A current Russell St. Louis project is the conversion of the long vacant YMCA building in Downtown West into a 21C Museum Hotel. The 21c Museum Hotel brand, which is based in Louisville, renovates historic buildings into boutique hotels and fills their lobbies with modern art.
Matthew Stack Came Full Circle to Lead Russell
Date Posted: October 20, 2022
Posted In: Organizations, People,
by Tom Finan, Executive Director/Co-Founder, Construction Forum
As a boy, Matthew Stack watched his father work with his hands, and young Matt liked what he saw. Years later, he oversaw the construction and operation of attraction venues which centered on huge observation wheels.
One irrefutable truth about an observation wheel is that while you go far up and you get an unmatched view of what’s going on, you still wind up in the place where you started, albeit with an enlightened perspective. The observation wheel trajectory might be a metaphor for Stack’s career.
Stack took the helm as president of the St. Louis office of Russell, a commercial construction and development firm, in August. Early last year Russell, founded in 1987 in Davenport, IA, merged with HBD, a century-old St. Louis firm.
HBD’s sweet spots were commercial construction and historical renovation/reuse. The St. Louis office has an annual volume of about $75M. Russell, which operates in 33 states and has annual volume of about $300M, has invested heavily in technology and providing architectural/engineering services. Russell has a growth strategy focused on serving as wraparound real estate developer.
When Matthew Stack was growing up, his father, a firefighter, did all kinds of small handyman/building jobs to supplement the family’s income. Later Stack’s father would be facilities director for St. Agnes Home in Kirkwood.
Matt liked the idea of getting his hands dirty making things, but was advised — as so many of his generation were — to pursue college. He earned a bachelors in finance and economics from Truman State and a JD from St. Louis University School of Law.
After law school he and his wife Erin moved to Dallas, where Stack worked for a law firm and she started a yoga business. In the 2003 they returned to St. Louis where they have remained. Today, he said, they have daughters aged 13 and 17. “We’re totally typical”, Stack said, “two kids, two dogs, two cars.”
He worked jobs at a couple of large St. Louis law firms. Then he served as general counsel for a real estate firm. But something was missing, he said.
Koch Development, a St. Louis commercial development firm founded in 1920 gave him the opportunity to do it all. In 11½ years there he rose to managing director. It was during the recession of the late 2000s that Koch had an opportunity to do an out-of-the-box project in Myrtle Beach that sounded a little crazy on the face of it, but made total economic sense. The development, built around an observation wheel, evolved into a separate division of Koch called SkyWheel® that provided wraparound real estate/design/build/operations services.
After almost a dozen years at Koch, traveling the Midwest and Southeast, he joined U.S. Capital Development as director of development and operations. The position meant more of the kinds of travel and front-to-back development he had experienced at Koch, writ large. But then Russell began pursuing him. He saw the opportunity to make a difference in his home town. Matthew Stack’s wheel had traveled full circle.
“The interrelationship between the traditional general contractor providing construction services and the developer led activities to build communities and projects has always intrigued me,” Stack said. “In today’s real estate construction and development environment, I’m a believer that there needs to be a trusted, collaborative relationship between these disciplines and the lines between them are blurring.
“This trend is what has brought me to Russell, and what I’m most excited about growing personally and professionally. The entrepreneurial spirit, the background of the company including its history and current leadership, the team members, and its desire to grow is what solidified my interest in Russell.”
The St. Louis version will have 173 rooms, 13,000 square feet of curated exhibit space, a restaurant, café and wellness center that will include a hot tub, spa and the YMCA’s historic lap pool. The building’s old gymnasium and track will remain, but will be converted into exhibit and event space.
“We’re proud to be reimagining St. Louis,” Matthew Stack said.