Vision for greatness ahead for St. Louis

St. Louis commercial real estate should be headed for great things in 2021, judging by insights provided in “Greater St. Louis and a Vision for Greatness,” a March 9 Retail Spotlight Shift webinar from the St. Louis CCIM chapter.

Tiffany Wiegers, 2021 president of CCIM STL, kicked off the event by thanking sponsors as critical to providing services and resources for the chapter and announcing that scholarships are available for upcoming courses (details are on the CCIM STL website).

Events hosts were Tony Kennedy of Colliers International and Tom Ray of CBRE.

“This is a timely and important discussion about the future of our region,” said Greater St. Louis, Inc. founder and CEO Jason R. Hall, in describing Greater St. Louis Inc. as a combination of five organizations (AllianceSTL, Arch to Park, Civic Progress, Downtown STL, Inc. and the St. Louis Regional Chamber) aiming to reduce historic fragmentation and create one united voice.

“We have to make a decision that we will be a community on the rise or on the decline. We need the same vision, same tenacity, same energy (as in the sports sector) to grow the region.”

“Greater St. Louis brought together eight key growth initiatives from day 1 (January 1, 2021),” Hall said. “It’s all about jobs — retain, attract and create; elevate our regional reputation; and advance common goals. The urban core is essential.”

Among the positive indicators,  St. Louis has seen $8 million in commercial real estate during the pandemic.

“And that has continued to grow. St. Louis can be a global leader in biotech and agtech,” Hall said.

An important example is the 1,400 new jobs coming with Accenture. Other encouraging signs are redevelopment of the Butler Building, which has been one of downtown’s largest vacant buildings, and Green Street Workforce Housing, a partnership for “one of the largest inclusive housing projects in The Grove.

Such place-making projects have a huge impact on bringing business and residential growth to St. Louis.

“We are coming together as a geospatial center of excellence, with a long-term plan in place,” Hall added.

Hall cited entrepreneurship as another incredible force in being re-energized.

“St. Louis is launching new businesses and is first in the country for women-owned businesses,” he said. “We are aggressively back in business.”

Hall quoted Entrepreneur magazine as recently saying that “St. Louis is on the precipice of leading the United States in 21st-century innovation.”

While the St. Louis area hasn’t had a basic jobs plan for more than a decade, “we are now the only metro area to develop one in terms of the pandemic and the new civil rights movement,” Hall said.

“We have to drive inclusive growth. We have got to focus on inclusive growth and close spatial and racial gaps.”

Greater St. Louis is funded by private sector business as investors, and “the business community has to be much more engaged to make (our vision) a reality,” Hall noted.

“We have to make St. Louis better overall and understand the perception of St. Louis in the country. We started STLMade as a way to shine a light on the positive and tell our own story. We will take the story national. It’s a people-centered, data-driven approach.” 

In line with such efforts, the AllianceSTL partnership aims to “accelerate growth by recruiting new jobs and business investments to the 15-county bistate St. Louis region,” according to Chief Business Attraction Officer and president Steven S. Johnson.

“We have an exclusive external focus on business and economic development,” he said. “Our key audiences are site selectors, real estate developers and companies in our main targeted verticals: manufacturing and production; financial and information services; bioscience and health technology; geospatial; agtech; transportation and logistics; and the aerospace, automotive and defense industries.”

Many of those targets are in local commercial real estate because of their current work in location services, Johnson noted.

The Alliance is using social media and related advertising along with traditional advertising to those primary key audiences, along with individual outreach and relationship-building. Marketing is essential — a lesson that St. Louis is learning from cities like Austin, Texas. “Many of the markets we admire have been marketing business attraction for decades.”

Typical projects for the Alliance include “straight-up business development to attract companies and headquarters to St. Louis,” which represents 80% of its focus. Such companies are generally new to the area or have no St. Louis presence yet. Cooperation is vital: “We work with economic development partners; we can do nothing by ourselves,” Johnson said.  “Our relationships and partnerships are as strong now as ever, and that is good for St. Louis.”

To build on those connections, “we ask businesses exactly what they’re look for.” The answer is usually “talent availability and sourcing, business continuity, and the cost of labor. “We are finding that location is as much about mitigating risk as anything else,” Johnson said.

Agriculture technology is another important business sector for St. Louis, thanks to its central location and accessibility to a huge resource of agricultural producers, according to Thad Simons, founder and managing director of The Yield and The Yield Lab Institute, a “cooperative network of venture funds to advance food and agriculture technology globally,” with companies in Ireland, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Singapore, France and Luxembourg.  The lab is the company’s nonprofit arm.

When he came to St. Louis in 2014 for a three-year assignment with Monsanto, “I was curious about the agtech space,” Simons recalled. “I realized the difficulty of getting projects off the ground. Part of the problem was understanding what ‘agtech’ means.”

With agriculture as one of the largest elements of the geospatial sector, the advantage for St. Louis is that it is “right in the center of agricultural production and distribution. The strength we bring is less the money that the connections,” Simons said. “The impact of the agriculture sector on St. Louis is tremendous.”

While many large organizations already have a local presence — the largest associations for farmers are all based in St. Louis, “we mentor smaller companies to come to St. Louis.” There is still a need to “find champions of St. Louis and stay in touch with them,” Simons said. He is encouraged by the expectation that “there will be lots of stories of companies coming here through word of mouth.”

Simons sees St. Louis as a “really hot space” that is “fostering research and technology.” Of the company’s 50 global projects, 12 are in St. Louis. Driving new investment and presence in the area are projects and innovations that go beyond traditional uses of agricultural products, such as a commercially viable indoor farm and “a small-scale project along Delmar to address food deserts” (the absence of grocery stores). “It’s intended to be for-profit, so we will sell products to restaurants, but also donate to the community,” he said.

Now getting started in St. Louis is a NASA Challenge to investigate “how growing food in space can relate to growing food on Earth,” Simons added.

While Simons is optimistic about business growth, he sees a need for expanded investment. “St. Louis is strong and getting stronger in human capital, but still not where we should be in financial capital,” he said. 

The hemp industry offers the prospect of growth as an alternative protein and in oils and nutrition, once regulation and legality are in place.

Looking ahead

For St. Louis business and commercial real estate to succeed, it is crucial “to be thinking five, 10, 20 years ahead to create self-perpetuating environment in geospatial and build up an innovation ecosystem,” said Hall. “That will give St. Louis a durable advantage.”

Asked about the impact of a new mayor on commercial real estate and business, Hall said the upcoming mayoral election is a “generational change; both candidates are speaking about growth  and the need for inclusional growth. It’s an exciting time for St. Louis. Magic happens when we have public and private alignment. There will be exciting opportunities to work together.”

“We seem to have two candidates who will be very hands-on and pro-development. We will work with everybody,” Johnson said.

“Whoever becomes mayor will have to realize that there is an urban-rural divide, and a need for much better understanding between those segments of the region,” Simons said.

A recording of the event is available at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ccim-st-louis-metro-chapter/ or

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2uJM-RnLRetiKTNvYAUVA.

S.M. Wilson breaks ground on Winfield Middle School

Construction has officially begun on Winfield R-IV School District’s $16 million building program in Winfield, Mo.

The project includes a new 50,000-SF middle school, a new Vo-ag building and football locker room addition at the existing high school, and minor renovations at the existing middle school, which is being converted into a primary school building.

S. M. Wilson & Co. is serving as the construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the district projects, which passed in a 2020 no-tax-increase bond issue, while incite Design Studio (iDS) is serving as the project architect.

"We have been working with the school board, superintendent, Daniel Williams, and his team for a few years now and we are very proud of the projects we are delivering for the district. Daniel and his team have been incredible to work with throughout the process, as every effort they have put forth has been absolutely student-focused. The phrase ‘what works best for the students’ is what we heard time and time again,” said Mike Hilmes, office director for the St. Louis iDS office.

Since Missouri adopted the CMAR delivery method in 2016, S. M. Wilson has created a strong portfolio of CMAR K-12 building programs for several districts, including Ladue School District, Hallsville R-IV School District and Francis Howell School District.

The Winfield R-IV School District construction will be complete by the start of the 2022 school year.

“We look forward to seeing these projects being brought to life, knowing that they will be making a huge positive impact on the students’ academic future,” Hilmes said.

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.

Sybrandy sees attractions driving CRE rebound

Since joining Koch Development Co. in 2012, Mandy Sybrandy has built a specialized team of managers and staff to operate SkyWheel® Attractions.

SkyWheel® started as a stand-alone iconic attraction in May 2011 with SkyWheel Myrtle Beach. Over the years, it has evolved into a full-service entertainment venue with a ropes course, Snack Shack and an 18-hole miniature golf course in its Panama City Beach, Fla. location.

Clayton, Mo-based Koch Development, who retains an ownership interest of SkyWheel, became the first company to bring an observation wheel of its type to the United States, with locations in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Panama City Beach.

“Retailers and landlords see tremendous value in such iconic attractions because they attract customers to the location for entertainment and then capture their visit for traditional retail spending, especially as vacations and travel adapt post-COVID,” Sybrandy said.

According to its website, the SkyWheel® is not a carnival ride, but a modern, safe observation wheel towering almost 200 feet in the air with fully-enclosed gondolas offering a safe and secure flight with glass windows and doors for optimal views and photography. The gondolas are heated and cooled, allowing for year-round operation.

Sybrandy, who was recently promoted to vice president of attractions and installed as an officer of Koch Development, said that there are no current attraction opportunities under review in St. Louis.

“SkyWheel® is capitalizing on the power of bringing an experience to locations such as our location at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, Fla., where SkyWheel® enhances the marketability of traditional commercial real estate,” Sybrandy said.

Sybrandy sees great pent-up demand for travel now.

“Staycations and domestic travel within driving distance are accelerating,” Sybrandy said.

As a result, Sybrandy expects the Myrtle Beach and Panama City Beach locations to rebound this year.

Sybrandy graduated from Saint Louis University with a bachelor’s degree in organizational studies and a minor in hospitality management. She is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions and of the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials, which focuses on operations.

Now entering its second century in business, Koch Development is a St. Louis-based, third-generation, family-owned company that develops, owns and manages a diverse portfolio of commercial real estate and entertainment attractions.

Green Street, HDA to HQ in new $20 million Bar K facility

Following the acquisition of HDA Architects by Green Street St. Louis (“Green Street”), the firms plan to combine offices this fall as part of the $20 million Bar K redevelopment at 4565 McRee Avenue in St. Louis, Mo.

The 64,000 SF redevelopment will include Kansas City-based Bar K’s first St. Louis dog park and entertainment facility featuring extensive indoor and outdoor areas for supervised dog play adjacent to bar, restaurant and event space.

Green Street and HDA’s combined offices will occupy approximately 31,000 SF on the first floor and mezzanine level of the building to house approximately 50 employees.

“We can’t wait to bring the Bar K experience to the people and dogs of St. Louis,” said Leib Dodell, the company’s co-founder. “The facility is going to be paradise for dog lovers, and we couldn’t be happier that Green Street and HDA will be part of our new community.”

In addition, Bar K will create a dog adoption and pet education facility in partnership with St. Louis-based Purina-owned pet-adoption site Petfinder.com, as well as Stay@Bar K, a 6,700 SF daycare and grooming facility in collaboration with St. Louis-based Kennelwood.

The development is the first of two phases planned for the McRee area. Green Street is considering its options for the redevelopment of the adjacent six acres at 4591 McRee Avenue.

Bar K is being designed by Arcturis with construction managed by Green Street Construction. HDA is designing the office component with interiors by O’Toole Design and Green Street Building Group managing construction. Civil engineering is being performed by Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc. with environmental consulting by ATON Environmental.

Emerald Capital Strategic Advisors assisted Green Street in sourcing and closing $18M in New Markets Tax Credit Allocation to support the project. Green Street also utilized other forms of non-traditional capital such as Opportunity Zones Investments to allow the project to move forward.

The dog park, grooming salon and daycare will create nearly 200 jobs and construction on the project will create 150 jobs.

IREM asks 'Where will you go in CPM?'

The pandemic hasn’t stopped the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) St. Louis Chapter from providing skill-building resources to area real estate professionals, as several dozen colleagues learned in a February 10 webinar about the process for achieving the Certified Property Manager® (CPM) designation.

The program brings the IREM slogan of “Where will you go in CPM? Anywhere you want” to life and fulfills IREM’s mission to “provide what real estate managers need to succeed and tackle their jobs.”

”The benefit of the CPM is that ‘it’s all-encompassing.’ It teaches to all aspects, not just residential, commercial or industrial. It’s about learning across all aspects,” said Lizzie Ortolano, event host and IREM St. Louis’s senior director of customer and member experience.

The program includes courses in asset analysis, accounting, marketing and leasing, leading a team, maintenance, and finance, with ethics as a core component and principle.

“It’s a 360-degree approach to success,” Ortolano said.

Certification is a four-step process:
• Enroll, which takes about 10 minutes

• Learn, 12 to 18 months

• Test, 3 days to a month

• Graduate

The average cost is $7,500–$8,500, which includes IREM dues; local chapter dues can “vary significantly.” Costs kick in at various points in the process, from $425 to enroll to $210 for graduation, and can be offset for a REALTOR® or affiliate REALTOR®.

Courses are $400–$600 each and scholarships are available for IREM members, one of which covers 75% of the cost for up to three courses; a member can reapply for the scholarship after using it the first time. Someone who fails to graduate can re-register at 50% off the cost and try again.

IREM’s Fast Track approach provides further savings, at a price tag of $950, by waiving seven of the eight courses (the ethics course is required, no matter what) for those with a college degree in property  management or real estate, designation from an approved industry organization, or 20 years of qualifying real estate management experience. Fast Track participants still have access to all course materials.

The process is flexible, Ortolano said, with no time limit on how long it takes to earn the CPM designation, although there are deadlines once registered for an exam — or capstone — date. She suggested setting exam dates when registering for the program overall. The eight certification courses should be taken in a recommended order, with the ethics segment usually the first step. Although usually a classroom, in-person offering, an online version of the ethics section is available through December 31, 2021, because of the pandemic.

The handbook, which provides a “deeper dive” on course content, can be downloaded from the IREM website and goes beyond study material. “It includes information you can use to convince management of the value of certification,” Ortolano said.

Real estate management professionals who have taken courses or other certification programs don’t have to retake them; “credit doesn’t expire even if you took a course and didn’t complete certification, and can go back several years,” she said.

There are three current modalities for the coursework: virtual classroom via Zoom, led by an instructor; in-person classroom session with an instructor; and online, self-paced. Each course ends with a 50-question open-book exam.

Requirements to maintain CPM candidacy include being current with IREM dues, documenting 36 months of real estate management experience and attending at least two chapter meetings (although that can be waived in the current pandemic era). For commercial real estate professionals, qualifying experience includes a minimum portfolio size of 120,000 SF at one site or 80,000 SF at two or more sites, and serving in at least 19 of IREM’s 36 key management functions.

A real estate license or REALTOR® or affiliate REALTOR® status might be required to complete the CPM process. Because IREM is part of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), NAR membership is also a requirement.  

Recent innovations in response to COVID-19 issues, Ortolano said, include a digital badge that is unique to each individual who graduates and holds the date CPM status is achieved, what the individual did to earn the designation and more.

“Many chapters are doing creative virtual installation celebrations for their new CPMs until it is considered safe to hold such events in person again,” Ortolano said.

For more information, go to www.iremstl.com.