ST. LOUIS 鈥 City officials sued to take ownership of downtown鈥檚 beleaguered Railway Exchange Building in a bid to jump-start redevelopment and end lawlessness at the vacant behemoth.
The city聽聽late Thursday after Florida-based owner Hudson Holdings ignored the city鈥檚 offer this summer to buy the 1.2 million-square-foot property at 615 Olive Street for $5.3 million, what a third-party appraisal determined the building and its adjacent garage are worth.
Hudson co-founder Andrew 鈥淎vi鈥 Greenbaum did not respond to a request for comment.
The city鈥檚 suit aims to take possession of the building through eminent domain, which gives governments the right to take private property for public use or to serve public good. The unusual approach 鈥 on such a prominent downtown building, before a redevelopment plan has been crafted 鈥 marks a milestone in City Hall鈥檚 approach to absentee owners and the protection of historic buildings, which boosters see as a way of turning around St. 不良研究所导航网址鈥 misfortunes.
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The 21-story Railway Exchange, erected around 1914, takes up an entire city block in the heart of downtown鈥檚 business district. Preservationists say it鈥檚 an architectural jewel, with its terra cotta and brick adornments and marble paneling. It鈥檚 one of four major vacant buildings, including the former AT&T tower, the Chemical Building and the Millennium Hotel, that city officials say are crucial to revitalizing downtown.
It was once home of the flagship Famous-Barr department store, renowned for its shopping, and also its quaint second-floor restaurant and famous French onion soup.
But its last tenant, Macy鈥檚, left around 2014, and the building has been vacant since. Proposed redevelopment efforts failed.
Hudson Holdings, led by Greenbaum and Steven Michael, bought the Railway Exchange and its parking garage in 2017 for $20 million and planned a $300 million mixed-use development 鈥 even after a water main rupture dumped millions of gallons of water and tons of sludge in the basement, destroying infrastructure.
But Hudson was never able to move past planning stages as lawsuits mounted from its lender and contractors it initially hired to develop a plan for the building.
The city鈥檚 path to eminent domain took聽nearly two years. In January 2023, the Building Division condemned the property.
The lawlessness that Railway attracted and the absentee owner forced the city鈥檚 hand, officials said.
People lived in ceilings and in between floors, according to聽emails depicting the chaos. Copper thieves snaked through underground tunnels to gain entry.
Last October, aldermen filed a bill allowing the city to use eminent domain on the property.
In April, it was featured in聽聽about downtown鈥檚 woes.
And in June, the St. 不良研究所导航网址 Development Corp., the city鈥檚 economic development agency,聽sent a letter to Hudson offering to buy the building. City officials have not disclosed what they offered. But they promised to use eminent domain if the parties couldn鈥檛 cut a deal.
Now officials and boosters have lofty ambitious for the Railway Exchange: They envision hundreds of people working or living there, prompting businesses to open in the neighborhood and spurring other developments downtown.
Downtown cannot move forward without addressing the Railway Exchange vacancy, said Jason Hall, CEO of regional business group Greater St. 不良研究所导航网址 Inc.
The building鈥檚 owners have 鈥渃ontinued to thumb their noses鈥 at the city, he said. He called the mayor鈥檚 move to use eminent domain 鈥渂old.鈥
鈥淗olding them accountable and using the full legal power that she has to take that action, we applaud this,鈥 Hall said. 鈥淚t needs to be addressed. If they鈥檙e unwilling to do it in a negotiated way, the mayor has the authority to resolve this in the courts, and I applaud her, and we applaud her, for taking that step.鈥
A revitalized Railway Exchange could mean thousands, if not millions, of dollars in new tax revenue for the city and a rejuvenated downtown that could harken back to the city鈥檚 glory days, boosters say.
鈥淲e have been moving aggressively to accelerate the process of securing Railway Exchange with the ultimate goal of stabilizing it for future redevelopment,鈥 SLDC鈥檚 President and CEO, Neal Richardson, said in a statement. 鈥淏ringing Railway Exchange under local control will be a huge step in ensuring future redevelopment plans align with the community鈥檚 best interests.鈥
Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Emails obtained by the Post-Dispatch聽detail聽the dangers the Railway Exchange Building poses as well as the city's growing frustration with the owner.聽
City officials said Tuesday that they've started steps to acquire downtown's troubled Railway Exchange Building to clear the way for a long-awaited redevelopment.聽
Illegal scrapping was a contributing factor to last month's fire at the historic Railway Exchange Building in downtown St. 不良研究所导航网址, officials said Wednesday.聽
The liens are one of the hurdles impeding redevelopment of the historic Railway Exchange Building.聽
The owner of downtown's Railway Exchange Building has stopped paying for security, heightening concerns over the dangers the property poses to the public.聽
Alderwoman Cara Spencer filed legislation to launch eminent domain proceedings against the absentee owner of downtown's Railway Exchange Building.
The online auction is slated for July.聽Hudson Holdings' plans to convert the Railway Exchange into apartments and office space stalled, and聽lenders and contractors have been fighting in court over payment.聽
The owner of the troubled Railway Exchange Building in downtown St. 不良研究所导航网址 is moving to shore up security after mounting pressure from the city.聽
The condemnation of the Railway Exchange Building聽could eventually allow the city to take possession and clear the way for a long-awaited redevelopment.聽