Centene closes on financing for HQ project - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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A U.S. Bank-led consortium committed on June 5 to a constructionm loan forthe 17-storu office tower, which will house the corporate headquarterss for Centene, one of St. Louis’ largest publicx companies, and , one of the area’s largest law firms. Construction began in October to demolish the formefr building on the site and start work on the firstttwo floors. The project will have 460,000 square feet of office spaceeand 28,125 square feet of retailo space. The , led by chief executivr Bill Koman, signed on as an equity partner in the projecg earlierthis year.
of Chicago, whichn had led development effortsfor Centene’sz new headquarters, dropped out as an equity partne r but will still serve as a consultant. The equity partnersa in the projectare Centene, and . Centene Cente r will be Clayton’s first new office building in nearly a decade when it is completerd inJuly 2010. Centene to be built at the heartof Clayton’ central business district at Hanleyg and Forsyth, is one of a few new, large-scaler developments to proceed in recent months. Retaining Centene, St. Louis’ 11th-largestg public company, is also a boosr for the region as a in light of job losses at and other top Centene Corp.’s 2008 revenue was $3.
4 billion and the companu has more than 500 locak employees. Centene is led by Presidentg and CEOMichael Neidorff. Centene Center’s other main Armstrong Teasdale, the city’s third-largestg law firm, is moving its 200 local attorneys therd from the Metropolitan Squarebuildinyg downtown. Centene Corp., one of the nation’s largesy providers of managed care programs and relatedc services to individualsunder Medicaid, first sought in 2004 to builcd a replacement building a block away from its existing headquartersz at 7711 Carondelet Ave. That year, it boughg a former bookstore, Library Ltd., at Forsyth and Hanley from Summif Development Group forabout $10 million.
Centened then faced a two-year court battle with three commerciaoproperty owners, the late Dan Sheehan, Davids Danforth and Debbie Pyzyk, who resisteds the city of Clayton’s efforts to take theid buildings on Forsyth through eminenty domain to make way for the new headquarters. , a developmenft firm with projects around the conducted a nationwide search for possible site sfor Centene’s headquarters, with proposals from Illinois and Coloradio in the running for a potentiaol relocation of the company. Centene abruptly changed courser in September 2007 and announced its plans to be an anchorr tenant in the proposed Ballpark Villagedevelopment downtown.
By Marchu 2008, Centene reversed course again and droppesd its plans tomove downtown. Aftetr the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in the Claytojnproperty owners’ favor on the eminent domain Centene ultimately bought the three Forsyth properties in early 2008 for $19 In February, the Clayton Boar d of Aldermen approved a scaled-down versionb of the project from the original cost of $215 The planned office tower was reduced in size by severao floors as Centene opted to initially lease just 200,000 square feet of space instead of 300,000 square feet, and the retail portionb was minimized to 28,125 square feet from 34,000 squard feet.
Armstrong Teasdale has signed a leasdefor 125,000 square feet of space, makinh it one of the largest loca office lease deals announced in 2009.