RealEstateJournal | Commercial Market in St. Louis Is Showing Some Improvement
RealEstateJournal Commercial Market in St. Louis Is Showing Some Improvement
By Maura Webber Sadovi Special to The Wall Street Journal Online
Some 40 years after St. Louis completed its soaring Gateway Arch, the region still is fighting to regain a competitive edge, while its trailing economy has kept commercial real-estate values grounded.
Straddling the Illinois and Missouri banks of the Mississippi River, the Midwestern region is home to a largely suburban population of about 2.8 million. The area is anchored by the city of St. Louis, which has seen its population steadily shrink to 348,189 in 2000, less than half its peak in 1950, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
There are signs that the region's prospects are improving. The area's health-care sector is on the upswing, driven by such companies as pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts Inc., which is building a new headquarters. Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. is relocating its corporate headquarters to the region from Mississippi, partly to avoid hurricane-related evacuations of its main offices and to be more centrally located. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is investing as much as $1 billion over the next four years to modernize two manufacturing plants in Fenton, Mo.
By Maura Webber Sadovi Special to The Wall Street Journal Online
Some 40 years after St. Louis completed its soaring Gateway Arch, the region still is fighting to regain a competitive edge, while its trailing economy has kept commercial real-estate values grounded.
Straddling the Illinois and Missouri banks of the Mississippi River, the Midwestern region is home to a largely suburban population of about 2.8 million. The area is anchored by the city of St. Louis, which has seen its population steadily shrink to 348,189 in 2000, less than half its peak in 1950, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
There are signs that the region's prospects are improving. The area's health-care sector is on the upswing, driven by such companies as pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts Inc., which is building a new headquarters. Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. is relocating its corporate headquarters to the region from Mississippi, partly to avoid hurricane-related evacuations of its main offices and to be more centrally located. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is investing as much as $1 billion over the next four years to modernize two manufacturing plants in Fenton, Mo.
posted by Patrick Leblanc at 1:29 PM
<< Home