The University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) has purchased a $2.7 million, 56,000-square-foot laboratory facility and will renovate it for use as a new tech incubator and supercomputing center.

The building, across the highway from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, had been renovated for use as a lab by Incyte Genomics, a Wilmington, Delaware-based pharmaceutical company. The facility comes equipped with a 3,000-square-foot central computing chamber and peripheral office/lab spaces. These niche improvements were attractive to UMSL for their IT Enterprises, a new business incubator set to open at the end of 2007.

UMSL plans to invest several million dollars in IT Enterprises, which will house a supercomputer and up to 12 startup companies. UMSL hopes the supercomputer will attract researchers and financial grants, which in turn will vitalize the business incubator. The building would have required significant interior renovation had it been sold to a traditional office user.

Source: Midwest Real Estate News

The St. Louis County Port Authority has completed a land purchase that will pave the way for construction to begin on the $375 million Pinnacle Entertainment casino and hotel project. The project is expected to create 1,000 construction jobs.

The County purchased 39 acres in south St. Louis County that Pinnacle will use to build a four-lane access road to its planned River City Casino and Hotel. Pinnacle plans to open the development in 2008.

The County bought the land for $3 million in early July, according to sources. The property, the former site of the Air Force National Imagery and Mapping Agency, was heavily damaged by the 1993 flood. Environmental remediation is expected to begin immediately.

Source: St. Louis Business Journal, MSN Money.com

Holland Construction Services is building a new $26 million junior high school for O’Fallon School District #90. The 145,000-square-foot school will be on 42 acres along Seven Hills Road and will feature a gymnasium, 40 teaching areas, a library/media center and a “cafetorium,” which combines a cafeteria  and performance stage. The campus will have a courtyard, baseball and softball fields, and a soccer field with a running track. FGM Architects Planners is providing architectural services for the project.

Developer Dmyterko & Wright Partners has broken ground on a $50 million entertainment and retail complex on 18 acres in Hazelwood, Missouri, as reported in GlobeSt.com. The Crescent Pointe at the Mills property at Highway 370 and St. Louis Mills Boulevard is next to St. Louis Mills Mall and a new 130,000-sf Cabela’s. The project includes a Splash Universe Hotel and Water Park with 130 rooms, and 80,000 sf of retail space and is is expected to be complete by fall 2008.

Bob Cissell of Cissell Mueller Co. LLC is leasing the retail space and says the owner hopes to lease to one bank, a convenience store and junior anchors such as ladies clothing, furniture stores and restaurants.

“It’s more geared toward families,” Cissell said. “The water park will be bringing in families from 200 miles away.”

He said the retail portion will be build-to-suit and pad-ready. Retail lease rates for the St. Louis area are at about $11.66 per sf, according to a first quarter Grubb & Ellis market report. St. Louis Mills, a regional mall, has more than 175 stores, and is owned by Simon Property Group.

A survey of mayors across the United States shows that most cities are adopting policies to encourage sustainable construction and energy efficiency in municipal buildings. The survey results were released at the 75th anniversary meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors held in June.

The City of St. Louis is keeping pace, according to Mayor Francis Slay’s office.

“We have an ordinance which requires that all newly constructed buildings meet LEED Silver standards,” Barbara Geisman, the City’s deputy mayor for development, told AEC St. Louis.

The St. Louis ordinance also requires that LEED principles be included in LEED-New Construction, and that LEED-Commercial Interiors and LEED-Existing Buildings principles be applied during retrofit and renovation projects of current standing facilities, whenever practicable. Sponsored by Alderman Fred Wessels, the ordinance was signed into law by Mayor Francis Slay in 2006.

Three St. Louis public buildings currently under development that will meet at least LEED Silver standards include two new recreation centers and the Animal House, one of the first “green building” animal shelters in the nation. The Lambert-St. Louis airport renovations will incorporate LEED principles for existing buildings wherever possible, according to the Mayor’s office.

Nationwide, nearly nine in 10 of the cities require that new city government buildings be more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, or anticipate making that requirement in the next year. Ninety seven percent are using more energy-efficient lighting in public buildings, streetlights, parks, traffic signals, or expect to by next year.

Dmyterko & Wright Partners is developing an 18-acre, $50 million Crescent Pointe at the Mills in Hazelwood, at Highway 370 and St. Louis Mills Boulevard, adjacent to the St. Louis Mills Mall. The development will include 80,000 square feet of retail space, three to five specialty restaurants, and Splash Universe Hotel & Water Park with a 130-room hotel, conference center, salon and day spa. Cissell Mueller Company, LLC is leasing the retail space. Completion is scheduled for summer or fall 2008.

Source: RE Business Online