Due to current economic conditions, the St. Louis area will continue to see non-speculative retail growth. “We will also continue to see more urban redevelopment projects and more mixed-use developments that include a retail component,” says Joseph Ciapciak, managing director with St. Louis-based Pace Properties.

The corridor consisting of Brentwood, Richmond Heights and Maplewood, located between Manchester and Clayton roads, is the epicenter of the region’s urban redevelopment projects. “This activity should continue to make the area the dominant upper-end trade area in St. Louis,” Ciapciak says.

There have been some major developments in the area that have affected the retail market. One such project is Brentwood Square, a 200,000-square-foot lifestyle center, developed by Pace, located in Mid-County (Brentwood). The center includes the first St. Louis area locations of Recreational Equipment, Orvis, Whole Foods Market, Arhaus Furniture and Viking Culinary Arts Center. “This project continued to establish the demand for upscale retailers in the St. Louis market,” Ciapciak says.

Pace is also developing The Boulevard-Saint Louis, the city’s first Main Street-style development. The mixed-use village will be located in St. Louis’ strongest retail trade area and directly across from the Saint Louis Galleria mall. Pace has a signed letter of intent with Crate & Barrel and is finalizing leases for space within the 225,000-square-foot retail portion. Tenants include Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant, the restaurant’s first area location, as well as Ann Taylor Loft and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. More than 350 residential units, 490,000 square feet of office space and three public plazas will complete the mix. Construction will begin this summer.

Other retailers new to the area include The Cheesecake Factory and Z Gallerie at the Saint Louis Galleria mall and Tiffany & Co., Sur La Table and Cole Haan at Plaza Frontenac.

Another project that affected the retail landscape was Westfield’s redevelopment of West County Mall. The $237 million project involved demolishing the former 563,621-square-foot West County Mall and constructing the new 1.2 million-square-foot center. This project included the entries of Nordstrom, Galyan’s Trading Company, ColdWater Creek, Apple Computer, Lladro and Adrian Vittadini into the St. Louis market. “Early indications are that the mall is modifying the patterns of shoppers located both west and south of the mall,” Ciapciak says.

In Chesterfield, St. Louis-based THF Realty developed Chesterfield Commons, the area’s largest big box project with more than 1 million square feet of retail.

Active retail developers in the area include Pace Properties, THF Realty, Sansone Group/DDR, G.J. Grewe and Koman Properties. Retail development in West Saint Charles County, Missouri, and St. Clair County, Illinois, will continue to be strong as a result of the residential growth in both of these areas.

On average, retail is outperforming the office and industrial markets with an overall occupancy rate of 96 percent. Examples of larger retailers absorbing space include Kohl’s which leased two 80,000-square-foot locations in Edwardsville, Illinois, and Crestwood, Missouri; Gart which leased three 40,000-square-foot locations in St. Peters, Kirkwood and Brentwood, Missouri; Hobby Lobby which leased two 55,000-square-foot locations in St. Peters and Kirkwood; and Target which just built a 120,000-square-foot location in O’Fallon, Illinois.


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