Jubilee World, Inc. has purchased the long-vacant Orpheum Theatre in downtown St. Louis. In 2015, Jubilee World made the sprawling former St. Mary’s Orphanage at 5341 Emerson Avenue in the city’s Walnut Park East neighborhood its world headquarters.

While the Jubilee World website offers a lot of information, it’s a little unclear exactly who Jubilee World is, and what its plans for the Orpheaum Theatre may be. Its website lists 11 individuals under “Our Worldwide Leadership”, but does not provide any information about them. Dozens of countries around the world are listed on the organization’s “network” page.

An A. Merril Smoak Jr. is listed as Jubilee World president. A quick search finds that Smoak Jr. is an associate pastor of music and worship at Trinity Church in Livermore, California. He is also a professor and the dean of Olivet University’s Jubilee College of Music in San Francisco.

The Orpheum Theater was most recently owned by UrbanStreet, a Chicago developer that bought a package of Roberts Brothers owned properties in 2012. The theater came along with the Roberts Tower, Mayfair Hotel, and the Lofts at OPOP (AKA, the Board of Education building). The theater was renovated and the Orpheum name restored under the Roberts’ ownership.

{the Orpheum Theatre c. 1920}

The tower and Mayfair Hotel were the prizes. Once slated for 55 luxury condos but never completed, the tower was finished as 132 apartments. Sauce on the Side now occupies the plaza level retail space. The Mayfair underwent a complete restoration and reopened as a Magnolia Hotel in 2014.

UrbanStreet’s focus then turned to the vacant Crestwood Mall. The developer paid just $3.6M dollars for the 47-acre site in suburban St. Louis. A $104M redevelopment plan received a total of $25M in tax incentives. UrbanStreet then sold its row of former Robert’s properties along Locust Street in downtown to TWG Development of Indianapolis. That group has plans for market-rate apartments.

The Beaux-Arts style Orpheum was completed in 1917 at a cost of $500,000. It opened as a vaudeville house and was later sold to Warner Brothers in 1930, operating as a movie theater until the 1960s. After a restoration in the 1980s, it reopened as the American Theater and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

The 1,500-seat theater has played host to some of the biggest names in music and theater, including Pearl Jam, Phish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Mathew Band, Cary Grant, Mae West, and Henry Fonda. Most recently the theater was used for private parties and corporate events.

Mission statement and organization history from Jubilee World:
Jubilee is a fellowship comprised of a globally diverse and eclectic body of musicians, dancers, actors, and members purposed to glorify God through the sacrifices of praise and worship.

Established in Los Angeles, CA, in 2002 as “Jubilee Mission” by a group of university students, the ministry began with a vision to form a non-denominational fellowship of Christian musicians to aid in increasing the presence and quality of Gospel music on campuses. Through partnerships with local fellowships and Christian organizations, the ministry began its growth, gradually extending its influence into other fields of the performing arts, as well as media and education.

In 2007, Jubilee Mission changed its name to Jubilee World to represent the organization’s diverse work in the field, which includes several
established ministries such as the Jubilee College of Music, BREATHE Music & Dance, (est. 2002), BREATHEcast (est. 2004), the Jubilee Chorus and the Jubilee Symphony Orchestra (est. 2007).

That same year, Jubilee also began to form a Senior Advisory Board to help broaden and strengthen the ministry’s goals and strategies. Jubilee exists to take up the yoke of the Lord, proclaiming to all peoples a spiritual trumpet call of hope, healing, freedom and rest in Christ through the ministry of the performing arts and mass media.

From Jubilee World regarding the former St. Mary’s Orphanage:
In 2015, Jubilee World acquired the former St. Mary’s Orphanage building at 5341 Emerson Ave. in St. Louis. The 164,000 square feet facility has since been getting a major facelift with constant renovations. The main chapel, offices, dormitories and bathrooms have all been since remodeled. Jubilee plans to finish the entire facility in 2 years to open up to the community once again.
Construction began in the summer of 1899 and was dedicated on November of 1900 having 225 girls and 13 sisters in residence. This facility has been a community landmark and staple for over 100 years.

Constructed to be completely self-sufficient, the facility featured a large olympic sized swimming pool, main chapel, cafeteria, 2 large gyms, boiler house, offices, baking oven, laundry plant, institutional kitchen and cold storage rooms for the over 200 residence. It also had classrooms, dormitories, playrooms, work rooms, vegetable gardens and chicken coops.
The facility and main chapel once again came to life with Jubilee’s 15th Anniversary Conference, concert and events for the community. The facility had not been utilized or in top working order for decades.

Jubilee and community leaders have a vision of rebuilding the campus to it’s former glory serving the neighborhood residence once again.

View Facebook pages for Jubilee San Francisco and Jubilee New York for additional information.

According to a blog post on the bean roaster’s website, the thrice-bitten cafe space in downtown’s City Garden Sculpture Park will become a new Kaldi’s Cafe. According to the RFT, Kaldi’s also plans to open a space in the Koman mixed-use development at West Pine Boulevard and Euclid Avenue in the city’s Central West End neighborhood.

City Garden has earned wide acclaim since opening in 2009. It has transformed two bland blocks of the never quite developed Gateway Mall into a gathering place for people of all ages, downtown residents, tourists, and other visitors. However, its cafe space has struggled to find a sustained operator.

The Studio Durham Architects project was meant to add consistent activity to the park, pulling in visitors at lunch and in the late evening. Its first incarnation as Terrace View was a high-end offering that never quite caught on. The Chili Bowl, an effort to focus on the downtown lunch crowd, didn’t last long. Death in the Afternoon was more popular, but ultimately couldn’t make the space work either.

Kaldi’s is hoping a full-service cafe will work for a wide range of visitors. The City Garden location may open as soon as next month. The company’s latest cafe opened this past week in the Gerhart Building at the corner of Laclede and Vandeventer Avenues.

Images of the Studio Durham cafe space in City Garden by Steve Hall at Heidrich Blessing via Studio Durham:

Cafe site plan by Studio Durham:

Kaldi’s has opened in the corner space of a renovated Gerhart Building:

Kaldi’s will reportedly join Shake Shack in the Koman Group project at West Pine-Euclid:

The City of Clayton appears ready to move forward with the development of one of its parking lots. Flaherty & Collins Properties has been chosen as the preferred developer after an extended process to consider the future of the property at 8049 Forsyth Boulevard (Google Map).

Proposed is a 24-story tower at the northeast corner of Brentwood and Forsyth Boulevards across from the city’s Shaw Park. The project is estimated at $70M and would include 264 luxury market rate one and two bedroom apartments and 373 structured parking spaces. Approximately 8K sf of “tenant retail space and associated service spaces” would occupy the building’s street level.

In all, the building would total 475K sf. Some parking would be available to the public, though it is unclear the number of spaces.

The project would add significant residential density to downtown Clayton, a stated goal of the city’s master plan. The developer is asking the city to allow a five-foot setback along both Brentwood and Forsyth instead of the required 15ft in order to accommodate added space in the alley, and the planned parking deck.

The “Grand Missourian International”? The “Delmar Divine”? These are the aspirational names for a series of buildings that are anything but inspirational. The hodgepodge of buildings that constitute the abandoned St. Luke’s Hospital on Delmar Boulevard in the City of St. Louis has attracted some big names and big ideas.

The Post-Dispatch is reporting that two developers have presented redevelopment plans to the city that would preserve the existing complex. Located at 5555 Delmar Boulevard, the approximately 7.5-acres site is owned by the city’s Land Clearance for Redevelopment Agency (LCRA).

Submitting presentations to the city, according to the Post-Dispatch, were the team of Maxine Clark, founder and retired chief executive of Build-A-Bear Workshop (now CEO of the Clark Fox Family Foundation), and Bob Clark, chairman and chief executive of Clayco Corp (nope, they’re not related). Titled “Delmar Divine”, the project could include 160 apartments serving Teach for America – an idea once explored for the Jefferson Arms building in downtown. The redeveloped complex could also house various non-profits, providing shared services and low rent.

Bob Clark and Clayco are near completion of the fast-tracked The Everly, a 14-story mixed use building to the west on Delmar Boulevard. The company’s largest project is the multi-phased expansion of the Centene corporate campus in downtown Clayton.

The second proposal, “Grand Missourian International” was presented by Prad Sabharway, managing director of Ananta Advisors. Sabharway’s presentation reportedly included plans for apartments, a movie theater, and production space for clothing and other small item manufacturers.

Ananta’s website shows projects in the UAE, Greece, Uruguay, India, and two in St. Louis: “a 400 room hotel situated on 19 acres of land one mile from St Louis Airport” and T3T Esco, a company focused on retrofitting warehouses with LED lighting for energy savings. According to the Ananta website, Sabharway “spent 20 years with Citibank in various US and International assignments in Greece, UK, USA, Colombia and Japan.”

Immediately north of the vacant hospital, Rise has completed the Village at Delmar Place development, which includes 40 single-family apartments and townhomes, 16 2BD apartments, two 3BD apartments, 18 3BD townhomes, four 4BD townhomes, and a community building.

Village at Delmar Place by Rise:

Read the Post-Dispatch story for more information and history on St. Luke’s Hospital: Two plans to redo the former St. Luke’s hospital on Delmar

The Chesterfield Hockey Association (CHA) has announced its intention to build a 78,000 sf multi-sport facility on 12 acres in the Chesterfield Valley (full press release below). The idea was first floated in early 2016 immediately after the announcement that the Hardee’s Iceplex would close to make way for a Topgolf entertainment complex.

It is unclear how this project may impact recently unveiled plans to be a four-ice rink complex in Maryland Heights, which would double as the St. Louis Blues’ training facility. That project is being promoted by a group called the St. Louis Ice Legacy Foundation.

For Immediate Release

NEW SPORTS COMPLEX PROPOSED FOR CHESTERFIELD VALLEY

Chesterfield, MO — (February 2, 2017) — Chesterfield Hockey Association (“CHA”), a non-profit organization, announced today a plan to develop a new state-of-the-art ice and multi-sport facility on 12 acres of land between Chesterfield Airport Road and US 64/40 in Chesterfield, MO. The Chesterfield SportsComplex will be 78,000 square feet and is anticipated to include two (2) NHL-sized sheets of ice, locker rooms, team meeting rooms and offices as well as a restaurant/bar and pro shop. In an effort to grow and expand youth hockey within the St. Louis metropolitan market, the Chesterfield SportsComplex will replace the Hardees lceplex and become the new home of the Chesterfield Falcons hockey club. The Chesterfield SportsComplex will be the premier youth hockey and ice skating destination in the area serving 1,000 youth hockey players and ice skaters in addition to figure skating, indoor soccer, box lacrosse and ball hockey programs.

“The loss of the Hardees IcePlex will have a significant impact on the growth of our sport. The current facility supports not only local use, but also USA Hockey Regional and Notional events. Chesterfield and the region will greatly benefit from having a facility in Chesterfield Volley.” -Larry Boyd, President, Missouri Hockey Inc.

“The board of directors of the Chesterfield Hockey Association is extremely proud to lead this effort to develop the new Chesterfield SportsComplex which will keep the Chesterfield Falcons playing hockey in Chesterfield, MO.” -Mark Kraus, President, Chesterfield Hockey Association

“I am proud to be an original member of the Chesterfield Hockey Association and tam in full support of the need to continue having kids play hockey in our city.” -Bernie Federko, St. Louis Blues Alumni

CHA has partnered with The Staenberg Group (TSG), and Mia Rose Holdings (MRH), to lead this effort.

About CHA
Chesterfield Hockey Association was established in 1995 to develop, promote and organize amateur hockey in Chesterfield, MO. CHA provides year-round developmental opportunities and a full spectrum of hockey programs for players ranging in age from 4 to 18 years old. CHA continually strives to be the best Tier II and Tier III hockey club in the area and prides itself on its ability to develop and advance deserving players to Tier I, junior and collegiate programs.

About The Steenberg Group
TSG is a full service commercial real estate development company that owns, manages and leases shopping centers throughout the heartland including Chesterfield Commons in Chesterfield, MO.

About Mia Rose Holdings
MRH is a Chesterfield, MO based real estate and land development company whose focus is to align the various resources necessary to fully develop real estate opportunities to support the needs of the local communities.