What To Do With 1.2 Million Square Feet In The Railway Exchange Building (UPDATED)

Downtown’s Railway Exchange Building, completed in 1913, occupies an entire city block. From the 2009 National Register nomination:

The Railway Exchange Building was recognized as an architectural and engineering wonder even before it was constructed. But the building’s rich history was built more on the shoulders of the companies it was designed to house than the structural supports and ornamental flare it boasted in its design. The building has been a commercial asset to the St. Louis downtown since its construction, housing what became the city’s largest department store. In addition, many local businesses operated on the upper floors of the building, and the building’s official moniker derived from the abundance of railroad company tenants occupying the building when it opened.

The Railway Exchange Building was designed in 1912 by Mauran, Russell and Crowell as a home for the newly merged Famous-Barr Company. By the time Famous and Barr were merged, each had established themselves as a prominent department store in St. Louis. William Barr & Company opened as a drygoods store in 1850. Located on Fourth Street between St. Charles and Vine, the drygoods company grew rapidly, and by 1876 boasted over 300 employees and 32 departments with a separate manager for each division. In 1880 William Barr moved into the Julia Building, a four-story construction that occupied half the block at 6th an Olive Streets. As the city’s first department store, Barr’s took advantage of the mail-order trade as well as the in-house sales. The company remained in this building until it was replaced in 1913 by the Railway Exchange Building.

May Department Stores was bought out by Federated Department Stores in August 2005, a year later Famous-Barr became a Macy’s (Wikipedia). In 2011 Macy’s consolidated into the lower 3 floors, from 8, but still couldn’t make it. Macy’s closed in 2013 (Post-Dispatch).

Tuesday morning I attended the public presentation by ULI St. Louis’ Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) on their recommendations to the developer that owns the structure. Unfortunately, their presentation isn’t yet online. Here are some highlights from memory:

• With 1,000 parking spaces in the block to the South they didn’t recommend including any parking within the building.
• Reskin/update the parking garage, remove the ramp off 7th
• Consider a plaza for the surface lot at 6th & Olive.
• The building would get sectioned into various zones for development into many functions. Different developers could then work on their portion, without any single developer having to take on the entire project at once.
• The total square footage would be reduced some by opening up floors at various spots — such as creating 2-story volumes in some residential units.
• Remove the roof and create an outdoor walk around the perimeter of the 21st (top) floor.
• Residential units on the floors just below. Various sizes could be offered.
• Two hotels on floors below the residential, one a boutique hotel like 21C and one an extended stay.  With new startups downtown they indicate there is demand for such hotels. Each hotel could have large volume spaces.
• Recreational space, like a gym or basketball court.
• Street-level retail like Urban Target, CVS/Walgreens, a fresh produce market, etc.

The building would still likely be over a million square feet after the reductions in floor area. With four primary facades you could have separate entrances for each function.

I still don’t like the existing garage, it’s old & ugly. The flow inside is awful. The garage needs to be replaced with a new garage if parking is excluded from the building. I’d love an Urban Target, a 24/7 CVS or Walgreens, and a Trader Joe’s. The developer already has interest in a couple of the pieces, but not enough to move forward just yet. The TAP felt if broken up into pieces it could be marketed nationally to interest developers from outside our region.

UPDATE: 5/14/15 # 7:40PM — the ULI presentation wasn’t available online yesterday as I finished the post, but thanks to a reader this morning who posted the link.

— Steve Patterson

I Really Wanted a Bowl of Papa FaBarre’s French Onion Soup

The other day I was out taking photos and passed by the Railway Exchange Building that used to have a Macy’s and before that Famous-Barr. It was cold out and I pictured myself inside Papa FaBarre’s having a warm bowl of the French Onion Soup (recipe).

I only are in Papa FaBarre’s a few times, but I had many meals in the St. Louis Room on the 6th floor. The soup was also available there as was a salad bar.

I don’t miss a downtown department store because I’ve never been a fan of the traditional department store retail model. Macy’s closed the downtown store this summer.

For vegetarians that want to make the soup without beef stock here’s a recipe I’ll be making this weekend. No post tomorrow, I’ll be cooking.

— Steve Patterson

Poll Results On Downtown Macy’s

Just over half (50.77%) the readers who voted in the poll last week felt the closing of the downtown Macy’s will have a negative/very negative affect on downtown. Here are the results:

Q: How will Macy’s closing their downtown location affect downtown St. Louis in the long-term?

1. Negatively 47 [36.15%]
2. Neutral 43 [33.08%]
3. Very negatively 19 [14.62%]
4. Positively 11 [8.46%]
5. Unsure/No Answer 6 [4.62%]
6. Very positively 4 [3.08%]

Here’s my take (not spin): I specifically included “in the long-term” in the question because I think the short-term effect will be negative, but will be neutral in the long-term. How long is long-term? I’d say 8-10 years, in this case.

Cities/neighborhoods are resilient places, provided they don’t pass a tipping point. For many of us that live downtown, Macy’s just wasn’t that important. I personally bought more from Macys.com than in the Macy’s store. When Macy’s closed both restaurants in the consolidation to 3 floors a couple of years ago I no longer had a reason to visit.    Previously I’d attend a monthly lunch in the St. Louis Room, then browse the kitchenware section afterwards, often making a purchase.

On the positive side I see the void as opening up the market so another retailer might consider a new store. The new urban CityTarget format comes to mind:

The Chicago store is housed in a 113-year old historical landmark constructed by architect Louis Sullivan in the heart of the city at the corner of State and Madison Streets. Nearby retailers include H&M, Forever 21, Office Depot, Nordstrom Rack, Sears and T.J. Maxx.

CityTarget stores are more expensive to operate and build, as they are housed in pre-existing spaces, Schindele said. In Chicago, for example, Target had to rip out old floors and strip dozens of coats of paint off of columns to give the store the CityTarget look.

CityTarget shelves are bright white rather than almond-colored. Mannequins, tested in one Target store, and brushed silver racks are used to display clothing. In a first for the Target chain, music plays in the Chicago and Seattle locations. (Huffington Post)

CityTarget stores are also located in Seattle, Los Angeles (2), San Francisco. Additional CityTarget locations are planned for Boston & Portland OR,  with additional stores in LA and SF.

Last month, in a different conference call, Target chief financial officer John Mulligan said the company was “very excited” about the CityTarget concept.

Target plans to open three more this year, Mulligan said. “And then, we’ve said all along, we’ll pause,” Mulligan said. “We’re pretty thoughtful about things like this. So we’re going to pause in 2014 and evaluate where we are at.” (Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal)

So even if Target can be interested it’ll be a while before it would happen. Other retailers might see an opportunity in the meantime.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: How Will Macy’s Closing Their Downtown Location Affect Downtown St. Louis In The Long-Term?

You likely heard the news last week about the Macy’s store downtown:

Retailer Macy’s will close its downtown St. Louis in the Railway Exchange Center later this summer.

A final closing sale will begin June 2 and last 10 weeks. (KSDK)

Immediately following the announcement people were upset, but clearly not enough to keep the store open. The poll this week asks: How will Macy’s closing their downtown location affect downtown St. Louis in the long-term? The provided answers are:

• Very negatively
• Negatively
• Neutral
• Positively
• Very positively
• Unsure/no answer

These answers will be presented in random order in the poll (right sidebar) so the order doesn’t influence the results. You the comments below to share your thoughts.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Will Shop the Updated Downtown Macy’s More Than Before

Last week the poll was about the recently reopened downtown Macy’s store:

Q:  Will you shop at the downtown Macy’s more than you used to?

1. I didn’t shop there before and still won’t 26 [24.07%]
2. I’ve shopped there before, will continue to do so 24 [22.22%]
3. I didn’t shop there before, will check it out though 19 [17.59%]
4. I’ve shopped there before, will do more thanks to improved selection 19 [[17.59%]
5. I’ve shopped there before, will do less now that it is smaller 5 [4.63%]
6. I don’t live in the St. Louis region 5 [4.63%]
7. Other answer… 5 4.63%]
8. I didn’t shop there before but will start now 3 [2.78%]
9. Unsure/no opinion 2 [1.85%]

Some indicated they will shop less because the store is small, a good number indicated they will shop more or will at least check out the store. The five other answers were:

1. Will certainly give it a look, as it is closer than other dept. stores
2. Yes. But I won’t eat there more. Ba dum bump!
3. Ate there often, shopped a little. Less reason to go now.
4. Didn’t know there is a Macy’s downtown.
5. I won’t shop at any Macy’s. Famous-Barr 4-eva!

I will probably shop there less often because I won’t be there once per month for a lunch meeting anymore.

– Steve Patterson