A Cortex-like development is headed to north St. Louis city.
The Delmar DivINe (5535 Delmar) will take over the former St. Luke’s Hospital on the north side of the iconic street, between Clara and Belt Avenues, and is meant to foster community development and social improvement. The first leg of construction is expected to begin this November; it will include 180,000 square feet of office and retail space, as well as 160 1- and 2-bedroom apartments.
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The vision comes partly from Maxine Clark, founder and retired CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshop. The idea for Delmar DivINe came to her about four years ago, when she opened the KIPP Victory Academy in the same area.
“I got to know the neighborhood, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is really a great neighborhood. Why hasn’t anyone thought about this as a hub?’” Clark says. Once the hospital building became available, “it all clicked.”
Delmar DivINe, whose name references its location as the “dividing line of St. Louis,” hopes to be a state-of-the-art headquarters space for nonprofits and other programs that support the community. Clark says she hopes the space will attract national organizations (Nurses for Newborns and Parents as Teachers, for example), as well as local ones. Delmar DivINe plans to have many organizations dedicated to children and family services—in addition to public health, education, and other social services.
Delmar DivINe will also be a residential space for “young, diverse professionals,” especially with the city’s many surrounding universities. Leasing for the apartments will begin in early 2018. Clark hopes this project will help convince new graduates to stay in the area.
“I had a student here this morning, and she has a job as a social worker in a school here,” Clark says. “She was so excited to be staying in St. Louis, and she’s from Washington D.C. I think these kinds of projects inspire our young people.”
The project could be what the Cortex is to the technology industry in the Central West End or what the Danforth Plant Science Center is to the science industry in Creve Coeur. Clark says social service agencies and nonprofits are a major part of the St. Louis economy.
“We don’t think of that as an industry, in the traditional sense,” Clark says, adding that the city can “attract more talent to this community through our college students that graduate or other people coming because they see us together, working together… We need these kinds of collaboration centers all around St. Louis.”
Clark’s development partner is Clayco Inc. chairman and chief executive Bob Clark.
