ST. LOUIS – Another building in Downtown St. Louis is getting upgrades and amenities to try and attract new residents into the city. It’s called Six Cord, a reference to the building’s prominence in the old garment district.
The city block-sized building, which dates back to the late 1880s, is getting a $7 million upgrade.
“We’ve done some tuckpointing work. It’s restoring a 140-year-old building. So, it has a lot of age. We’re doing some repairs around the windows. So, a lot of maintenance. We’ve got repairs around the windows and window sashes,” Alex Oliver, the building’s owner, said.
“It was converted to apartments in 2005, so it’s about 20 years old when we went through a last major renovation. We’re getting all that updated again to give it another longevity of life and functional use for residents.”
Oliver said the cosmetic upgrades and renovations are necessary to improve the living experience for tenants.
The front lobby now includes a bar, game lab, and meeting space for tenants, with a second meeting space across the lobby. Additional amenities include bike racks, package lockers, and weekly events for the tenants.
Oliver said the building has upgraded workout areas, as well as a UV sauna and cold-water whirlpool. But the rooftop outdoor lounge, dog park, grills and fire pits are what Oliver and his group hope lure prospective clients who want to try downtown living.
“I’ve been investing in multi-family in St. Louis for the last 15 years,” Oliver said. “I’ve got a bit of a draw to these historic buildings, and they’ve got a character you just can’t replicate. I think we bring a strong focus on operations and management and designing a space that takes something that was maybe a little dysfunctional before.
“Didn’t have the amenities the community is wanting. It didn’t have the community space the residents were hoping for. It didn’t have the focused onsite management we didn’t have before. So, all those things seemed fixable to me.”
