Construction Underway at St. Louis’ Jefferson Arms
Date Posted: April 30, 2024
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Crews have begun to install drywall. Tile in some of the apartment bathrooms has been laid. And the historic plaster adorning hallways is under restoration.
Jefferson Arms, the 14-story, 120-year-old historic hotel near Tucker Boulevard and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis, is slated to open next April with over 400 apartments and hotel rooms after sitting vacant for nearly 20 years.
It’s been a major undertaking, said Tim Wooten, who’s overseeing the project for owner and developer Alterra Worldwide. But the more than 120 construction workers who arrive every day have tackled the 500,000-square-foot building like how one would eat an elephant, he said: One bite at a time.
“We’ve got the heavy lifting done,” Wooten said.
On Wednesday, Wooten led a tour of the historic property, known for its gray Roman brick and white terra cotta exterior, offering the first look inside since construction began at 415 Tucker a year ago.
By next year, Jefferson Arms will host a 225-room AC Hotel by Marriott, plus 235 apartments and restaurant and commercial space. It’s one of the largest construction projects underway in the St. Louis region.
And it nearly didn’t happen.
Jefferson Arms opened in 1904 as Hotel Jefferson, luxury housing to accommodate visitors to the World’s Fair. It twice hosted the Democratic National Convention, the latter of which saw the election of Woodrow Wilson as president, as well as celebrities and dignities like Judy Garland and President Harry S. Truman. And it became a destination for St. Louis’ high society, where it hosted the annual Veiled Prophet secret society event.