Hotelier creates unique travel experience blending art and history

Looking around their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, 21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson noticed that rural landscapes in the area were being developed while historic buildings in the city’s downtown sat vacant. In 2006, the couple decided to take an active role in revitalizing the city center by transforming one such building into the 21c Museum Hotel, a contemporary art museum with hotel rooms and a restaurant. The flagship was a huge success, and the following year Brown and Wilson assembled a team to develop and manage properties in other cities with an overarching mission of giving back to communities.

Since then, Brown and Wilson have expanded their concept to multiple cities across the country, including St. Louis. For that location, which opened in 2023, the JLL Project and Development Services (PDS) Hotels & Hospitality Group acted as the owners’ representative and project manager on behalf of NuovoRE, the hotel’s developer. Denver-based NuovoRE is a privately held real estate investment firm led by a diverse team of experts in real estate, finance, design and hospitality. The company works to create positive community and social impact through catalytic real estate investments.

NuovoRE specializes in hospitality with a focus on adaptive reuse of legacy assets in urban environments. With respect for what came before, the company develops and maintains places that foster ongoing, positive community impact. For the 21c Museum Hotel's St. Louis location, the building ownership chose a 10-story Renaissance Revival-style structure built in 1926 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It had been home to a YMCA until it moved, in 2017 it was acquired for repositioning as a hotel in the Downtown West neighborhood. JLL was tasked with bringing the redevelopment to life and led the project team from concept design through post-occupancy and close-out.

JLL’s 21c served as project managers for 21c St. Louis. They were intimately involved with each detail of the project including overall design and construction team coordination, product and technology installation and pre-opening. It quickly became clear that the building’s storied past was a source of pride and community connection for many of those working on the project.

“Many of the local consultants we managed had actually been members of this YMCA before it closed,” said Smith. “Some of the subcontractors told us they had learned how to swim in the pool we were rehabilitating.”

After a prolonged delay thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, construction commenced in summer 2021.

Due to the historical significance of the building and the availability of tax credits for its rehabilitation, the National Parks Service (NPS) and the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) were intimately involved in the overall design and approval process for the property to ensure local, state and federal tax credits were awarded at the completion of the project.

The design team worked with a historical consultant to ensure it developed the hotel design in accordance with the NPS and SHPO guidelines. The ongoing dialogue with the preservation office minimized design change requests that were important to preserve the integrity of the building while developing a functional space for the intended new use.

Other big challenges of the building included the required structural reinforcement for the featured permanent art installation in the lobby. 21c selected an eight-foot spherical orb by conceptual artist Serkan Özkaya as the centerpiece to welcome guests.

“It didn’t fit through the front door, so it had to be brought in while the walls were still opened up,” said Smith. “The orb was installed in place and protected for months while we completed the project around it.” 

It wasn’t just the diameter of the piece that was formidable. Once filled with distilled water as the artist intended, the orb weighed in at 10 tons. The JLL team had to coordinate with the general contractor and the structural engineer to reinforce the floor under the piece.

Throughout the hotel, there are reminders of the YMCA bones around every corner. The original interiors in the public areas were preserved. The historic pool was made functional again, lined with historic tiles. The two double-height racquetball courts with their original wood floors are now home to luxury suites. The historic wood paneling and tile floors in the billiards room have been preserved and restored, and guests can now order a cocktail and shoot some pool here again.

The 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis opened in August 2023 with 173 guest rooms, a 10,500-square-foot athletic and wellness center, a restaurant and a coffee shop. The facility also includes 14,000 square feet of museum exhibition and event space, composed mainly of the refurbished gymnasium and running track. The guest rooms display more permanent art from Missouri-based artists, while the exhibition spaces will feature rotating pieces from around the country.

The story of 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis showcases the power of adaptive reuse, art and community revitalization. JLL is proud to have been a partner to this team that has turned neglected spaces into thriving destinations that benefit both visitors and the cities they call home. The project has received the 2024 ENR Best Project - Renovation/Restoration, Gold Key 2024 “Judges So Cool” Award, and the 2024 Preserve MO Award.

“Our model is built on the power of collaboration, and 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis is the amazing success it is due, in part, to the diligence, patience, teamwork and attention to detail of the JLL team throughout this process." said Heather Ciszczon, Chief Development Officer at NuovoRE. "We are thrilled that the community has embraced the vision for this property. There's no better reward than seeing a historic asset like this full of life once again."