The Metro transit agency will leave its longtime home on Laclede’s Landing for the Metropolitan Square office tower in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Metro’s new headquarters will occupy space HOK, an international design firm, vacated. On Monday, HOK finished moving its 180 headquarters employees to 10 South Broadway.
John Nations, Metro’s president, said in a statement Thursday the decision to move across downtown this summer came after a long evaluation of its office needs.
“Our 2 ½-year search and series of evaluations made it clear that a more efficient use of our limited funds is to move to this new location,†he said. “During our evaluation, we also realized that we can operate with less space than we currently occupy.â€
The transit agency said it negotiated a favorable lease rate in HOK’s former space on Met Square’s seventh floor. The space needs little renovation and is a financial savings over the agency’s current location, Metro said.
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Metro has had its offices at 707 North First Street since 1982 in a rehabbed, century-old warehouse the agency owns. The agency said it will consider redevelopment offers. John Clark, president of the Laclede’s Landing Community Improvement District, said in a statement Thursday the building would be “prime†location for loft condos or apartments.
Mayor Francis Slay said in a statement he is “delighted that the headquarters will remain on the border of the two state populations it serves.â€
HOK said in July it would leave Met Square after 16 years. The firm designed Met Square and 10 South Broadway, which was called the Equitable Building when it opened in 1971. At 10 South Broadway, HOK is leasing space vacated by UMB Bank, which moved to upper floors in the 21-story tower.