Midtown development continues to see growth with plans for new mixed-use site near Armory

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - The vast growth that has taken shape across the Midtown region in the last few years could be seen as by design.

“The City Foundry was kind of that first, ‘hey look at what’s down, here’,” said Susie Bonwich, the Development Associate for New and Found. “It’s exactly what we wanted is all of this kind of excitement and energy down here, and the amount of people that has come down here is overwhelming.”

New and Found is responsible for the development of the Foundry. Since 2021, the area has transformed into a multi-faceted entertainment and retail space, and phase two of its plans to build hundreds of apartments and retail space is well into construction.

“When we set out with this redevelopment area [in Midtown] six years ago now, really our goal was to create a premier midtown in the united states in the country,” said Brooks Goedeker, who is the Executive Director of the St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corporation.

From the City Foundry’s food hall, Puttshack, the Alamo Drafthouse, City Winery and the Armory across the way, these projects have fostered foot traffic and job growth for the area.

“Just even one of the food stalls can employ about 12 people, and there’s 20 of those,” said Bonwich. “The amount of workers that are coming down here is really wonderful.”

“[There’s] something from 6 a.m. to midnight every night here in Midtown,” said Goedeker.

Goedeker says developers with green street are now hoping to add a new space to Midtown’s list of ongoing projects.

“More residential, more office, more entertainment, more retail,” he said. “That’s all coming to the Midtown area.”

That is all expected to encompass where the MERS Goodwill outlet currently exists adjacent to the Armory, housed in the Famous Barr warehouse that sits at over a million square feet.

“Coordinating with other developments is a huge piece of the process for the Brickline Greenway,” said Emma Kluse.

Kluse is the Vice President of Communications and Outreach at Great River’s Greenway. She tells News 4 they are thrilled to see more projects like this come into the region with their own plans to bridge a connection between the Foundry and Armory district with future trails all residents and visitors can use.

“The Brickline Greenway will be able to connect those things together and really provide that quality of life that people are looking for,” said Kluse.

The first step is for the city to approve and adopt Amendment 24 in the city’s Strategic Land Use Plan. That would turn the proposed site, currently a business/industrial preservation area, into an opportunity area for mixed-use development.

“You can imagine every other developer, every other business wants to locate in this area here,” said Goedeker.

The city’s planning commission will be hearing the developer’s proposal to make this zoning change tonight.

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