Dave Dwars of the Lawrence Group was quoted in a Midwest Construction cover story on redevelopment of downtown St. Louis this month.

According to the article, 69 buildings have been restored downtown since 1999, totaling $1.3 billion in development.

An example is the Lawrence Group’s $125 million Park Pacific Building. Renovation of the 22-story, 470-sq-ft former Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific building, originally constructed in 1928, will include 108 condos, 50 apartments, 51,000 sq ft of office space and another 10,000 sq ft of space for street-level retail.

Another $1 billion in projects is in the pipeline with 26 buildings being restored or under development.

Other facts:

• 10,000 people live downtown of which 5,000 are new, according to the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.
• About 1,200 additional residents are expected to move in over the next three years.
• 2,700 new housing units opened downtown in the past two years.
• Downtown currently has more than 7,400 rental and sale units.

Architect and friend Andrew Raimist will speak on the “Architecture of the Sun” on Sunday, June 24, 11 am at the Ethical Society of Saint Louis, 9001 Clayton Road. He’ll address climate, sustainability, and solar issues as they relate to the architectural designs of Saint Louis modern architect Harris Armstrong.

The presentation also will kick off an ongoing exhibit of color and black & white architectural photography by Raimist, presenting interpretations of the work of Harris Armstrong, other modernist architects, and selected examples of architectural excellence from the Midwest. The exhibit will be on display through August 15 - don’t miss it! And check out Raimist’ blog, Architectural Ruminations, to soak up more of his passion for Harris Armstrong’s architecture.

While many public agencies and architectural firms are gearing up for green design and LEED certification, developers and owners are slower to embrace the trend.

The Womble Carlyle Construction Blog addresses “Why more people don’t build green” in an April 13 post.

Here are the highlights:

• more expensive
• takes more time to build
• few incentives for developers
• low public demand
• absence of research on the impacts and benefits
• confusion over building standards

Here in St. Louis, The Lawrence Group Architects has successfully renovated The Security Building as a green historic building and is in the process of applying for LEED certification. This year, the Lawrence Group is increasing its number of LEED accredited staff to 40, five times the previous number.

The Lawrence Group occupies several floors of the building and is leasing the rest. As far as we know, the Security Building is the only LEED-designed space available for lease in St. Louis. Kudos to The Lawrence Group for making this project a success!

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved four St. Louis projects for a total of $2,539,070 in Brownfield Redevelopment tax credits. The credits will be used to renovate and rehabilitate contaminated commercial or industrial sites that are abandoned or underutilized.

Tudor Retail Partners, LLC - up to $216,324 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Tudor Building at 1901-1933 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 65 jobs. The property is proposed as “blighted” by the city of St. Louis and is under a proposed redevelopment plan. Over 90 percent of the building has not been occupied for at least 10 years.

1911 Locust Partners, LLC, - remediation tax credits for up to $592,340 to redevelop a two-story commercial warehouse building at 1911 Locust St. and a vacant lot at 1921 Locust St. into residential, retail and commercial office space, creating 53 jobs. The building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and the lot at 1921 Locust St. has been abandoned for over 30 years.

MB Lofts, LLC - up to $1,424,818 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Metropolitan Building, 500 North Grand Blvd. into hotel, retail and commercial office space, creating a projected 102 jobs. The 97,078 square foot building has been vacant for at least five years.

1426 Washington Avenue, LLC - remediation tax credits up to $305,588 to redevelop the Monkey Building Building, 1426-1430 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 87 jobs. The 30,000 square foot building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and has been occupied only by an 800 square foot real estate office in recent years.

The Missouri Advisory Council, the state agency that reviews nominated buildings and sites for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, approved these 10 St. Louis buildings at their November 17 quarterly meeting in Jefferson City:

• American Brake Company Building at 1920 N. Broadway
• Carondelet School at 8221 Minnesota St.
• Falstaff Brewing Corporation, Plant No. 1 at 3644-3690 Forest Park Blvd.
• Koken Barbers’ Supply Company Historic District at Ohio, Texas, Sidney and Victor streets
• Laclede Gas Light Company Pumping Station G at 4401 Chouteau Ave.
• Robert E. Lee Hotel at 209 N. 18th St.
• Royal Tire Service, Inc., Building at 3229 Washington Ave.
• Steelcote Manufacturing Company Paint Factory at 801 Edwin
• United Shoe Manufacturing Company Building at 2200-08 Washington Ave.
• William Cuthbert Jones House at 3724 Olive St.

These 10 will be sent to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places at the National Park Service.

Michael Allen reports on his Ecology of Absence blog that the General American Life Insurance Company National Headquarters at 706 Market Street was tabled and the Ramsey Accessories Manufacturing Corporation building at 3693 Forest Park Boulevard failed by vote of 3-6.

The General American building is less than 50 years old, so exceptional significance must be proven for listing. Extensive stucco covers the historic features of the Ramsey building, and the council wants to see the stucco mostly removed before listing it. These two nominations are expected to be revised and considered at the next advisory council meeting in February 2007.