St. Louis real estate firm Oliver Properties has expanded its downtown real estate holdings in moves aimed at boosting parking and retail along the Washington Avenue corridor.
Oliver Properties, which owns two apartment buildings on Washington Avenue, wants to complement its residential units with more nearby retail offerings, including a food hall that could open next year. Alex Oliver, owner of Oliver Properties, said his firm has now invested about $45 million along a strip of Washington Avenue between Tenth Street and Tucker Boulevard.
The new investments include:
- Parking lots just south of Washington Ave., along St. Charles Street between Eleventh Street and Tucker Boulevard
- 1122 Washington Ave., the former space of Copia Restaurant & Wine Garden
- And ground floor retail space at the Meridian Lofts at 1136 Washington Ave.
Alex Oliver, owner of Oliver Properties, outside the Six Cord apartments at 1000 Washington Ave.
Dilip Vishwanat | SLBJ
Oliver Properties in November 2023 purchased 1000 Washington Ave., a 213-unit apartment building, for $18.8 million from Milwaukee-based Mandel Group. An additional $7 million in improvements has been invested in the building, rebranded as the Six Cord apartments. In January, Oliver Properties acquired the 87-unit Vanguard Lofts at 1118 Washington Ave. for $8.5 million. The firm more recently has acquired parking lots just south of Washington Avenue, along St. Charles Street between Eleventh Street and Tucker Boulevard, and is making improvements there that include new sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, cameras and fencing. The 200-plus parking spaces will be available for hourly, monthly and residential users. Oliver Properties is investing about $4 million in the parking lot between acquisition and renovations.
Crews work Monday on renovations at a parking lot acquired by Oliver Properties on St Charles St.
Dilip Vishwanat | SLBJ
Access to secure parking is critical to Oliver’s plans to boost retail along Washington Avenue, with the proposed food hall to be located at 1122 Washington Ave. The 9,000-square-foot building is the former space of Copia Restaurant & Wine Garden and later the controversial Reign nightclub. The large footprint of 1122 Washington, along with a patio at the back of the building that includes a retractable roof, makes it ideal for a food hall, said Oliver. The food hall is envisioned as a draw for officer workers, downtown residents, and those in town for conventions and tourism. Discussions are ongoing with potential operators as Oliver Properties seeks to partner with an entity “that really knows this business,” Oliver said. Opening of the food hall is targeted by summer 2025.
A former downtown food hall, The Eatery at office tower Metropolitan Square, closed in 2020 amid the pandemic and its space later was taken up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Oliver Properties acquired 1122 Washington for approximately $700,000 from Copia Acquisition LLC, tied to Robert Thomson.
The space at 1122 Washington Ave., which is being considered for a food hall, includes a patio with a retractable roof.
Dilip Vishwanat | SLBJ
Oliver Properties has plans for more retail. In November, it purchased ground floor retail space at the Meridian Lofts at 1136 Washington Ave. The space has one existing tenant, Insomnia Cookies, which will remain. The additional space, which totals 7,000 square feet, will be marketed for lease by King Realty Advisors. The space at the Meridian Lofts was acquired for approximately $500,000 from Meridian 888 LLC, tied to Igor Kushnir, according to state records.
Additionally, a new cocktail lounge has signed a lease to open at the Six Cord building, joining its existing retail tenants Sen Thai Asian Bistro and Stanley’s Cigar Lounge. Details on the new tenant will be shared soon, Oliver said.
Clayton-based Midwest Regional Bank has financed the purchase of Copia and the parking lots, while a private lender has assisted with the deal at the Meridian Lofts, Oliver said.
While downtown has no shortage of vacant retail space, Oliver is optimistic that Washington Avenue can be a retail hub in the neighborhood.
“Retail does well when it’s near other retail,” Oliver said. “A stand-alone shop in the middle of a residential neighborhood is going to struggle, but retail that’s in a retail district does well. That’s where I think Wash Ave has good momentum.”
Another boost could be Oliver Properties’ apartment buildings. The Vanguard Lofts are 92% leased and Six Cord has increased its leasing rate to 72%. A rebound in convention bookings next year at the America’s Center convention complex could help drive foot traffic. The convention center’s operator, tourism agency Explore St. Louis, told its board recently that hotel room nights associated with America's Center bookings are on pace to close at a target of 250,000 in 2025.
Oliver Properties in the future could add more apartments and retail along Washington Avenue. It has the vacant eight-story building at 1128 Washington Ave. under contract, with plans to convert it to include 52 units. The property has a 4,000-square-foot restaurant space, previously home to Bobby’s Place, which closed in 2017.
Monthly rent for downtown apartments averaged $1,421 in the third quarter, down 1.4% from the year-ago period, according to Cushman & Wakefield report. The downtown multifamily submarket had a 18% vacancy rate, according to the report, compared with an 11.8% vacancy rate in the year-ago period. Downtown has added apartments this year with the addition of the 148-unit 11th and Spruce apartments.
Oliver, an engineer by degree and transplant to St. Louis, started buying real estate in 2007. He said he got hooked on real estate investing as he came to enjoy the engineering and project management aspects of the field. His firm began with owning small multifamily properties in south St. Louis. Oliver’s focus downtown comes as he says the firm in recent years has found success in buying larger properties and improving them with new amenities for tenants. In addition to its holdings downtown, Oliver Properties announced in September it acquired 65 units at the Ventana Lofts at 1635 Washington Ave., in the adjacent Downtown West neighborhood.
