The Armory function and entertainment facility in Midtown is closing down after less than two years, despite the operators ‘ claims that the closing will only be transitory.
It’s the latest sign of trouble at the Armory’s struggling designer, Green Street St. Louis, which owns both the festival’s operator as well as the traditional 1938 , Missouri National Guard , garrison building billed as” The biggest club in STL”.
When it opened in , December 2022, St. Louisans cheered the venue as , Green Street , breathed new life into a long-vacant building abutting the south edge of , Interstate 64 , ( Highway 40 ) seen by tens of thousands of motorists daily. Visitors could choose between basketball, cornhole, ping-pong and shovels on the sprawling 250, 000-square-foot advanced, ordering drinks and meals from the table while catching games on large screens along the walls.
But in a , Facebook , article Wednesday, the Armory said it was closing briefly, blaming the tower owner for no funding following growth phases, but said plans to resume were in the works.
” This initial period was not meant to live on its own”, Armory Chief Operating Officer , Jimmy Smith , said in the speech. ” Yet if we could have added merely the top, this whole picture may be different”.
Mizzou enthusiasts gather to watch , Cotton Bowl , get
Amy Jordan, a , University of Missouri , student, reacts as the , Missouri Tigers , score a second score against , Ohio State , as she attends a enjoy group for the , Cotton Bowl , on , Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, at the Armory.
Armory STL will soon become a large amusement complex.
Bars await customers , Dec. 17, 2022, on opening trip at the Armory STL.
According to the launch, Jacob Miller, who was the architect of the Armory STL idea, also believes in the idea and was attempting to secure funding from outsiders to finish the project.
According to Miller,” the employer was supposed to finance the entire project.” We were left with an imperfect job and were drowning in debt when only a small portion was funded.
Miller and Smith , are piece of Green Street’s kindness arm, Brick + Bev, launched to move the Armory.  , Green Street , owner , Phil Hulse , did not respond to requests for comment. Smith did not respond to follow-up issues.
Green Street , was once one of St. Louis ‘ most famous engineers, tackling rehab projects and building hundreds of new apartment products in , Forest Park Southeast , as the place redeveloped into the cool” Grove” entertainment area over the last 15 years.
But as interest rates and construction costs soared, news of problems at , Green Street , began trickling out. Former principals sued, and it laid off employees. Contractors have been putting mechanical liens on the company’s projects.
Several Armory contractors have sued in recent months alleging , Green Street , and its construction arm and had not paid them. Just last month, CNJ Mechanical Contractors filed suit saying it was owed nearly$ 400, 000 for work at the Armory. In June, three additional contractors filed a lawsuit claiming a$ 600,000 owed to the complex’s contractors.
Green Street’s issues have not been contained to the Armory. This month, the owner of several senior living facilities sued Hulse and partner , Kevin Morrell , for$ 1 million in unpaid rent and expenses the pair’s health care firm leased and operated.  , Green Street , also sued one of its major tenants, dog-themed venue Bar K, for$ 300, 000 in back rent at its building on , McRee Avenue , in south , St. Louis.
Some of its major developments have also fallen through in recent years, including a mixed-use project in , Webster Groves. A proposal to remake , Manchester Road , in , Brentwood , also faces a legal challenge from national libertarian organization , Institute for Justice , for Brentwood’s use of eminent domain.
Armory STL will soon become a large amusement complex.
Lisa Stockman , reaches for the ball on an oversized ping-pong table while playing with her sons,  , Leo Stockman , ( left ),  , Jackson Dyroff , and , Max Stockman , on , Dec. 17, 2022, at the Armory STL.
Even the Armory itself was a scaled-back project. When , Green Street , first bought the historic building and made its pitch to the city almost a decade ago, it planned an$ 83 million rehab into offices and commercial. Based on those plans, the city approved an$ 8 million tax increment financing package and the , St. Louis University , redevelopment arm granted a 15-year tax abatement.
By 2020, however,  , Green Street , had pivoted to a far less expensive project to turn the open floor plan building into a recreation venue and eatery.
Even so, the venue appeared popular, drawing throngs of fans for City SC and , University of Missouri , football watch parties. Smith, the COO, even claimed in an interview that some patrons complained there was n’t enough parking. Miller, in his statement, said he remained committed to the Armory.
” The concept worked, but without capital, it is just not sustainable”, Miller wrote. You must press on when you see so many people in the area enjoying what we did. I gave up a lot to create this project, and we believe in it”.
Former , Green Street , employee alleges developer misled investors
The employee for the , St. Louis , developer said he discovered misleading accounting that made , Green Street ‘s , finances appear better to investors, the suit says.
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( c ) 2024 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
