Riechmann Bros. and Poettker Construction break ground on John Deere dealership

Riechmann Bros. broke ground on a new John Deere dealership location on February 23rd, alongside Poettker Construction Company, who is serving as the design-build contractor for the 15-acre development in Metro East.

“We pride ourselves on having a team of high-quality technicians and the largest parts inventory for same-day services. This new facility will allow greater accessibility for our customers,” said Bill Riechmann, CEO of Riechmann Bros.

The 34,000-SF facility will be located only a few miles from the original Breese, Ill. location built in 1988, providing ample space to accommodate customers, help accelerate training programs and increase employee retention.

The pre-engineered metal building will feature a canopy to match John Deere’s signature brand colors, showcase brick and stone wainscoting, epoxy floor finish and mezzanines for additional storage. The new facility will feature:

- an inside wash bay, providing a location to wash equipment while escaping the challenges of winter and freezing temperatures;

- a corporate training room to host technician and sales training with John Deere;

- private offices for the management and sales teams, allowing for confidentiality amongst customers; and

- two separate vehicle maintenance areas for agriculture and lawn care equipment.

Multiple energy-efficient elements such as LED lighting and extra insulation to control heating and cooling loses have been incorporated into the design.

“Poettker Construction is excited to work on a project that will contribute to the economic development and investment in the Breese community,” said Keith Poettker, president of Poettker Construction Company.

The anticipated completion date for the new Riechmann Bros. location is late 2021, just in time for their 100th anniversary.

Soulard Commerce Center bridges e-commerce, consumer gap

Soulard Commerce Center, a Class A warehouse building located in the 35-acre Soulard Business Park, is complete and available for leasing, according to JLL.

Developed by The Opus Group, the 154,937-SF spec warehouse is the first modern industrial building in the area since 2004. The building can accommodate final-mile destination warehouse and delivery, light manufacturing or general office/warehouse uses.

“This area of the city, and for that matter points further south in the city and county, are the most supply constrained in our market when it comes to modern industrial building product. It is a swath of the market with significant barriers to developing at scale, and The Opus Group has achieved that in Soulard Commerce Center. In the process, they’ve created a unique alternative for industrial occupiers who previously had to consider locations further away from their customer and employee bases,” said Pat Reilly, executive vice president of industrial leasing for JLL.

Soulard Commerce Center is designed for multiple tenants with individual build-to-suit spaces starting at about 22,000 SF. It features 32-foot, clear-height ceilings and 24 trailer parking stalls to suit a variety of uses, including e-commerce and urban logistics.

With easy access to Interstates 44, 55, 70 and 64, the building location can meet the distribution needs of modern final-mile networks, which have become more important with the explosive growth of e-commerce.

“The recent boom in e-commerce has created an increased demand for modern industrial space,” said Ryan Carlie, director of real estate development at Opus. “Soulard Commerce Center provides tenants a diverse space that can accommodate a variety of needs within a convenient and desirable location.”

The building benefits from 25-year real estate tax abatement. Base rent for the building is $6.50 per square foot.

Jaguar Land Rover rolling into Chesterfield

Chesterfield, Mo. has another new business coming to town - Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield, which is set to open its doors in spring 2021.

New construction began last week on the 32,000-SF, seven-acre site at 1 Jaguar Land Rover Way, marked by a groundbreaking ceremony with city officials and other stakeholders in attendance.

The new dealership will mirror Jaguar Land Rover’s current brand imaging of luxury and state-of-the-art craftsmanship. It will be the first facility owned by Imperial Motors outside of the Chicago area.

Dealer/principal Jordan Aron worked with the City of Chesterfield to ensure the aesthetics of the building would blend with the surrounding community. The site was chosen for its convenient location to serve customers in several counties in the St. Louis metro area.

“This is an exciting time of growth for our family and our business. We remain highly committed to providing our customers with the highest level of care and attention. The same we have been doing since 1953,” Aron said.

The new dealership will have 18 service bays with dedicated equipment and staff for express service and maintenance. The waiting room will include complimentary Wi-Fi, several choices of seating options and quiet workspace.

“We are extremely happy to be part of the Chesterfield community. People here want to feel good about the people and the company where they do business. That’s exactly the kind of market we thrive in,” Aron said.

The company plans to hire a staff of managers, sales and service personnel.

“Brinkmann is proud to work with Imperial Motors to bring Jaguar Land Rover to the Chesterfield Valley,” said Kendrick Lathum, project director for Brinkmann Constructors, the general contractor on the project.

“The addition of this dealership to the area continues the strong economic growth in Chesterfield,” Lathum said.

Opus chips in on the 2020 industrial market boom

The Opus Group is chipping in on the ever-expanding 2020 industrial market, this time in Earth City, Mo.

Johnstone Supply, a leader in the HVACR industry, will anchor their new headquarters and distribution center on four acres of the 13.5-acre development. Construction of their 45,000-SF space is scheduled to begin this month.

“Our team has been grateful to work with Opus throughout this process and we’re eager to see this project through to completion. Our new building allows us to expand our business, offer additional educational training courses and bring new jobs to the community," said Larry Wines with Johnstone Supply.

Upon opening, Johnstone Supply will occupy 10,000 SF for the company’s headquarters, which will include a training room and product showroom. Centralizing these facilities under one roof will allow the company to further establish its presence in the St. Louis area.

“Our team identified this location as one of the last developable sites in Earth City. Through the expertise of our integrated team and strong broker relationships, we’ve been able to work closely with St. Louis County to develop a modern industrial building that will meet the demand for local, regional and national industrial users," said Ryan Carlie, director of real estate development at Opus.

Opus also plans to begin construction this month on an 111,000-SF speculative industrial development on the remaining 9.5 acres. 

The addition will accommodate multiple tenants, offering 139 parking stalls, 32-foot clear height, 27 dock positions, including two drive-in positions, and clerestory windows. With immediate access to Interstate 70 and directly off of state Route 141, this project offers accessibility and external visibility.

Opus is the developer, design-builder, and architect and engineer of record. Jake Corrigan and Vince Bajardi with Sansone Group will be marketing the project for lease.

Construction on both buildings is expected to be complete in early 2021.

The Barclay condos 'top out' in Kirkwood

Kadean Construction Company recently celebrated the topping out of The Barclay, a $12 million luxury condominium project currently under construction at 204 N. Clay Street in downtown Kirkwood, Mo.

The final roof truss of the four-story structure, developed by Savoy Investments, LLC., was hoisted into place by Cheltenham Construction Services, one of Kadean’s subcontractors, signifying that the structure has reached its maximum height.

“The entire project team has done a great job of keeping this job site safe for workers while responding to the site’s logistical limitations. I credit the collaboration of everyone involved for keeping this moving towards a successful outcome," said Mike Eveler, president of Kadean Construction.

The 40,000 SF building will feature fourteen luxury condominiums with underground parking and other luxury amenities.

“We are so gratified that this project has remained on schedule during the COVID-19 public health pandemic, which has adversely affected the progress of many other construction projects across the St. Louis region,” said John Pennington, partner and co-owner at Savoy Investments.

Construction began in November 2019 and is scheduled for completion in early 2021. Other partners on the project include Core 10 Architecture and KPFF Consulting Engineers.

This is the second new condominium construction project for the Savoy Investments and Kadean duo to build on the same block in downtown Kirkwood. In 2018, Kadean completed construction of The Madison Condominiums at 110 W. Madison Avenue.

Landco launches home office upgrade service

As months of pandemic work-from-home arrangements start to show the strain, St. Louis-area commercial contractor Landco Construction has a solution: REMOTivate yourself and your employees with home office makeovers.

Landco president Linda Bernhard said its new service can help companies lean into an uncertain situation with improvements that keep employees motivated and efficient.

“It could be a long time before we get back to normal. Everybody has people working from home - sitting at their dining room table or down in the basement surrounded by 2x4 studs and raw insulation. A proper home office can make them more productive,” Bernhard said.

Landco specializes in constructing contemporary, effective and environmentally aware workspaces for many St. Louis companies and campuses, including several Fortune 200 organizations.

Bernhard says that when the coronavirus struck earlier this year, it quickly became clear that the shelter-in-place orders were putting many clients’ construction plans on indefinite hold.

“They didn’t know how long they’d be keeping employees working remotely,” Bernhard said.

So, her team came up with REMOTivate, a service it could offer to both employers and employees to improve the work environment for the remote workforce.

Landco’s bundled offerings bring home office functionality to work-from-home locales. They range from the very simple -- a desk and chair -- to more premium packages that could include a sit/stand desk, executive chair, acoustical panels, even light construction such as installing a privacy door.

“We can make this package work for everybody. Employers can offer it as a perk to their workers, maybe to help transition them to permanent remote work. “They may be looking at downsizing their campus, giving up some rental space to save on their rent,” Bernhard said

Employees may treat themselves in order to be more efficient and comfortable in their home offices -- or may upgrade an employer’s offered renovation with extras of their own.

Landco is working with its partners, CI Select, Golterman & Sabo (G&S Architectural Products), Request Electric Inc. and Automated Data Systems, to put together a menu of standardized offerings that can be ordered easily and delivered quickly.

“We need products that are turnkey -- that we can turn around in three to five days,” Bernhard said.

Landco employees will observe stringent safety protocols, maintaining social distancing when they deliver and assemble the REMOTivate orders.

And it’s a service she believes will continue to be attractive to some clients, even when the initial COVID-19 crisis abates.

“What we’ve been encountering over the past few months has opened everybody’s eyes to a new way of working. If employers can save rent, if employees can work from home, I do see a need (of) continuing for this," Bernhard said.

CRE project designs 'on point' for future

The evolution of commercial building design over the last few years to include more open space, rich amenities, safety and tech-driven concepts is proving to be a well-thought-out and timely choice, especially when considering the current and future demands and regulations resulting from COVID-19.

Building spaces, notably office and other shared spaces, are in the spotlight now more than ever before, prompting the focus of discussion for the St. Louis CCIM virtual meeting last week.

Tony Kennedy with Colliers International, moderated the meeting; panelists included Larry Chapman, president and CEO of Seneca Commercial Real Estate; Korey Baker, associate director of market development for Compstak; Toby Heddinghaus, president of Gray Design Group; Scott Haley, managing director of US Capital Development and Tim Gaidus, senior project designer at HOK.

“When Seneca embarked on the Edge series of buildings, the focus was on creating an environment that employees want to be a part of, which in turn, helps the companies that become our tenants compete successfully for, and to be able to retain the best and brightest talent. These designs easily adapt to the changing demands of the occupants and are highly compatible with the new COVID-19 paradigm,” said Chapman.

Edge at West Park, located just west of the I-270/Olive Blvd. interchange, provides a flexible, employee-centric environment which maximizes the building’s common areas to provide amenities critical to helping companies recruit and retain the best talent, regardless of market conditions. FM Global, a worldwide insurance company based at Maryville Centre Office Park, is set to move into the top floor of the four-story building in November.

“Edge at West and Forsyth Pointe are two of the more prominent office developments planned in St. Louis County right now. With some uncertainty in the market surrounding COVID-19, it's refreshing to see these projects advancing on schedule. I'm very confident that US Capital Development and Seneca will deliver top quality buildings to the market that adapt to the needs of the users, both in terms of the current pandemic and also their long- term ability to recruit and retain top tier talent, “ said Jim Loft, president of St. Louis CCIM and executive vice president of Gershman Commercial Real Estate.

The recently completed EDGE@BRDG (BioResearch & Development Growth) Park, an innovative 160,000 SF, four-story lab and office building on the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center campus in Creve Coeur, Mo., is now finished and its first lead tenant, Benson Hill Biosystems, one of the fastest growing leaders in the field of plant sciences, has just moved in.

Forsyth Pointe, located on Forsyth Blvd. between Brentwood Blvd. and Meramec Ave., consists of two towers totalling nearly 1million SF of space, half of which will be dedicated for office use and the other half to a 1,250-spot garage. The west tower is slated to have 202,054 SF of space across 14 floors and the east tower to have 255,114 SF of space across 16 floors, two floors of which will be for the underground parking garage. Over 24,000 SF of retail is planned.

Other forward- thinking design elements mentioned that are currently being implemented in building design include:

• Walkable environments- fresh air spaces with plenty of distance

• Wide open staircases

• Refuge areas

• Phone booths

• Huddle rooms

• Roll up (garage) doors

• Touchless automatic door opening

• Restroom doors with no handles

• Plasma filtered air

• More robust cleaning services

• Anti-microbial coatings

• Hand sanitizer stations

• Biometrics instead of touchpoint

• Robotics and automation

• Holograms/virtual reality

The next St. Louis CCIM event is scheduled for September 15th from 11:15 am - 1:00 pm at the St. Louis Club in Clayton, Mo. For more info, please visit https://ccimstl.com/events/.

9-Mile food truck garden set to bloom July third

Missouri’s first food truck garden, 9 Mile Garden, is set to open on July 3, 2020 at 9375 Gravois Rd. in Affton, Mo.

Developed by Guerrilla Street Food co-founder Brian Hardesty and Seneca Commercial Real Estate, 9 Mile Garden brings a family-focused entertainment district to the St. Louis area; offering local foods and drinks alongside outdoor movies, live music and performances, community events and more.

Previously known as Chapman Ventures, the company redeveloped Affton Plaza and began working on ideas for phase two of the project — which turned into 9 Mile Garden.

The garden plans to host five trucks for lunch, seven trucks for dinner and nine trucks for special events, according to Hardesty. The garden is also equipped with its own bar, The Canteen, who plans to serve 40 taps of local craft beer, wine, small batch cocktails, cold brew coffee, kombucha and more—all on draft.

“It’s such a cool concept and will truly be great for the area.  BEX really overcame the inclement weather challenges of late winter and early spring to get this project completed on time. That meant capitalizing on the good days we had and working overtime and weekends (to deliver on schedule),” said Ethan Bruckerhoff, superintendent for BEX Construction Services, who was responsible for the GC on the structural components of the project.

The full list of participating food trucks includes Balkan Treat Box, FarmTruk, Seoul Taco, Guerrilla Street Food, Doggie Mac’s, Sugarfire 64, Essentially Fries, Wok and Roll, The Saucy Iguana, Ukraft, Truckeria del Valle, Burgers STL, Wayno’s, Blues Fired Pizza, Spud Shack, The Crooked Boot, Honest to Goodness, Sedara Sweets, Zia’s on the Hill, Super Smokers, CJ’s Deli, Tastebudz Express, Heavy Smoke BBQ, Fire & Ice Cream Truck, Truck Norris, Scoops & More, Poptimism, Graze, Smokey’s Q, and Twisted Tacos.

Live bands will play every Friday night and a jumbo outdoor movie screen will show movies every Saturday night during warm weather months. Family-friendly games, such as pickleball and air hockey, board games and theme nights will all be included. The garden grounds and The Canteen can also be rented for private events.

The grounds of the food truck garden will open for lunch on Friday, July 3rd, and continue operating for both lunch and dinner service through the weekend. The grand-opening week will feature several live musical performances and charitable events. The garden and its staff will follow health and safety guidelines set by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and St. Louis County, officials said.

GARDEN HOURS

Lunch: Mon-Sat, 11am-2pm

Dinner: Tue-Sat, 5pm-9pm

Special events every Friday & Saturday night

CANTEEN HOURS

Mon-Thu, 11am-midnight

Fri-Sat, 11am-1am

Other partners on the project include KOLB Contracting and Coralic Architecture.

City Foundry STL gears up for debut, despite official opening date

St. Louis' $220 million mixed-used development, City Foundry STL, is gearing up for their highly-anticipated debut, despite an official opening date.

The 15-acre site includes 122,000 SF of food hall and public market space, 107,000 SF of creative office space and 105,000 SF of retail shops - all rolled into its own midtown destination on Forest Park Ave between Vandeventer and Spring streets.

Steve Smith, CEO of the Lawrence Group, the property's developer, has reinvented the former Century Electric site with inspiration from similar developments - like Chelsea Market in New York City and Krog Street Market in Atlanta. 

Unlike a typical outdoor mall, the majority of vendors in the development are independently-owned, small businesses - as well as a few emerging concepts new to St. Louis - who will make their debut in the nearly 100-year-old foundry structure. The food hall and public market will bring together more than twenty different local chefs, each with their own unique-food-concept "mini restaurants,” as well as the other vendors in the food space.

The collective City Foundry STL team sees the public market as an opportunity to give local chefs, restaurateurs, artisans and more a platform to rebuild from COVID-19.

“Our local hospitality industry defines the current culture and uniqueness of our city. It’s also the most vulnerable during this time. Our hope is that City Foundry can be a place for ideas to incubate and grow into a viable business; a place where new concepts will be surrounded by industry leaders to learn from and succeed,” said City Foundry STL asset manager, Will Smith.

Anchor tenants include grocery store Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which marks its first metro area location.

Other tenants include: 18Rails|The Venue @City Foundry STL, Buenos Aires Cafe, Bullhorn, City Taco Shack, Fassler Hall, Gateway Blend, Good Day, Great Rivers Greenway, Hello Poke, Orion Genomics, Press Waffle Company and Punch Bowl Social.

An on-site hiking-and-biking trail connecting Forest Park to downtown St. Louis is in the works via Great Rivers Greenway, the sponsoring regional agency. Free parking will also be available, with over 1,000 parking spaces on site.

City Foundry STL continues to progress on construction of the overall development. An exact opening timeline will be determined and announced soon, based on recommendations from health officials as well as the comfort level of future customers.

Prospective tenant interest has returned to pre-covid levels, according to the development team, with 95% of office space leased and 65% of the development pre-leased overall.

For more information on leasing, please contact Rob Soete at rob@cityfoundrystl.com.

Centene Community Ice Center's time to shine

It's time to shine for Centene Community Ice Center, the first new indoor ice complex for the St. Louis region in decades.

The $82 million facility, which opened to the public in September 2019, is prepared and excited for the recent spike in the area’s youth hockey programs, driven, in part, by the St. Louis Blues’ “Hockey STL 2020” campaign.

Led by the not-for-profit St. Louis Legacy Ice Foundation as a catalyst for the development of the Maryland Park Lake District, the public-private initiative was launched to help bring much-needed ice skating facilities to the region, provide recreational opportunities and drive economic growth through sports tourism. 

"The Centene Community Ice Center is the result of legacies and countless other efforts to create a collaboration between four state, county and local governmental agencies, five major not-for-profit tenants and the NHL’s St. Louis Blues Hockey Club. A unique and massive collaboration of public funding, private donations, tenant contributions and industrial revenue bonds were pooled to make this vision a reality. And in the end, over 1 million visitors will visit our facility annually bringing over $20 million in economic impact each year,” said Patrick Quinn of the St. Louis Legacy Ice Foundation.

The collaborative effort to create the multipurpose home for the St. Louis Blues and the surrounding community included design-build partners Mike Kress and Tom Proebstle with Generator Studio and John Komlos, Matt Sander and Jeff Cook with ARCO Construction.

In addition to three indoor sheets, the fourth outdoor rink is multipurpose, intended for winter pond hockey and year-round community events. In warmer weather the rink transforms into a covered 4,400-spectator amphitheater operated by Live Nation.

The center houses the new Mercy Medical Sports Performance Center, the Bauer Skills Training Center, a restaurant, a grab-and-go market, concession stands for every rink and separate locker rooms for the public, Lindenwood and the Blues. 

To increase inclusivity, ARCO and Generator ensured the center was accessible for a broad range of abilities with all three fully adaptable indoor ice rinks. St. Louis Blues Sled Hockey, Blues Blind Hockey and the St. Louis Blues Special Hockey, all call the ice center home. 

“At any point in time, our facility could be playing host to 2,500 fans for a college hockey game or international figure skating event in the main arena, while in another arena we are hosting the highest levels of amateur hockey while a learn-to-play session is happening on yet another ice sheet and all the while a live-band plays rink-side for 500+ kids, teens and adults enjoying a public skating on the expansive covered, outdoor rink,” Quinn said.

The multi-sheet facility is home to multiple tenants including the Blues, Lindenwood University men’s and women’s hockey teams, the AAA Blues and the St. Louis Lady Cyclones.

With a strong emphasis on being a community asset, the majority of available ice time at Centene Community Ice Center will be dedicated to residents, youth, high school and college teams. 

Centene Ice also offers public skating and lessons, various hockey programs for kids, youth and adults and may be rented out for special events. For more information, you may visit their website at www.legacyice.org.