Starting bid 900K
The handsome building at 1701 Locust was sold twice in 2005: for $1.25 million in August and for $1.8 million in December 2005. Next week it will be auctioned online with bids starting at 900K. Ouch!
Many buildings downtown faced similar issues. When times were great building prices rose quickly but they have cooled even faster than they heated up.
Nothing appears to have been done, except architectural drawings for lofts. This 4-story building contains over 76,000sf. From the listing;
“Exceptional user purchase or redevelopment opportunity. The Property is a vacant office building measuring approximately 76,000 sf in downtown St. Louis. The property is an ideal candidate for a user purchase or redevelopment to mixed-use of commercial and residential. Phase I and Phase II applications for local, state and federal historical tax credits have been completed and approved, which provide for tax credits of 25% (state and local) and 20% (federal) of eligible costs and expenses of renovations to offset state and federal income taxes.”
It is located a block West of me so I hope someone will buy and rehab it. There are plenty of for sale condos on the market already so rental units makes more sense currently. More information can be found at Auction.com.
– Steve Patterson