When Hotel Saint Louis opened in December 2018 in the Louis Sullivan–designed Union Trust Building downtown on Olive Street, it was celebrated as a $71 million restoration of an architectural treasure.
Now Restoration St. Louis, whose co-founders Amy and Amrit Gill were behind the project, are planning on expanding the boutique hotel. On Monday, it announced it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire and restore Hotel Saint Louis’ neighbor—the 17-story Chemical Building, whose address is 721 Olive. The estimated $54 million renovation could be completed as early as fall 2020. Work would begin at the end of 2019.
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The Gills plan to turn the Chemical Building into an extension of Hotel Saint Louis featuring an additional 84 guest rooms, 72 luxury apartments, a ballroom, a restaurant, and a rooftop bar. The two buildings would be connected by a street-level pedestrian walkway.
In an interview, Amrit Gill explained to Design STL that this opportunity was kismet. Back in 2016, Restoration St. Louis had the Chemical Building under contract, but the timeline didn’t work out, and they didn’t end up purchasing it. Instead, they focused on the Union Trust Building and Hotel Saint Louis.
Now, the Gills are returning to the 2016 plan. Much of the Chemical Building’s concept and design will depend on what they’re allowed to do—the building, which dates to 1896, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its distinctive exterior was designed by Boston’s Henry Ives Cobb and features a red exterior, intricately decorated cornice, and bay windows that are trapezoid in shape. Similar to what was the Union Trust Building, its exterior is decorated with terra-cotta. But, Gill said, the restoration will be in line with Hotel Saint Louis, and he expects Checkmate Design, who spearheaded its architectural design, will work on this project as well.
“We’re going to create rooms that are slightly different because of the bay windows, but in terms of size, and feel, and finishes, it’s still going to be like Hotel Saint Louis,” Gill said.
“Our mission is to strengthen and enhance the communities by developing buildings,” Gill continued. “We’re always asked ‘Why do you include apartments in the hotel?’ Hotels are fabulous on the play scale—because you have restaurants—and fabulous on the work scale, because they create a lot of jobs. Apartments fulfill the ‘live’ side—they increase population density downtown. It was an opportunity to strengthen Hotel Saint Louis by adding 84 hotel rooms and 72 apartments, which dramatically increases the live component.”
“The rooftop increases the play component,” Gill said, chuckling.
