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City Foundry Transformation Underway Along I-64 In St. Louis

St. Louis Public Radio | By Wayne Pratt
Published July 3, 2019 at 4:55 AM CDT
The City Foundry STL redevelopment will include a dining hall, grocery store and movie theatre in its $220 million first phase.
Lawrence Group
The City Foundry STL redevelopment will include a dining hall, grocery store and movie theatre in its $220 million first phase.

A massive redevelopment project at a high-profile site in St. Louis’ Midtown area is on track to open next year. The first phase of  City Foundry STL will include a large dining hall featuring local eateries. Plans also call for a grocery store, movie theater and office space.

The roughly $220 million redevelopment across from IKEA is on the site of the former Century Electric Company, which made motors and generators. The property was sold a few times over the years, but production at the 15-acre location continued until the mid-2000s.

The site was vacant for a few years until Steve Smith, Lawrence Group chief executive officer, acquired it. His vision for a large, mixed-use development that he says will attract people from all over follows some other high-profile projects in the St. Louis region, including the Angad Arts Hotel in Grand Center and the Park Pacific Apartments downtown. Smith recently took St. Louis Public Radio on a tour of the site that could eventually have around 800 workers.

St. Louis Public Radio's Wayne Pratt and Lawrence Group CEO Steve Smith tour the City Foundry redevelopment project in midtown St. Louis.

Heavy equipment has been lowered into one of the many pits found on the property during the massive redevelopment project.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Heavy equipment has been lowered into one of the many pits found on the property during the massive redevelopment project.

Developers of City Foundry STL are trying to keep as much of the original steel beams and brick as possible as they work on the roughly $220 million dollar project.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Developers of City Foundry STL are trying to keep as much of the original steel beams and brick as possible as they work on the roughly $220 million dollar project.
There is still plenty of work to be done at the property beside I-64 in midtown St. Louis, but developers are confident the first phase will open in 2020.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
There is still plenty of work to be done at the property beside I-64 in midtown St. Louis, but developers are confident the first phase will open in 2020.

The old rail trestle on the City Foundry STL site will become part of the Chouteau Greenway trail system.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
The old rail trestle on the City Foundry STL site will become part of the Chouteau Greenway trail system.

Lawrence Group CEO Steve Smith talks with St. Louis Public Radio's Wayne Pratt about his vision for City Foundry STL.
Credit David Kovaluk | St. Louis Public Radio
Lawrence Group CEO Steve Smith talks with St. Louis Public Radio's Wayne Pratt about his vision for City Foundry STL.

Follow Wayne on Twitter: @WayneRadio

Send questions and comments about this story to feedback@stlpublicradio.org

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri News
Wayne Pratt
Wayne Pratt is a veteran journalist who has made stops at radio stations, wire services and websites throughout North America. He comes to St. Louis Public Radio from Indianapolis, where he was assistant managing editor at Inside Indiana Business. Wayne also launched a local news operation at NPR member station WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, and spent time as a correspondent for a network of more than 800 stations. His career has included positions in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Ontario and Phoenix, Arizona. Wayne grew up near Ottawa, Ontario and moved to the United States in the mid-90s on a dare. Soon after, he met his wife and has been in the U.S. ever since.
See stories by Wayne Pratt