John Yates’ Post

Excellent and sobering article in the WSJ about St. Louis and it's struggling downtown. I used to live in STL proper, and downtown has been in a downward spiral for decades. Cities such as San Francisco and Chicago are trying to save their downtown office districts from spiraling into a doom loop. St. Louis is already trapped in one. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown. This self-reinforcing cycle accelerated in recent years as the pandemic emptied offices. St. Louis’s central business district had the steepest drop in foot traffic of 66 major North American cities between the start of the pandemic and last summer, according to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. Traffic has improved some in the past 12 months, but at a slower rate than many Midwestern cities. https://lnkd.in/gfzkBZYF

The Railway Exchange Building was the heart of downtown St. Louis for a century. Every day, locals crowded into the sprawling, ornate 21-story office building to go to work, shop at the department store that filled its lower floors or dine on the famous French onion soup at its restaurant. Today, the building sits empty, with many of its windows boarded up. A fire broke out last year, which authorities suspect was the work of copper thieves. Police and firefighters send in occasional raids to search for missing people or to roust squatters. A search dog died during one of the raids last year when it fell through an open window. “It’s a very dangerous place,” said Dennis Jenkerson, the St. Louis Fire Department chief. It anchors a neighborhood with deserted sidewalks sprinkled with broken glass and tiny pieces of copper pipes left behind by scavengers. Signs suggest visitors should “park in well-lit areas.” Nearby, the city’s largest office building—the 44-story AT&T Tower, now empty—recently sold for around $3.5 million. Cities such as San Francisco and Chicago are trying to save their downtown office districts from spiraling into a doom loop. St. Louis is already trapped in one. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown. This self-reinforcing cycle accelerated in recent years as the pandemic emptied offices. St. Louis’s central business district had the steepest drop in foot traffic of 66 major North American cities between the start of the pandemic and last summer, according to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. St. Louis stands as a warning to others: This is the future for America’s downtowns if they can’t reinvent themselves and halt the downward spiral. Last year, the city demolished a bridge connecting the Railway Exchange Building to a parking garage across the street because people kept using it to break into the building. It’s the cities far from the coasts that are suffering most. Six of the 10 U.S. office districts with the steepest drop in foot traffic between 2019 and mid-2023 are in the Midwest, according to the University of Toronto.   As in other Midwestern cities, the St. Louis office district has suffered a slow demise for decades. Population loss, competition from newer offices in the suburbs and failed urban planning left behind a glut of dreary, empty buildings and wide, dangerous roads. The business district has few apartments. There are some tourists, but not enough to make up for missing office workers. “It’s a classic chicken and egg kind of deal,” said Glenn MacDonald, a professor of economics at Washington University in St. Louis’s Olin Business School. “People don’t go there because there’s nothing to do. There’s nothing to do because people don’t go there.”

Texas’ major cities are vibrant (though not without their problems), but with generally good near-term prospects. That’s why it’s hard to conceive of experiencing the “doom loop” as depicted in this article about St. Louis which was once a jewel of the Midwest.  This is the counter to Austin and Fort Worth, as two examples.  It reinforces that prosperity is neither inevitable nor perpetual.  It requires thoughtful, multi-generational leadership and sound economic policies, among many other factors.  From WSJ: Cities such as San Francisco and Chicago are trying to save their downtown office districts from spiraling into a doom loop. St. Louis is already trapped in one. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown.This self-reinforcing cycle accelerated in recent years as the pandemic emptied offices. St. Louis’s central business district had the steepest drop in foot traffic of 66 major North American cities between the start of the pandemic and last summer, according to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. Traffic has improved some in the past 12 months, but at a slower rate than many Midwestern cities.Now, it stands as a warning to others: This is the future for America’s downtowns if they can’t reinvent themselves and halt the downward spiral.  https://lnkd.in/gfTReGix

As a seasoned real estate expert based in New York City, the stark contrast between the vibrant recovery of NYC and the challenges in downtown St. Louis is both striking and enlightening. While NYC has bounced back robustly from pandemic setbacks, St. Louis demonstrates the tough realities many Midwestern cities face. St. Louis’s Struggles: Iconic structures like the Railway Exchange Building and AT&T Tower are largely vacant, symbolizing the city’s broader challenges. The loss of key retail spaces, such as Panera, has drastically reduced foot traffic and economic activity, accelerating the urban decay. NYC’s Resilience: In contrast, NYC has seen a dynamic resurgence in its commercial and residential sectors, driven by innovative adaptations like mixed-use developments and workspace redesigns. NYC's proactive strategies, including converting offices to residential spaces and enhancing public amenities, have helped sustain its urban appeal. Strategies for St. Louis: 1. Adaptive Reuse: Inspired by NYC's success, transforming underutilized office spaces into residential units could revitalize St. Louis’s downtown. 2. Strengthening Partnerships: Effective collaboration among government, business leaders, and investors is essential for supporting large-scale redevelopment projects. 3. Business Incentives: Drawing from NYC’s playbook, financial incentives for businesses can help sustain economic activity and community vibrancy. Call to Action: Drawing from my experience in NYC and other dynamic markets throughout the world, I see significant opportunities for St. Louis to adopt similar urban revitalization strategies. Let’s discuss how we can apply these lessons to rejuvenate struggling city centers. #UrbanRevitalization #NYCRealEstate #StLouis #CommunityEngagement #commercialrealestate #Savills Jim Wenk Kirill Azovtsev Shay Bolton Scott Bogetti Matthew Gibson Jessica Conklin

DID COVID KILL MIDWEST CITIES? “When the pandemic broke out in 2020 and millions of employees got used to working from home, pundits predicted the demise of big coastal cities. But office districts in New York, Miami and Boston have bounced back better than skeptics feared… “it’s the cities far from the coasts that are suffering most. Six of the 10 U.S. office districts with the steepest drop in foot traffic between 2019 and mid-2023 are in the Midwest, according to the University of Toronto.” #stlouis #midwest #covid #commercialrealestate https://lnkd.in/ew3cvMh3

Konrad Putzier at The Wall Street Journal delivers a thoughtful piece chronicling how St. Louis' CBD is now trapped in an urban doom loop. Once there, the decline spreads in a non-forgiving way. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close, and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown. Now, it stands as a warning to others: This is the future for America’s downtowns if they can’t reinvent themselves and halt the downward spiral. The AT&T Tower just sold for $4 Million, quite a drop from its price in 2006 of $205 Million. Many similar stories. I remember venturing into a downtown St. Louis hotel in 2013 with my wife and daughter who was considering a scholarship offer from St. Louis University (SLU). On our second night, we arrived at the hotel after dark. Recognizing we had a drive to Chicago scheduled for the morning, I asked the valet where I could get some gas downtown. He pulled me aside and said "you don't want to be on the streets of downtown after dark for any reason." I went to my room. Fortunately, there is good news happening not far from the legacy CBD. To the office district’s immediate west, the Downtown West neighborhood boasts loft apartments, a new soccer stadium, and a train station-turned-amusement park. These developments have revived a once-abandoned industrial area, proving that people want to be in downtown St. Louis if it’s pleasant. To the south, a cluster of bars and restaurants around the Cardinals’ ballpark is often crowded, especially on game days. Visits to the Gateway Arch east of downtown are up. These neighborhoods show how big developments and apartment conversions can attract residents, which in turn attract bars and restaurants. The Central Living District (CLD) is thriving.

The Wall Street Journal depicted Downtown St. Louis as a modern day Gotham made famous by the comic book Batman; they are not wrong. “The night is darkest just before the dawn.” Although the above quote from the Batman movie Dark Knight is not scientifically accurate (see 12 am), it succinctly describes the glum chapter we are on in our City’s history. The WSJ writer accurately paints a picture of a once vibrant ecosystem that is almost devoid of any pulse with its numerous vacant buildings, boarded-up businesses, scant foot traffic and rampant crime. Through compelling data, the story describes our Downtown’s descent into a doom loop Post-COVID with an inability to reinvent itself for a 21st Century remote-work world. Based on its research, we are near rock bottom compared to other major U.S. cities. We need St. Louis’ leadership to drastically change the spiraling trajectory of our Downtown with policies that reinvent how our lodestar and its residents/businesses co-exist. Other Rustbelt cities like Detroit have done an amazing job transforming their downtown’s into vibrant livable spaces again. I firmly believe we can do it with the public and private sectors working together to formulate a revolutionary strategic plan. The leaders of the City have been copied/put on notice with this LinkedIn post. Let’s see if they engage their constituents in a joint effort to rehab the face of Downtown for the betterment of our community. Show us the light! “And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” #community #rebirth #change #hope L. Jared Boyd Sara Baker Conner Kerrigan Charles E. Coyle, Sr. Megan-Ellyia Green Cara Spencer Neal Richardson, MBA Jason Hall City of St. Louis Greater St. Louis, Inc. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Alan Achkar St. Louis Business Journal Erik Siemers Konrad Putzier

#SwindonIn50MoreBuildings - the old post office in #Highworth and Mabel Stranks: As a building, the Old Post Office Highworth, as pleasant as it is, is I daresay relatively unremarkable. But the same isn't true of erstwhile postmistress, Mabel Stranks. For she and her wartime exploits are the opposite of unremarkable. Indeed it's astonishing! And it's because of Mabel Stranks that this building is included in Swindon in 50 More Buildings. If the reason for including in this series, at least some of the buildings that I have, is because of the stories they tell, then this one is the ubiquitous no-brainer. https://lnkd.in/eeVRNwaD

Downtown St. Louis has witnessed a troubling trend of declining foot traffic and business closures, a fact underscored by stark statistics. According to recent charts, the area's visitation rates have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, reflecting the challenge the district faces in reinvigorating its economic and social activity. The comparative data on downtown visits present a clear narrative: while there's a slight improvement since the darkest days of the pandemic, St. Louis lags behind other cities. Efforts to revitalize the area, such as offering financial incentives to retailers and creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment, have yet to make a significant dent in the downward trajectory. #realestate #stlouis #trend #foottraffic #business #closures #statistics #visitation #pandemic #economic #socialactivity #downtown #cities #incentives #retailers #pedestrian #trajectory #restructurednews If you're interested to learn more about our newsletter, subscribe here: www.restructurednews.com or follow us on Instagram @restructurednews and TikTok @restructurednews https://lnkd.in/eVrHt8JK

Karin Shedd from Morning Brew brilliantly explores the dynamics of #suburban office parks, shedding light on their challenges and opportunities. Now, let's discuss revitalization strategies for these communities. First and foremost, a crucial step is to initiate a comprehensive #rezoning effort. By reimagining and updating zoning #regulations, we can pave the way for the transformation and redevelopment of these office parks, making them more appealing and responsive to the evolving needs of markets and the community. #suburbs #commercialrealestate