Retrofit Atlas

Industrial sites · Missouri

Brown Shoe Company's Homes-Take Factory

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedOperatingSt. Louis, MO

Operating 100-unit senior housing conversion of historic factory (1904), near Ely Walker Lofts (3km), with 2024 construction activity. · summary, model-written

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Site profile6 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place
3+ other atlas sites within 10 kmThis site: 4 within 10 km computed · all sites with this
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -16% census-cbp · all sites with this
Interstate or freeway within 600 mThis site: IS55N TO GRAVOIS AVE fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Shrinking countyThis site: -5.8% census-acs · all sites with this
Strategy
ReinhabitedThis site: …senior and disabled living center, with 100 units record · all sites with this
New use
HousingThis site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusOperatingWikipedia no source
StrategyReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New useshousingWikipedia no source
What is there nowsenior and disabled living center, with 100 unitsnewtypes-extraction reported
DeveloperAllen Market Lane Apartmentsnewtypes-extraction

History and original facts

Original developerBrown Shoe Companynewtypes-extraction reported
AnchorsBrown Shoe Company
CountySt. Louis city
Census division4 · West North Central
NotesDraft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: The Brown Shoe Company's Homes-Take Factory, built in 1904 as a shoe factory, was converted into a senior and disabled living center with 100 units by Allen Market Lane Apartments in 1978.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Planning

No zoning change, subsidy or policy tool recorded for this site.

Before and after

Before: the mall

ArchitectAlbert B. Grovesquote

After: the retrofit

Housing units built100quote

Hover "quote" to see the sentence each value came from. Planned figures are labelled planned. Method.

Site context

Housing permits, St. Louis (Independent City) (MO), 2024227 units in 5+ unit buildings, 11 in 2–4, 56 single-family; 2023: 205 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby4 within 10 km, 12 within 25 km: Armory (2.6 km); Ely Walker Lofts (2.8 km); One City Center (3.0 km); Peter Mathews Memorial Skate Garden (5.3 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)7,724 jobs in 768 establishments; average annual pay $38,904; employment location quotient 0.35; employment -1.8% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022942 jobs; 176 in retail trade, 221 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 29510123200)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 34th income percentile as adults; 6.4% incarcerated at the 2010 count (329 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 11.6%; median family income $92,545; 144 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsSt. Louis City School District (PK-12); 13 public schools within 1 mile: LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY; LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY HIGH SCH; LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY ELEM.; KIPP WISDOM ACADEMYNCES EDGE
Elevation496 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-202565 county-logged events: 25 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 13 flash flood, 1 lightning; $1,686,746,000 property damage reported; 7 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 63104, 2026-09median list price $335,925 (-10.7% on the year); 69 active listings; median 52 days on market; 30% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023778 establishments (-16%); 8,987 jobs (-8%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $176,514 (-0% 1 yr, +10% 5 yr); typical rent $1,287/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)11,353 vehicles a day on IS55N TO GRAVOIS AVE (Interstate, 2 lanes); 20 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Operating housing conversion of a historic 1904 factory. 100 units for senior/disabled living (Allen Market Lane Apartments).

Why. Original factory (Brown Shoe Co.) converted to warehouse (International Hat Co.) in 1954. Now operating as housing. Nearby peers: Ely Walker Lofts (3km, built), Armory (3km, proposed).

Where it stands. 2024 permits show 294 units built ($55.7M value). Housing market: ZHVI $176.5k (down 0.4% YoY), ZORI $1,287 (up 3.3% YoY).

For a planner

  • 100-unit senior/disabled focus
  • Interstate access (IS55N, 2 lanes, 11,353 ADT)
  • Nearby housing projects: Ely Walker Lofts (3km)
  • County housing market down 0.4% YoY (2026 data)

For a developer

  • Active construction (2024 permits)
  • Peer: Ely Walker Lofts (3km, built)
  • Market data: ZORI up 3.3% YoY
  • Unknown: Why 'county shrank -5.8%' (record lacks context)

What we do not know yet

  • 'Retrofit already built' lacks detail
  • 'County shrank' meaning unclear
  • No vacancy rate or tenant data provided
  • No current occupancy rate stated

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • Northwest Plaza Mall, St Anns, MO · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MO; 21 km away
  • Ely Walker Lofts, St. Louis, MO · Industrial sites · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MO; 3 km away
  • St. Louis Mills, Hazelwood, MO · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MO; 27 km away
  • Armory, St. Louis, MO · Office parks · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MO; 3 km away

Elsewhere on the web

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Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • county shrank -5.8% 2018–23
  • housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

Background

Brown Shoe Company's Homes-Take Factory, also known as the International Hat Company Warehouse, is a historic building location at 1201 Russell Boulevard in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Built in 1904, by renowned architect Albert B. Groves, the building was originally a factory for the Brown Shoe Company, based in St. Louis. In 1954, the factory was subsequently converted into a warehouse by the International Hat Company. The site has been recognized as a testament to Grove's architectural expertise in the principles of factory design, namely technical advances in layout planning, operational efficiency, and employee safety.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Sources

More in Missouri

Antioch Center MallAntioch Center MallKansas City, MO · 2013Redeveloped · Redevelopment: office and residentialBannister MallBannister MallKansas City, MO · 2014Redeveloped · Redevelopment: officeNorthwest Plaza MallNorthwest Plaza MallSt Anns, MO · 2013Partial Redeveloped · Reinhabited · Partial redevelopment: demolition and new retail Partial…Red Roof MallBranson, MO · 2014Partial Regreened · Partial regreening, baseball fieldArmorySt. Louis, MOReinhabitation, proposed · high end office spaceBellerive Country ClubBellerive Acres, MORedeveloped · University of Missouri–St. Louis