WILD Development Story of Market at Olive

In 2019, the City of University City, Missouri selected Novus Development Co. to lead the redevelopment of a prominent tract of land in U City following a years-long, city-led RFP process backed by Mayor Terry Crow and the City Council. The proposed project was extraordinarily complex, requiring the acquisition of nearly 60 separate parcels, businesses, easements, religious properties, and residential sites, including a former apartment complex owned by the estate of legendary St. Louisan Chuck Berry.

Many of the acquisitions were contentious, and the city ultimately voted to assist with securing several key properties within the redevelopment area. Financing had been arranged with Costco as the anchor tenant when COVID hit. One of the original lenders withdrew its $20 million commitment just weeks before closing, jeopardizing not only the land acquisition but also Costco’s commitment to build a new store on the site.

When Novus was first selected, I sent Jonathan “Jon” Brown a congratulatory note wishing him well. At the time, I had never met him.

Then, a year later with only four weeks remaining before the closing deadline needed to deliver Costco, Jon called and asked whether I could help save the deal. Through a whirlwind due diligence process and a partnership assembled with Larry Chapman, David Hutkin, and Caroline Saunders, we developed a plan to step in, take over the development, and contribute $20 million in cash to close the transaction and deliver Costco.

It was a bold and risky move, and the road ahead proved anything but easy.

The project encountered countless challenges. Environmental issues surfaced after closing. Timelines shifted constantly. The original TIF and CID schedules had already lost valuable time during COVID. The initial development plan, which included office and hotel components, became financially unworkable in the post-pandemic market and had to be completely reimagined. At one point, we moved nearly 40,000 cubic yards of dirt from the north side of the site to the south side simply to balance the property for construction.

Despite the obstacles, Costco was delivered as promised and became the catalyst for what followed: an all-star lineup of retailers including Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Raising Cane’s, Panera, AT&T, Five Guys, Jersey Mike’s, Chase Bank, Chipotle, First Watch, Freddy’s, and others. The project achieved some of the highest retail rents and lowest cap rates ever recorded in the greater St. Louis metropolitan region.

Still, two major anchors remained unresolved. In a major setback, both Target and the grocery component initially walked away from their planned acquisitions, forcing the team into a difficult Plan B involving apartments, a hotel, and secondary-market retail concepts.

Thankfully, through persistence from our team and strong support from Mayor Crow, both Target and local family-owned grocer Dierberg’s ultimately returned to the development and recommitted to their original plans.

This week, with the openings of Dierberg’s and Target, we are proud to say that the Market at Olive redevelopment project is complete and wildly successful by any measure. More importantly, it has become a transformational development for University City, the surrounding communities, and consumers across the broader region.

The development now supports hundreds of jobs, from the Chick-fil-A operating partner, who is a University City resident, to the Dierberg’s store director, who grew up nearby, to the hundreds of employees working throughout this 430,000-square-foot regional retail destination. Market at Olive will generate more than $300 million in annual sales during its first full year of full operation.