ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

ST. LOUIS — A local entity is deep in negotiations to buy the vacant Millennium Hotel in downtown ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ from its Singaporean owner, city and business leaders said Thursday. The undisclosed buyer has made an offer, had it accepted, and is now finalizing the deal.

Business lobby Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Inc. and the city’s economic development arm announced the news in a report to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on their work to bring two of downtown’s largest empty buildings back to life.

And they said the city is just days away from either making a deal to buy the Railway Exchange building from its Florida-based owner or following through on its previously stated threat to seize the Olive Street landmark through eminent domain.

If the former doesn’t happen by Sept. 20, the city will file the eminent domain suit, Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corporation said.

The release also noted that Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™ real estate arm is in the process of buying the soon-to-be-vacant Wainwright Building, on Seventh Street, from the state, ‘ who might sit on the place.

The developments could be the start of something big. Both the Railway Exchange and the Millennium occupy prominent blocks in the heart of the region, and their decline over the past decade has been embarrassing. But if the buildings can get into the hands of new owners with money, motivation and good plans, they could go a long way toward turning some of downtown’s thorniest problems back into assets — and perhaps spark redevelopment of the Wainwright and other buildings.

Downtown needs the lift: Its office market has yet to recover from the pandemic. Residential vacancies remain elevated. And this year has reignited perennial concerns about safety, overshadowing broader declines in crime statistics downtown and citywide.

“The redevelopment of these sites is a crucial step towards the transformational revitalization of Downtown,� the organizations said in their report.

The 780-room Millennium — before it became known for , visible on Cardinals baseball broadcasts — was the largest hotel in the region, on land just a short walk from Busch Stadium and the Gateway Arch grounds.

The Railway Exchange building, meanwhile, is a treasured piece of Chicago School architecture and a monument to downtown’s heyday. Before it became a shelter for squatters and the centerpiece of a national news story headlined it was the headquarters of the May department store company.

Jones, who gave Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and SLDC 120 days to address the buildings at a press conference in May, applauded the efforts in a separate news release Thursday.

“Today, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corporation and Greater ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, Inc. showed that our public-private partnership is already delivering results for Downtown ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½,â€� she said. “I’m grateful to everyone who helped answer my call for bold action.â€�