real estate is 2601 Market Hotel Investors LLC.
Otis Williams, who heads the city’s economic development office, told his board this week that Wells Fargo’s presence here is secure.
“Wells Fargo is actually looking to grow,†Williams said. “They’re not ready to make any announcements yet, but I don’t see any danger of any decline there.
“We had a lot of good negotiations in motion.â€