Work could begin this summer to redo an old foundry as a food hall flanked by new offices, stores and apartments in a $232 million overhaul of 14 acres in Midtown St. Louis.
Behind the project are Lawrence Group and the Cortex technology district. Dennis Lower, chief executive of Cortex, and Steve Smith, Lawrence Group’s chief executive, said Thursday that the project would bring new jobs and companies to St. Louis.
“This is not just a building,” Smith said. “This is a comprehensive vision for a district…”.
The $104 million, 200,000-square-foot Idea Market in the former foundry is planned to be similar to the Reading Terminal Market (in a former train station in downtown Philadelphia), and Chelsea Market (in a former Nabisco plant in New York City).
Financing will likely include both brownfields and historic preservation tax credits.