For years, Laclede’s Landing struggled with vacant buildings and declining foot traffic after its heyday as one of St. Louis’ premier entertainment districts. Today, St. Louis-based Advantes Group is helping write a new chapter through the restoration of multiple historic buildings, the creation of new apartments, and a vision centered on building a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood. With much of the redevelopment now complete, the next opportunity lies in attracting restaurants, retailers, professional offices, and entrepreneurs to one of the city’s most historic districts.
ST. LOUIS, MO – August 6, 2026 (STL.News) — Few places are as closely tied to the history of St. Louis as Laclede’s Landing. Founded along the Mississippi River where Pierre Laclède established the city in 1764, the neighborhood has served as a riverfront trading post, a warehouse district, and later one of the Midwest’s best-known entertainment destinations.
Like many historic urban neighborhoods, however, Laclede’s Landing faced decades of changing economic conditions. As nightlife shifted to other parts of the region and businesses closed, vacant buildings became increasingly common, leaving many to wonder what the future held for one of downtown’s most recognizable districts.
Rather than accepting decline as inevitable, St. Louis-based Advantes Group saw opportunity.
Over the past several years, the company has quietly become one of the driving forces behind the Landing’s redevelopment, restoring historic buildings, creating new housing, and helping reposition the neighborhood as a place where people can live, work, and build businesses—not simply visit for an evening.
A Vision Beyond Individual Buildings
Advantes Group, led by Brian and Gretchen Minges, has spent more than two decades redeveloping historic properties throughout St. Louis. Their philosophy is straightforward: preserve the city’s architectural heritage while adapting historic buildings for modern living and business.
That philosophy led the company to Laclede’s Landing in 2019.
Instead of purchasing a single property, the Mingeses assembled multiple historic buildings throughout the district. Their goal was not simply to renovate individual structures but to help create enough residential density to support restaurants, retailers, neighborhood services, and additional investment.
It was an ambitious strategy that required patience, significant capital, and confidence in a neighborhood that many investors had overlooked.
Preserving History While Building the Future
The company’s redevelopment portfolio now includes several of the Landing’s best-known historic buildings.
Projects such as Peper Lofts, Paincourt Lofts, Greeley Lofts, Hoffman Lofts, Old Judge Lofts, and Trader Lofts have transformed former warehouses into modern apartments while preserving the brick façades, heavy timber construction, cast-iron storefronts, and architectural details that define the district’s historic character. For rentals, visit BrickandBedSTL.com.
Collectively, the projects represent tens of millions of dollars in investment and have brought hundreds of residential units to the neighborhood. By 2026, Advantes had completed five apartment conversions on the Landing and continued work on additional projects while encouraging other developers to invest alongside them.
For a district that once depended almost entirely on nightlife, the addition of full-time residents represents a fundamental shift.
Building a Neighborhood Instead of a Nightlife District
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the redevelopment is that it is no longer focused on recreating the Landing of the 1980s or 1990s.
Instead, the goal is to create a neighborhood.
That means attracting residents first, followed by businesses that serve them every day.
It also means encouraging a mix of uses that creates activity throughout the week rather than concentrating foot traffic on Friday and Saturday nights.
Recent additions such as The Cobblestone STL and Brew Tulum illustrate that approach. Rather than focusing exclusively on nightlife, these businesses provide coffee, food, groceries, and gathering spaces for residents while also serving visitors exploring downtown.
The shift reflects a broader vision for the Landing as a place where people can live, work, shop, and socialize every day.
Public Investment Strengthens the Momentum
The redevelopment has not occurred through private investment alone.
The St. Louis Development Corporation, lenders, historic tax credit programs, and other public-private partnerships have played important roles in making many of the restoration projects financially feasible. Infrastructure improvements, streetscape enhancements, and redevelopment incentives have complemented private investment while reinforcing the city’s commitment to the neighborhood.
This collaboration demonstrates that revitalizing a historic district requires more than restoring buildings. It requires sustained commitment from developers, public agencies, financial institutions, business owners, and the community itself.
An Opportunity for Entrepreneurs
With much of the physical redevelopment complete, the next phase belongs to entrepreneurs.
Many of the restored buildings include street-level commercial space designed specifically for businesses that can serve the Landing’s growing residential population and the millions of visitors who already travel through downtown St. Louis each year.
Independent coffee shops, bakeries, chef-owned restaurants, wine bars, boutique retailers, galleries, fitness studios, wellness providers, professional offices, technology firms, design studios, and neighborhood markets are among the types of businesses that could complement the district’s continued growth.
Unlike many commercial corridors where available space is limited, Laclede’s Landing offers renovated storefronts within one of the region’s most distinctive historic settings.
The neighborhood also benefits from exceptional connectivity.
Gateway Arch National Park, Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village, America’s Center Convention Complex, the Dome at America’s Center, Horseshoe St. Louis, MetroLink stations, and the Mississippi riverfront are all within walking distance.
Few commercial districts in the Midwest offer that combination of history, accessibility, architecture, and surrounding attractions.
Confidence Is Growing
Advantes Group’s work has demonstrated that long-term investment in historic preservation can create new opportunities for downtown St. Louis.
Apartment occupancy across many of the company’s Landing properties has remained strong, reinforcing the belief that people want to live in walkable urban neighborhoods with authentic historic character.
That residential foundation provides an increasingly stable customer base for future businesses while helping create the type of neighborhood activity that successful mixed-use districts depend upon.
The Next Chapter
The story of Laclede’s Landing has always been one of adaptation.
It evolved from a frontier trading post into one of America’s busiest riverfront commercial districts. It later became one of the Midwest’s premier entertainment destinations. Today, it is entering another chapter—one defined by historic preservation, residential growth, and renewed economic opportunity.
Advantes Group has helped lay much of the physical foundation for that future by restoring buildings that might otherwise have remained vacant. Those investments have preserved an important part of St. Louis history while creating new opportunities for residents and businesses alike.
The next chapter, however, will not be written by developers alone.
It will be shaped by restaurateurs opening new dining concepts, retailers bringing fresh ideas to historic storefronts, entrepreneurs launching innovative businesses, and residents who continue choosing Laclede’s Landing as their neighborhood.
For business owners looking for a distinctive location with restored historic architecture, a growing residential customer base, and one of the most recognizable addresses in St. Louis, the opportunity is becoming increasingly clear.
Laclede’s Landing has already preserved its past.
Now, it is building its future.
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