Developers highlight need for downtown amenities like groceries as city pushes for residential projects

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - For some developers, lack of amenities like retail, restaurants and groceries present a challenge for large, transformative residential projects.

ing those businesses is part of the reason the St. Louis Development Corporation announced $100 thousand in grants last summer to downtown retail establishments wanting to expand or improve their storefronts.

On Thursday, SLDC announced that it would again offer the funds to businesses in 2025.

Steve Davis, SLDC’s VP of Strategic Partnerships, said that establishing a healthy base of small businesses was a vital part of incentivizing larger projects, especially as the city tries to convert vacant office space into residential units.

“Once these small businesses come in and we start to see stabilization on these blocks, your larger retailers will look at this and say, ‘Hey, there’s a larger opportunity for us there,’” Davis said.

One recipient last summer was Ashley Morgan, the owner of Whip It Goods. Morgan started her handmade, plant-based skincare company as an e-commerce business. The funds helped her establish a brick-and-mortar pop-up on Washington Ave. that she has now decided to extend because of her success in the district.

She said she had recently conducted a customer survey that revealed that most of her business comes from visitors from St. Louis County.

“It’s been transformative. It’s helped me scale up my business,” Morgan said.

A lack of retail establishments, especially grocery stores and pharmacies, has held back other recent attempts to develop some properties downtown.

Charles Goldman, whose company purchased the former AT&T building at 909 Chestnut, said he felt that the central business district would need to add retail to residential developments.

His company’s redevelopment of the AT&T building would include more than 600 residential units. He said it would also include significant retail space.

“Most downtown areas have basic amenities within walking distance,” Goldman said. “There needs to be more business, specifically grocery, pharmacy, nightlife, shopping.”

Another issue holding back projects downtown has been a lack of incentives to offset construction costs, Goldman said.

This week, a Missouri bill that would create tax credits for commercial conversions to residential units seemed to stall out in the legislature, which Goldman said was disappointing.

“The only way to describe it is market failure, where in St. Louis the cost of construction is higher than potential rent,” he said.

Goldman said some lawmakers seemed to have reservations about downtown St. Louis and lingering perceptions of an unsafe environment.

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe hinted at an appearance in the area on Thursday that discussions about downtown incentives may continue, though he would not say definitively whether a special legislative session might include the bill.

“It’s a good bill,” Kehoe said. “I think there’s some conversations still to be had. It’s about tax credits and where we end up financially. Our road ahead is going to be bumpy in the next several years.”

FirstAlert4 reached out to Schnucks, which has a downtown store, and Dierbergs to find out whether either grocery provider may be interested in expanding in downtown St. Louis.

A spokesperson for Schnucks wrote, “Schnucks is proud to have served downtown residents, commuters and visitors at our current downtown location since 2009; however, we don’t have any expansion plans to announce at this time.”

A spokesperson for Dierbergs wrote, “Our expertise is providing customers a wide assortment of products which aligns well with a 70,000 square foot location. We have investigated sites in St. Louis city and throughout the metro area and will continue to search for great locations that allow us to offer a consistent customer experience for which we’re known.”

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