ST. LOUIS — A deal to acquire the vacant former AT&T tower has been nixed, leaving the future of downtown St. Louis' largest office building once again in limbo.
The 1.4 million-square-foot tower was sold at auction in April to an unidentified buyer, according to financial filings made to the bond investors who own the structure. But new filings made public Friday indicate the buyer on Oct. 23 terminated the contract to acquire building.
C-III Asset Management, the special servicer managing the bondholders' investment in the building, said it is evaluating its next steps, according to the filings. A spokesman for C-III declined to comment Friday.
The building, at 909 Chestnut St., is the largest office building in St. Louis and in Missouri by square footage. It has sat vacant for two years after its sole tenant, AT&T, moved employees to different buildings in the region in 2017.
Its acquisition at auction last spring led to hope that the buyer could bring life to a dormant structure occupying an entire block of the city's urban core.
Yet over six months, neither the prospective owners nor representatives of the bondholders provided any substantive updates on the deal.
The Post-Dispatch in May quoted Larry Chapman of CRG, the real estate development arm of Chicago-based Clayco, as saying his firm had won the auction, but was unclear as to whether he and CRG CEO Bob Clark would reach a deal with bondholders.
Public records indicate another firm, New York commercial real estate investment firm Somera Road, was also involved. State records show a Somera executive as the signatory on incorporation documents for a company called 909 Chestnut Street Propco LLC.
In an email Friday, Ian Ross, co-founder and managing partner of Somera, confirmed a deal to acquire the building was not proceeding. He declined to comment further.
A CRG document obtained by the Business Journal indicates the development firm had planned for a "re-imagining" of the building and intended to work with the city and adjacent land owners to "revitalize a larger development area" around the high-rise.
A statement from CEO Bob Clark on Friday said CRG and Clayco "remain intrigued and motivated on behalf of St. Louis by the opportunity." He declined to comment further.
Missy Kelley, president and CEO of Downtown STL, said her group remains optimistic about the building's future.
"We are appreciative of the many entities that continue to push for development in Downtown St. Louis. Downtown currently has less than two dozen vacant buildings compared to more than 150 two decades ago. With more than $2 billion in investment currently happening Downtown, we are optimistic those buildings can be filled and we will see continued development over the next decade," she said in a statement.
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