ULI Advisory Services

For more than a decade, ULI has partnered with ReConnect Rondo, a community-led effort to repair and restore a once-thriving neighborhood of middle-class Black families in St. Paul, Minnesota. At its peak, Rondo was home to more than 80 percent of the city’s African American population. In the late 1950s and 1960s, however, Rondo was devastated by the construction of I-94. The highway destroyed 700 homes and 300 businesses—totaling $250 million dollars of unrealized home equity.

Commercial real estate loans totaling almost $1.8 trillion are set to mature before the end of 2026, according to Trepp. One sign of the accompanying stress is the commercial mortgage–backed security (CMBS) special servicing rate, with its latest numbers inching up to 8.2 percent, the highest since June 2021.

A panel of real estate experts convened by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) offered dozens of recommendations to create a more vibrant, active, and inclusive Downtown St. Louis by transforming the historic Gateway Mall, outlined in a new report.