Photograph by Anne Matheis
St. Louis may have been one of the last cities to catch on to the loft craze, but it’s sure making up for lost time.
Developers are rapidly acquiring historic brick buildings other cities would have razed long ago. At last count, St. Louis had 92 loft buildings in various stages of completion—and many already sold out.
“We are only halfway into the process of Loft District revitalization, and already the returns are significant,” says John Hoal, associate professor of architecture and urban design at Washington University. “There has been an increase in real estate value; vacant buildings along Washington Avenue are being completely revitalized; and a great sense of identity for downtown has been created.”
Lofts are also being built or renovated in the Central West End, Grand Center, Soulard, Lafayette, Benton Park and Tower Grove neighborhoods. The trend scares cautious types with its magnitude: However can we fill and sustain all these lofts? So far, they’re selling steadily. The saving grace? Each loft is distinctly different, drawing personality from its building’s architecture, history and amenities.
Residents hear the buzz of long-gone sewing machines in the garment district, clops and bangs in the buildings where Moon Bros. made horsedrawn carriages and Ford rolled Model T’s off the line. St. Agnes’ ghosts are schoolmarm nuns; at the old South Grand police station, the ghosts are rowdier. The architecture ranges from industrial to Second Egyptian Revival and the streetscape can hold anything from the Copia Urban Winery at the Vanguard Lofts to the Loft Jazz Club in the Morgan Linen Lofts or the Irish bistro promised for the Bee Hat Building. Here’s a sampling.
Imagination Rules: The Lofts at City Museum
Stepping from City Museum into its adjacent lofts is like entering a parallel world, yet another fairy tale of whimsy and spectacle. “You have to take a leap of faith,” says resident Stephanie Greytak, who initially struggled to picture herself living in such an unconventional space.
The building materials and floor plan of Greytak’s loft are anything but typical. A steel girder delineates a bar area, 14-foot metal tanks serve as walls and the bathroom and shower walls are rows of upright glass juice bottles. A secret passageway that encircles the circular loft serves as her closet.
“I’m living in a piece of architectural art,” says Greytak, who did have a hand in her loft’s creation. “I had to balance the ‘I’ve got to live in here’ elements with the artistic flavor.”
And the steady flow of visitors to the museum each day? It doesn’t bother her a bit—she likes the eclectic feel and high energy of her surroundings: “Every day I wake up and think, ‘This has to be the coolest
place I’ve ever seen.’”
Nearest coffee shop: in City Museum
Nearest grocer: eight blocks
Nearest restaurant: five blocks
Nearest gas station: 10 blocks
The Bogen Washington Ave. in the Heart of the District: The Terra Cotta Lofts
Just around the corner from the City Museum, the Terra Cotta Lofts have an entirely different feel, surrounded by crowded nightclubs and trendy restaurants. This area is the official, quintessential Loft District, with 34 loft buildings on Washington Avenue alone.
“There are nightclubs, bars and entertainment at night,” says real estate agent Lena Pearlman, “and you see young moms walking their kids in strollers down Washington during the day.”
The Terra Cotta building, at 1501 Locust, was one of the first to be converted to lofts, in 2000. Originally the General American Life Building, this 12-story white terra cotta structure has 99 loft units—and a tight-knit community with its own personality.
Dean Schmidt, one of the first residents, treasures the friendliness of the common space: a big lobby, a community room and, of course, the rooftop, home to the bright orange weather ball used to give weather forecasts in the ’50s and ’60s.
Schmidt tried suburbia but realized that he wanted to be downtown, in the middle of the action and close to major highways. Union Station, Savvis Center and Busch Stadium are all within walking distance of his building, and the Red Moon restaurant is on the ground floor.
The other draw was the view. “We looked at this one loft, and it was fabulous, but you’d look out the windows and see a multilevel parking garage,” Schmidt says.
Another resident, Matt Zoellner, agrees: “We’ve got the million-dollar view with the skyline surrounding us, the Arch on one side and the City Museum on the other. How much do you think a view like that would cost in New York?”
Nearest coffee shop: one block
Nearest grocer: six blocks
Nearest restaurant: in the building
Nearest gas station: three blocks
Urban Access: The Linen Lofts
Who needs the clubs of Washington Avenue when you’ve got a microbrewery, bakery, jazz club, pizza joint and sports bar right downstairs? That may have been what future residents of the Linen Lofts were asking themselves as they signed their leases.
Located in the former Morgan Linen Supply building, a two-story structure ornamented with multicolored terra cotta, the Linen Lofts, at 3124 Olive, provide a funky urban environment with entertainment close at hand. Developer Jassen Johnson describes the style as “industrial chic,” affordable but more interesting than the ambience of an ordinary apartment.
With concrete floors and exposed ductwork complemented by metal stair casings, blended with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, the Linen Lofts provide the typical juxtaposition of industrial and high-end finishes. But unlike other lofts in the area, the Linen units are geared to students and young professionals, right down to hotel-style bathrooms with double sinks separated from the toilet and shower to make roommate living easier.
Johnson says that the Linen Lofts’ location—just off Grand Center, the city’s arts and entertainment district—will provide security and draw people to the neighborhood. “I don’t think I’ve seen a place like it,” says Angie DiRaimondo, a recent college graduate who has a single loft reserved.
Nearest coffee shop: six blocks
Nearest grocer: 19 blocks
Nearest restaurant: six blocks
Nearest gas station: less than a block
A Loft's Flexibility: 4200 Laclede
Easily accessible entertainment may be the biggest selling point for some prospective loft-dwellers, but for others luxury is paramount. If residence in a large, airy, unconventional space is called loft living, then life at the 4200 Laclede Condominiums, with their 12-foot windows and 16- to 18-foot ceilings, should be called “lofty living.”
Developer Andy Murphy, who normally designs multimillion-dollar custom homes, kept the high-end finishes and spacious square footage, separately insulated walls and thick soundproofing of his more expensive offerings.
The cosmopolitan Central West End, less gritty than downtown, softens the transition from home to loft. Empty-nesters Lana and Ted Pepper, for example, moved from a large home on Kingsbury to one of the building’s two roofhouses. Their 2,400-square-foot balcony (yes, balcony) provides a view of the Arch and is split into “rooms”: a kitchen, dining room, garden and sitting area complete with bamboo furniture and a mini-waterfall.
From raised floors and half-walls to lofted bedrooms and private terraces, the floor plans are flexible. One unit even provides for an in-ground swimming pool. “The only challenge I can think of is changing light bulbs,” Murphy says, “and if that’s the biggest burden you’ve got, I think you’re doing OK.”
Nearest coffee shop: half a block
Nearest grocer: five blocks
Nearest restaurant: one block
Nearest gas station: two blocks
