When John Steffen's Pyramid Cos. closed its doors after 16 years in business, its debt load exceeded $260 million and its real estate portfolio totaled several million square feet of space, mostly downtown. It wouldn't be an easy cleanup. More than 100 bankers, developers and contractors tied to Pyramid's projects attended a meeting April 30, 2008, to discuss the way forward. "John came in and apologized for everyone having to be there, and then he left," recalled Jeff Rainford, Mayor Francis Slay's chief of staff. "I remember thinking that day that this wasn't going to go well." Fortunately for downtown, Rainford was wrong.
Two years later, all of the properties have been transferred to new owners or back tothe banks that loaned Steffen money.
DFC Group’s Steve Stogel led the efforts to transfer Pyramid’s commercial portfolio tonew ownership while partner Doug Woodruff handled the residential pieces. "The file onSteffen, for us, is now closed," Stogel said.
And the next chapter for many of those properties is beginning. Three former Pyramidproperties - The Laurel, One City Centre and St. Louis Centre - have closed onfinancing since the start of the year, totaling $243 million in redevelopment. Add to thatThe Lawrence Group’s $109 million Park Pacific redevelopment, which closed onfinancing in April, and it totals $352 million in development downtown.
Combined, the projects will create more than 1,600 construction jobs and set in motionthe biggest construction boom downtown has seen in several years. "We do businessall over the country, and there are few, if any, places that are taking on the size andcomplexity of these deals," said Zack Boyers, CEO of St. Louis-based U.S. BancorpCommunity Development Corp. His organization invested in the new redevelopmentplans for the The Laurel, One City Centre and St. Louis Centre. |
