Environmental cleanup began this week in midtown St. Louis at the former Federal-Mogul foundry, which the Lawrence Group is redoing as stores, offices and a food hall.
Steve Smith, the Lawrence Group’s chief executive, announced the work Thursday and added that Bull Moose Industries will take “a significant ownership interest†in what has grown to as large as a $340 million redevelopment of the 14-acre site.
Bull Moose, a maker of metal tubes mainly for the construction industry, is part of London-based Caparo Group. Chesterfield-based Bull Moose shares ownership of with the Lawrence Group, which is redoing the structure, at 634 North Grand Boulevard, as a hotel and .
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The Lawrence Group’s name for is City Foundry Saint Louis at Cortex. The site on Forest Park Avenue is between Vandeventer and Spring avenues on the north side of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) and east of the Cortex technology district.
Smith praised Swarj Paul, chairman of Bull Moose and founder of Caparo, for Bull Moose’s investment in City Foundry. Paul is an Indian-born entrepreneur who holds the aristocratic title Lord Paul of Marylebone.
Michael Blatz, chief executive of Bull Moose, said in a statement, “This new investment by Lord Paul represents our continued confidence in St. Louis as well as our belief in the exciting vision laid out by Steve Smith for the City Foundry development.â€
Smith said the environmental cleanup, aided with $5.6 million in brownfields tax credits from the state, will take six months to complete. Elements of City Foundry’s first phase, scheduled to open in 2018, will include:
• About 48,000 square feet of restaurant and food hall space with approximately 20 “chef-driven†food stalls and as many as four full-service restaurants.
• Offices totaling 124,000 square feet of space and as many as 45 retailers in 133,000 square feet of space.
• A 511-car parking garage and surface parking.
• Connections to the Great Rivers Greenway trail system.
Smith said the Lawrence Group has “tremendous interest†from potential office tenants, adding that interest in food hall space is “off the charts.†He said he hopes to announce office tenants in 60 to 75 days and food hall occupants in a few months. The Lawrence Group also has a letter of intent for 30,000 square feet of retail space, said Smith, who declined to identify the potential user.
City Foundry will generate as many as 870 jobs and lead to more development nearby, he said.
Among such projects is on the other side of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) from the City Foundry site. Green Street Properties plans to renovate the Armory as an entertainment destination, company officials have said.
Smith said the Armory project and others, including a MetroLink station at Cortex, will attract more people to midtown. Dennis Lower, chief executive of Cortex, said in a statement that City Foundry “will be a tremendous amenity to the already vibrant innovation community that exists at Cortex.â€
Smith said he believes midtown redevelopment will “explode†over the next five years. He compared midtown — between downtown St. Louis and Clayton — to thriving midtown Atlanta between downtown Atlanta and the Buckhead district.
Plans for a future City Foundry phase include a 279-unit residential tower, 265,000 square feet of office space and 16,000 square feet of retail space.
Smith said cleanup of the Federal Mogul foundry will include removal of graffiti on parts of the old buildings. Much of the vandalism is on corrugated metal that will be removed as part of the redevelopment, he said.