Project Start: 2002
Between 2003 and 2008, over 100 new stores and restaurants opened their doors in Arch City.
St. Louis: gateway to retail
Once a thriving center of commerce, trade, and industry, St. Louis' downtown suffered from high vacancies, a small (though growing) residential population, and a severe lack of retail and recreational amenities.
The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis (Downtown STL) hired downtown works to create and implement a Retail Merchandising Plan and Leasing Strategy. The project area was large and marked by a high vacancy rate (50%), and we recognized that achieving a critical mass of activity would require concentrating the revitalization efforts. Our team prioritized three "Zones of Opportunity" based on a logical and
ideal timeline for revitalization efforts in the short-, mid-, and long-term. We evaluated the physical condition of existing buildings, major impediments to downtown development, and urban design and streetscape factors; assessed the current retail mix; and trained a retail recruiter identified by the Downtown STL.
Since downtown
works' involvement in downtown St. Louis, numerous vacancies have been filled and sales per square foot are at an all time high. Between 2003 and the end of 2004, eight new restaurants and ten new retailers opened. From the beginning of 2005 through the end of 2006, 30 new retailers
and 13 new restaurants opened; by fall of 2008, over 100 new stores and restaurants had located in downtown St. Louis. Spaces that were originally renting for $10-12 per square foot are now commanding $20-22 per square foot. Today, in the mid-term and long-term nodes, public and private partnership projects are beginning to take root and additional service uses and restaurants are locating downtown.
