The long-vacant Millennium Hotel in the heart of downtown St. Louis is set to have a new owner.
On Thursday, the Gateway Arch Park Foundation announced it is under contract to purchase the property on 4th Street, which is sandwiched between the Gateway Arch grounds and Busch Stadium.
鈥淲e are at a unique moment in time to revitalize this section of downtown and ensure it is active, vibrant and an economic engine for our region again,鈥� said Ryan McClure, executive director of the Gateway Arch Park Foundation. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much to be hopeful for about downtown.鈥�
The foundation will work with the city, the St. Louis Development Corporation and Greater St. Louis Inc. on a plan to redevelop the property, which has sat unused since 2014.
鈥淎ll of us have a shared goal of making something really special happen for our city on this site,鈥� McClure said.
McClure did not disclose how much the property cost, the conditions inside or share a timeline for how the redevelopment may progress.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very early in this process,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have a lot of due diligence to do on the site. There鈥檚 going to be a lot of assessments, inspections, things that would happen with any transaction like this.鈥�
McClure said the foundation doesn鈥檛 intend to own the property long-term, but rather this move was about a local organization regaining control of the site.
鈥淭he Gateway Arch Park Foundation is not a real estate developer,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur goal is to get this into the hands of a developer that is going to do the right thing here.鈥�
Civic and city leaders emphasized the importance of having a local owner of the site over one outside of the community, like the previous owner, Millennium Hotels & Resorts.
鈥淗aving local ownership of this asset allows us to really develop this site in a way that鈥檚 more community-driven,鈥� said SLDC president and CEO Neal Richardson. 鈥淲e want this site to be a reflection of the strength of our city, the vibrancy that we have and the values that we bring.鈥�
The downtown hotel had been the subject of potential eminent domain use by the city as a ploy to spur the previous owner to sell the property or put it to use.
It was listed for sale earlier this year with the commercial real estate firm JLL leading those efforts.
鈥淭he Millennium Hotel isn鈥檛 just under control by a local owner,鈥� said Dustin Allison, chief real estate investment officer for Greater St. Louis Inc. 鈥淭he foundation has proven time and again its commitment to downtown, to our region, and its ability to deliver on the transformational change that we need at the front door of our metro.鈥�
St. Louis Mayor Tisharua Jones welcomed the news.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to Gateway Arch Park Foundation and Greater St. Louis, Inc. for their collaboration in making this happen,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淲e look forward to continuing our partnership to bring vibrant development to the cultural hub of the St. Louis region.鈥�
Earlier this year, Jones had challenged SLDC and Greater St. Louis Inc. to develop plans for the Millennium Hotel and Railway Exchange buildings, which have both sat empty for years.
Richardson said SLDC had submitted an offer letter to the Railway Exchange building鈥檚 current owner, Hudson Holdings last month with a response deadline of Friday. If there is no response, he said the city would move forward with a petition to use eminent domain.
鈥淲e are ready to issue a petition to the courts next week, given that we have to move forward on addressing the public safety issues of that vacant and nuisance property located in the center of our business district,鈥� Richardson said.
This story was updated to add comments officials made during a press conference on Friday.
