ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis-based regional nonprofit that provides civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families is moving its headquarters to space downtown.
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri said Thursday that it will move its main office to the Peabody Plaza building, at 701 Market St. downtown, in late January 2023.
The nonprofit has been at its current headquarters location, at 4232 Forest Park Ave., for 28 years. LSEM owns the property at 4214-4232 Forest Park Ave., according to city records. The Forest Park Avenue property includes the three-story, 38,807-square-foot Thomas C. Hullverson and Richard B. Teitelman Center for Justice building and a parking lot to the east. The site and building have a 2022 appraised value of $2.45 million, according to city records.
As to its plans for its current headquarters after the move, LSEM "is keeping its options open regarding the property owned on Forest Park Avenue," a spokesman told the Business Journal.
At Peabody Plaza, LSEM will lease the building's entire 11th floor and part of the 12th floor, giving it 10,000 square feet more than in its current Central West End offices, officials said in a press release. More than 90 of the nonprofit's 108 total employees will occupy the new headquarters space, which will include 75 offices, a reception area and six conference rooms for client meetings. LSEM's new downtown office also will hold cubicle space for over 50 interns, from Saint Louis University, Washington University and other schools, as well as volunteers.
LSEM said parking in a garage connected to Peabody Plaza will be free for its employees, clients and guests, with six spaces to be reserved for clients. The parking arrangement is part of the nonprofit's lease agreement, according to the spokesman, who said LSEM officials don't want to disclose other terms of the organization's lease.
“This move is a great opportunity to meet the growing needs of our clients and the community we serve,” LSEM Executive Director Dan Glazier stated in the release. “The new location offers great access to I-70, I-64 and I-44, Bi-State buses on Market St. and the Pine St. Metrolink. In addition, we are excited to move downtown. We will be closer to some of the courts we frequent and our community and educational partners.”
Peabody Plaza, totaling 400,000 square feet and more than 15 stories, is one of the largest office buildings in St. Louis. New York-based real estate investment management company Briar Meads Capital bought the building in 2020 for $35 million.
In addition to the headquarters of coal producer Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU), tenants in the building include architecture firm Arcturis and numerous law firms. Peabody Energy, which moved its headquarters to the building in 1992, announced in October that it would keep its headquarters there. The company had told the city more than a year ago that it was exploring options to leave downtown due to safety concerns.
Downtown has lost about 156,000 square feet of leased space over the past year, and now has an office vacancy rate of 17.1%, according to a third-quarter report from commercial real estate firm CBRE. That's up from 16.2% in the fourth quarter last year.
Seth Berkowitz, a managing director of Peabody Plaza owner Briar Meads Capital, is a former LSEM intern, according to the release.
“Briar Meads Capital is extremely proud to become the new hosts for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, support its vital mission, and provide accommodations suitable for their dedicated attorneys and staff," Berkowitz said in a statement. "From our own personal experience with Legal Services, we know this organization to be vital to their clients and the community it serves."
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
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