Centene Acquires Clayton Properties, Quietly
Date Posted: February 4, 2016
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Business Journal: Centene Corp. has been on a buying spree in Clayton, gaining control of properties near its 20-story headquarters, at Forsyth Boulevard and South Hanley Road.
The properties, which total at least nine, are located across South Hanley Road from Centene’s $186 million tower that opened in 2010, and include the former Peoples National Bank, Wine Merchant and Metaphase Design Group properties.
A roughly $14 million purchase, for at least eight properties, came in 2014. The seller was the Gershman family of Gershman Commercial Real Estate. The buyer: Hanley-Forsyth LLC, which is a stand-in for Centene, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In September 2015, the same company made a $9 million purchase, including 7600 Forsyth Blvd., the former Peoples Bank building, according to St. Louis County real estate records. Peoples Bank, which previously owned the property, moved to 101 S. Hanley Road Jan. 19, according to Jason Ramthun, the bank’s St. Louis market president.
Further, Clayco, on behalf of Centene, on Tuesday received permission to demolish 7636 Forsyth Blvd., the former Clayton License Bureau office, 12 S. Hanley Road, the former Metaphase Design building, and 20 S. Hanley Road, the former Wine Merchant building, at a cost of $238,000, according to City of Clayton records.