Next-Gen Downtown Developers Aim to Avoid Past Pitfalls
Pictured Above: Jim Farrell of Historic Revitalization for Missouri, in front of Paul Brown Lofts
Date Posted: July 17, 2025
Posted In: Discussion,
From St. Louis Business Journals: Jim Farrell gave tours to show off Paul Brown Lofts after its redevelopment in 2005.
Farrell, a former executive at the St. Louis Regional Chamber and now president of Historic Revitalization for Missouri, found himself last month on another tour of Paul Brown Lofts in downtown St. Louis. The 16-story, 222-unit apartment building again was on display, but unlike 20 years ago, it wasn’t being pitched as an example of a downtown turnaround.
The tour in June was part of an open house held by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provided a loan for the building’s $52 million redevelopment and now is foreclosing on the property. Farrell, as he walked through, found himself “surprised” by its condition. It didn’t look the same as it did 20 years ago. Nearly all the building’s retail space – once home to a jeweler, bank branch and restaurant – was vacant. Some units were filled with debris from a leaking roof. A rooftop pool, with views of the Gateway Arch, has been closed indefinitely due to damage.
In 2005, when Paul Brown Lofts reopened, then-Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt attended the ribbon cutting as it joined a collection of downtown buildings converted in the 2000s into apartments, championed as spurring a downtown renaissance. But now, several of those properties have become distressed, with deferred maintenance piling up and sagging occupancy. At Paul Brown Lofts, occupancy sits at 80%, below the downtown average apartment occupancy of 83%, and a new owner will be required to invest nearly $12 million in repairs as part of its sale agreement with HUD. And buildings with renovations done more recently have encountered challenges, with the owner of the 25-story Tower at OPOP, 411 N. Eighth St., facing several claims of nonpayment. Occupancy at the 200-plus apartment Laclede Gas Building is at just 74% less than a decade after the units opened, with owner Brian Hayden seeking a sale of the property.
Developers point to several factors why the Paul Brown Lofts and other buildings have struggled post-renovation: The Great Recession hurt condominium projects. Redevelopments required sizable subsidies and realized little rent growth. And there’s downtown’s general malaise, as it continues to grapple with business exits and perceptions of crime.
Getting to the bottom of what went wrong could prove critical for a new crop of downtown developers.