10/25/2026
STILL WAITING ON THE CROWDS
Developers have reshaped area near Arch with loft apartments
LACLEDE'S LANDING
On a Wednesday afternoon this summer, Caroline Kauffman and her co-workers sat in the shade under a tree at Laclede's Landing for lunch.
It was quiet, and the cobblestone streets were empty, apart from a few people milling about.
"It's like, what is there even to do around here?" Kauffman, 36, said. "Few places are open past 7."
Once the center of downtown St. Louis nightlife, Laclede's Landing lost its luster years ago amid competition from other entertainment hubs, fears of downtown crime and a multiyear overhaul of the Gateway Arch grounds. Being separated from downtown by Interstate 44 didn't help.
Now, the nine-block area north of the Gateway Arch grounds and the Eads Bridge is trying again. The Old Spaghetti Factory is still there. So is the wax museum. And a couple of new restaurants have arrived. But the big shift? Developers — one in particular — are turning building after building into high-ceilinged, exposed-beam loft apartments.
Matt O'Leary, executive director of Downtown Forward, one of a handful of organizations aiming to steward St. Louis' central business district, said the Landing is crucial to revitalizing the overall area.
"We believe Second Street between the Eads and MLK bridges should be one of the great retail and restaurant streets in the St. Louis region because of the quality and character of the buildings and built environment," O'Leary said in an email.
The Landing's largest property owner, local developer Advantes Group, is one of the drivers of change here. The company has invested tens of millions of dollars buying and renovating properties, betting big it could turn the Landing into a neighborhood.
It's been slow going. Many storefronts remain vacant. Signs direct tourists to defunct shops. Getting to, and parking at, the Landing continues to be problematic. And no one has quite figured out how to use the Mississippi Riverfront in a way that consistently attracts residents and visitors alike.
Still, Advantes co-owner Gretchen Minges said there is hope — the city has earmarked $15 million of Rams settlement money for riverfront improvements, for instance.
"People don't want to see it die," Minges said. "There's always a rebirth at some point."
The Landing's rise and fall
The Landing's cobblestones and warehouses were largely ignored by the public until the 1960s, when city leaders sought to complement the newly opened Gateway Arch amid a wave of urban renewal efforts nationwide.
The city flirted with the idea of bulldozing the buildings for new high-rises, but eventually decided against it: The Landing is one of the few corners of the region where the riverfront's original slope and colonial street design remain.
News articles from the era report that the Landing's name — in honor of city founder Pierre Laclede, who historians believe actually landed on St. Louis shores a little farther south at the site of the Arch — originated either with the city planning department or Jimmy Massucci, who owned a cafe at the Landing and who led the development of the Gaslight Square entertainment district near Midtown.
By the 1970s, new businesses were moving into the Landing. Then nightclubs began opening. In its heyday, it had two dozen bars and restaurants.
In the early 1990s, the city sought to double down on the Landing's popularity by building a casino. It received proposals from a handful of developers, including Donald Trump, who pitched a 1,000-room hotel with a gold-glass exterior and a 700,000-gallon aquarium and marina that would feature dolphin shows.
Eventually, the President Casino opened, then another, now known as Horseshoe, just north of the Landing.
As the 2000s kicked off, however, a list of troubles arrived: Other area entertainment districts, especially along Washington Avenue downtown, sprouted, stealing business from the Landing. The Great Recession upended development throughout the region.
Then city leaders embarked on a $380 million renovation of the Arch grounds.
The project demolished a parking garage that served the Landing, vastly reduced tourism, and blocked access to the neighborhood — for four years.
Over one 18-month stretch, seven of 14 remaining bars and restaurants closed.
Now there are just four.
'So much potential'
Advantes, the apartment developer, says it can create a new Landing, one for residents and tourists alike.
The apartments are attracting a mix of tenants, Minges said. Corporate and short-term rentals cater to temporary employees, tourists and conventiongoers.
Peper Lofts has about 50 apartments and is home to The Cobblestone, a market and coffee spot that opened in 2024 and has become the neighborhood hangout.
The casino, Wax Museum and Old Spaghetti Factory, which opened in the 1970s, still draw tourists.
A U.S. Coast Guard recruitment office opened on North Second Street last year.
"We have a little bit of everything, and they all spend money differently," Minges said.
Kimberly Mayden works at a marketing firm on the Landing. She recently stayed after work to grab a drink at The Cobblestone with her husband and attend an art gallery opening. They wanted to stay for dinner, but left after realizing how limited their options were.
"It feels like there's so much potential," said Mayden, 30.
Earlier this year, Advantes hired John Warren of Cushman & Wakefield to find businesses to lease the Landing's retail space. Minges is hoping to draw more restaurants and other businesses like nail salons, clothing boutiques, even a chiropractor.
She has her hopes on the $15 million in Rams settlement money that is slated to go to riverfront improvements.
Exact plans for that money have yet to be finalized, but Ryan McClure of Gateway Arch Park Foundation, which is helping lead the effort, said the focus will be on the area between Biddle Street to the north and Chouteau Avenue to the south. The group first will identify maintenance that needs to be addressed; it will have to work with the Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the river, on any riverfront plans.
Potential design work could begin next year, McClure said.
At some point, the group hopes to reopen the river road, Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard, which has been closed to cars to crack down on drag racing.
Hurdles remain
Cash for the turnaround is tight.
Revenue generated from the Landing's special taxing district has grown by just $66,000 over 10 years, to $247,689 last year — not enough to replace existing signage with QR coded maps and information for visitors, said Minges, the developer.
Advantes has hit speed bumps. Contractors have filed $775,000 in liens on Advantes properties, alleging the company has not paid for work done there. And an investor is suing for $7.8 million, accusing the company of falling behind on loan payments.
Minges said some of the work was not done properly, and the company is addressing the issues.
"We're working through them as amicably as possible," Minges said.
Even city officials sometimes hesitate at investing: This summer, the St. Louis Port Authority rejected a $29,000 contract to study conditions at porte cochere, just north of the Landing where the President Casino docked before closing in 2010.
The city's development arm, the St. Louis Development Corp., had asked the port authority to spend the money after a proposal emerged to create a public market there.
Members of the Port Authority, particularly Alderman Shane Cohn, balked, saying they were not convinced the market could draw customers to an area that already is struggling.
And not everyone's on board with Advantes' vision.
Bryan King, who owns a building at First and Morgan streets, said the Landing needs to decide whether it wants to be a tourist destination or a residential neighborhood. The latter, he said, would require many more apartments to make it a vibrant place to live that can be self sustaining.
The Landing can work, King said: It has many attributes that other neighborhoods do not, with its riverfront and Gateway Arch views, historic charm and lower rental costs for businesses.
It is up to the city to decide whether it has the appetite to make the Landing work, King said.
Resident Eli Front said he loves the neighborhood, and wants more development along the river.
"It is just beautiful there," said Front, 21, who grew up in University City. "I don't think (people) really take the time to see how beautiful the bridges, the water and the buildings are."
He and his girlfriend feel safe walking around at night, and his commute to his downtown office consists of a 10-minute walk through the Arch grounds. Whatever items The Cobblestone market does not have, Front said he can take a quick drive to three other nearby grocery stores.
He acknowledged that access is an issue; parking is expensive for friends when they stop by and getting to the Landing can be confusing because of the highway.
Still, Front said the Landing offers a lot more than what people expect.
"I think it's such a hidden gem," he said.
Steph Kukuljan 314-340-8506
