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University of Missouri at St. Louis Sells Historic Mercantile Library Building

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The University of Missouri at St. Louis has sold the iconic Mercantile Library Building in downtown St. Louis to NationsBank for $1.2 million, marking the end of an era for the 1908 banking tenant. The sale is a result of four to five years of negotiations between the university and the bank. The building, which was once home to the 152-year-old subscription library, will be used by NationsBank as "swing space" for its employees while the bank completes its merger with BankAmerica.

Key Takeaways:

  • The University of Missouri at St. Louis sold the Mercantile Library Building to NationsBank for $1.2 million, with the sale closing on August 28.
  • The building has been used by various banking tenants since 1908, including Mechanics American National Bank, First National, Centerre, Boatmen's, and NationsBank.
  • The Mercantile Library, which occupied two stories of the building, moved out over the spring and summer, vacating the two floors it occupied.
  • The library's collections of fine art, rare books, and archives of 19th century Midwestern and St. Louis history have been relocated to the university's Thomas Jefferson Library.
  • The university will use the $1.2 million sale to support the library and its projects.
  • NationsBank will use the building as "swing space" for its employees while it completes its merger with BankAmerica.
  • The building, a city of St. Louis landmark since 1973, has a long history dating back to its opening in January 1889.

Statistics:

  • $1.2 million: The sale price of the Mercantile Library Building to NationsBank.
  • 4-5 years: The length of time that NationsBank and the University of Missouri at St. Louis negotiated before reaching a sale agreement.
  • 152 years: The age of the subscription library that occupied the Mercantile Library Building.
  • 2 years: The time that the University of Missouri at St. Louis took to relocate the library's collections to the Thomas Jefferson Library.
  • 1 million: The estimated cost of building out the new space for the library in the Thomas Jefferson Library.
  • 200: The number of employees that NationsBank will be moving into the building as part of its merger with BankAmerica.
  • 1973: The year the building was designated a city of St. Louis landmark.
  • 1908: The year that Mechanics American National Bank first took up space in the Mercantile Library Building.
  • August 28: The date that the sale of the building closed.

Sources:

  • "University of Missouri at St. Louis Sells Historic Mercantile Library Building" (no date)
  • "Mercantile Library Building to be sold to NationsBank" (no date)
  • The University of Missouri at St. Louis, Office of Communications (no date)

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