ST. LOUIS — Alcohol distiller Luxco has vacated its downtown St. Louis corporate office, as it sets up shop in west county, a blow to the central business district as it grapples with increasing vacancy.
The move from 1000 Clark Ave., which has an exterior "Luxco" sign facing east, to 540 Maryville Centre Drive, a prominent Town and Country office park, was revealed in a first-quarter real estate report. Luxco took 8,270 square feet at Maryville Centre, the report said.
Luxco, which recently agreed to a $475 million buyout by a Kansas company, said that as of last year, 225 of its 300 employees were local. It's not clear how many worked downtown; the company also lists a bottling and blending facility in Southwest Garden and a distribution center in the Bellefontaine/Calvary Cemeteries neighborhood.
Chairman and CEO Donn Lux confirmed the move earlier this month, saying the company's lease was up at 1000 Clark. "Nothing to talk about," he said.
The move is a loss for downtown, which lags its peer submarkets and has been targeted for turnaround.
Les Sterman, who lives downtown and worked there for decades, including as head of East-West Gateway Council of Governments, said although the pandemic has exacerbated problems as office workers stay home, bigger trends also are not favorable.
"You win some and you lose some, and you can point to employers who've moved here, but long-term it's not a story of growth," he said.
Greater St. Louis Inc., the newly formed private business group for the region, this month finalized a jobs plan that emphasizes boosting employment in the core this decade. The organization is also in charge of implementing another plan for downtown, which envisions changes to street life and infrastructure and was unveiled last year.
Greater's CEO, Jason Hall, said in an email that the organization looks forward to "continuing to drive the implementation" of the downtown plan, "the first comprehensive, community-engaged plan for Downtown's revitalization in 20 years."
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