Behind the scenes in the Jefferson Arms Building as restoration nears completion

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - After nearly eight years of renovations, the Jefferson Arms Building on North Tucker is nearly ready to reopen its doors to the public.

The historic building on North Tucker Avenue sat vacant for nearly 20 years as attempts to revive it stalled. The long neglect, as well as break-ins and vandals, had taken its toll on its once lavish interior.

Built in 1904 as the Hotel Jefferson, it had long been considered a social and cultural center for the St. Louis elite. It hosted the Democratic National Convention twice, as well as regular concerts, opulent parties and other events.

Alterra Worldwide, the developer who took over the building in 2016, has been working to restore the historic structure. The preservation plan includes keeping the original ironwork and terrazzo floors and restoring the ornamental plaster throughout the building.

Sofia Sarimsakci, an architect and project manager with Alterra, said that restoring the building’s cultural significance was also an important part of the project.

“That’s really the spirit of this project and I think we’re really close to achieving that,” she said.

Sarimsakci led First Alert 4 on a tour through the building, which she said was nearly ready to open to the public this summer. Crews are currently working on installing ductwork and walls to frame the new storefronts opening on the ground level.

Alterra is planning more than a half-dozen new concepts for the property, including a cocktail lounge, bakery, coffee shop, Turkish cuisine, a barber shop and a bespoke tailor.

“It’s so large that it can house so many concepts and so many people,” Sarimsakci said.

Many downtown stakeholders see the project as an example of a viable reuse of a historic building.

Kurt Weigel with Greater St. Louis, Inc. described it as a neighborhood within a neighborhood.

“These developers are happy developing downtown and making money downtown,” Weigel said. “That’s an important message to the development community.”

Sarimsakci said Alterra was also eyeing a building with a similar set of challenges and opportunities a few blocks away, the massive Railway Exchange Building that the St. Louis Development Corporation is currently in the process of seizing through eminent domain.

“It’s very early,” she emphasized. “But we’d love the opportunity to do so.”

Watch the video accompanying this story to see First Alert 4’s Nathan Vickers walk through the progress on the building, and to see renderings of the new spaces Alterra is planning.

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