The 44-story, 1.4 Million Square Foot, AT&T Building at 909 Chestnut in Downtown is set to be redeveloped in a mixed-use redevelopment that only makes sense for a building of this size.
The largest vacant building in the state has a redevelopment plan to become a "vertical city". Plans, detailed in the LCRA agenda for December 13th, reveals a mixed-use program made up of:
37,000sf of retail space
288,000sf of office space
300 hotel rooms in a brand similar to a JW Marriott
308 apartments with an average rent of $1.60 per square foot
A marketing document from Colliers also reveals several amenity levels, a rooftop amenity deck, 43rd floor restaurant, a spa, and basement parking and storage space.
New York-based SomeraRoad bought the building earlier this year and is expected to be one of the developers on the redevelopment project, which will be branded "The Beacon". The LCRA document lists the Advantes Group, the developer behind some redevelopments on Laclede's Landing, so this seems to be a partnership.
The project will cost $300 Million and be completed sometime in 2026. LCRA staff recommends a 15-year tax abatement period, based on incremental improvements, with the breakdown being...
5 years at 95%
5 years at 75%
5 years at 50%
Beyond the redevelopment of 909 Chestnut, Downtown's vacant building stock is quickly disappearing. The Butler Brothers Building in Downtown West is currently undergoing redevelopment into 384 apartments by Memphis-based Development Services Group. The Jefferson Arms building on Tucker will soon begin redevelopment into 235 apartments, 225 hotel rooms, and retail space. The Chemical Building has a plan in the works for a dual-brand hotel. Chouteau's Landing is likely to be entirely redeveloped as part of Phase 1 of Gateway South, which will include 130 apartments, 127,000sf of retail space, 275,000sf of office space, and 745,000sf of industrial space.
The only other major vacant building downtown, that recently had a redevelopment plan in the works, is the Railway Exchange Building. The 22-story, 1.2 Million Square Foot building that was once home to Famous-Barr was recently under contract by New York-based Carnegie Management. According to Trivers, the architect tapped by Carnegie, the conceptual redevelopment program of the Railway Exchnage included 700 apartments, retail, restaurants and integrated parking. Word on the street is that the building is under contract by another firm.