A Look Inside the Grandview Arcade (3600 South Grand)

For 101 years, the Grandview Arcade has stood at the southeast corner of Grand and Miami (3600 South Grand). It once served as an office and retail building with the central arcade, a miniature version of the one found in Downtown’s Arcade Building, serving as the entrance to the Melba Theater. While the Melba and its marquee sign are now long gone, the Grandview Arcade has stood the test of time. It’s where Pizza A-Go-Go got its start (before they moved to Scanlan and Ivanhoe) and numerous office tenants called home. 

Then it went vacant and plans to convert the structure into condos by the Lawrence Group (in conjunction with the Southside Tower redevelopment across Grand) came and went as did plans for apartments (Garcia Properties). But forgetting about this structure was never on the minds of most people in this area of the City. The Grandview was just too prominent, and architecturally rich, to just give up on and demolish.

In fact, despite vacancy, the building’s historical features were remarkably intact. Original interior doors, marble, granite, terra cotta, decorative plasterwork on the ceiling, cast-iron railings, light fixtures, terrazzo floors, and the original windows all remained with some facade pieces removed and placed into storage in the building’s basement.

The building’s primary challenges were lower-than-necessary area rents and a smaller building footprint which limits the number of housing units you can build into the structure. Those issues made it the ideal candidate for an affordable housing development with commercial space, backed up by low income housing tax credits (LIHTC). Meanwhile, the retention of historic features made the building a strong candidate for historic tax credits (HTCs). Mix those two together, and you might just have a doable project.

And doable it was.

The building's arcade once held retail and office tenants and served as the entrance to the Melba Theater.

Lutheran Development Group (LDG) and Rise Community Development (RiseSTL) acquired the property in late 2022 and announced that the structure would be redeveloped into affordable housing and commercial space as part of their broader Marquette Homes project. Instantly, this building would become the marquee project of their endeavor. It’s a redevelopment project that could quite possibly change perceptions of the neighborhood much like how Michigan Central in Detroit, a building that symbolized Detroit’s fall from grace, now serves as a reminder of its homegrown rebirth. The redeveloped Grandview Arcade will symbolize the rebirth of the heart of South St. Louis, the Gravois Park neighborhood, and maybe even the City itself.

I toured the property in March 2022, and when I reached out to Lutheran Development Group in May 2026 to inquire about the project’s status, I was delighted that they’d be able to show me how progress is coming along here (among other properties they’re working on in the area).

Inside the building, it’s an entirely different world than when I was last there. Framing for walls has gone up, destroyed plaster work has been removed, marble walls and floors in the arcade remain, and it no longer smells like a dusty old attic. When we visited on May 12th, the building was alive with construction workers running new wiring, painting, installing insulation, and continuing to make repairs to the exterior facade.

Framing lines a future hallway that'll divide two ground floor apartments from commercial spaces and their restrooms.

Back inside, the building is becoming home to roughly 4 commercial spaces, shared restrooms and “breakout” rooms for the commercial tenants, and 16 total apartments (3 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom, and 3 three-bedroom, all will have one bathroom). Two units are ADA units and are located on the first floor behind the commercial spaces and will be accessed from dedicated rear entries. The apartments on the upper floors will be accessed via the building’s stairwells. The arcade itself will be restricted access to commercial tenants and their visitors only.

The apartments themselves are filled with natural light thanks to large windows that are recreations of the originals. They are operable with corner units set to benefit from cross-ventilation and when closed, they’re really well insulated, keeping the sounds of Grand Boulevard pretty well out of the units.

These apartments, and all homes that are part of the greater Marquette Homes project, are set aside for those earning 30% and 60% of the area’s median income (AMI). So for a family of four, incomes will be restricted to $33,400 and $66,840 respectively. The affordable nature of the apartments at the Grandview Arcades, and other components of the Marquette Homes development, means that quality housing is available to those who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford such options, let alone brand new products.

New windows let in plenty of natural light into this 2nd-story one-bedroom apartment.

Because of years of abandonment and decay, the Grandview did lose some pieces of exterior terra cotta while interior plaster work on the ceilings remained but was damaged. As part of the redevelopment of the structure, molds were taken of pieces matching missing terra cotta as was the preserved plaster. Those molds were then used to create 3D printed replacements, which, when painted, will look like they’ve always belonged.

Much work remains to be done at the Grandview Arcade. The terrazzo and marble floors still need to be restored, drywall needs to go up on the first floor, historic doors need to be restored, storefront glass needs to be installed, and apartments need to receive their kitchens and appliances to name a few things. But to see this grand building undergoing a long-awaited restoration is great to see. Like Southside Tower, the Grandview is one of the more prominent buildings on South Grand and is a neighborhood landmark. Having it restored and housing new residents and commercial tenants will do a lot to boost the neighborhood and perceptions.

It’s been a long time coming and I look forward to seeing this building completed in the coming months.

3D printing is being used to recreate lost and/or damaged terra cotta pieces.

EM Harris is serving as the general contractor. Central West End-based CORE10 Architects is serving as the project's architect.

The gallery below features additional photos from my visit on May 12th. They highlight the progress being made from new paint, restoring terrazzo floors, framing new commercial spaces, and more. The views from the roof won't be seen by residents.

Note: This is part 1 in a three part series highlighting the investments being made into Greater Dutchtown by Lutheran Development Group and Rise Community Development.