ST. LOUIS (Dec. 11, 2025) – Tarlton, St. Louis’ largest women-owned general contracting and construction management firm, is providing preconstruction and construction management services on “Catalyst: Powered by WashU,” a new startup hub for biosciences companies in the Cortex Innovation District, for BOBB LLC, an affiliate of Washington University.
The $100 million, 163,000-square-foot redevelopment project in the city’s Central West End includes the renovation of the 120,000-square-foot, seven-story former headquarters of MERS Goodwill Industries at 4140 Forest Park Blvd. The Tarlton team will restore the building, which was occupied by MERS Goodwill Industries from 1944 to 2019. The original building on this site was constructed in the late Victorian era for Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Co., a plumbing manufacturing and supply warehouse, which still is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Tarlton team’s scope of work includes restoration of the building to its original character, while implementing modern construction practices and materials. The building’s original brick and concrete frame will be stripped, cleaned, tuckpointed and sealed. Industrial sash windows will be replaced with thermally efficient windows. Original large service openings will become windows to capture light for laboratory and office spaces. The existing dock and loading facilities will be removed and original service openings will act as receiving facilities. The renovation to the north façade includes the stabilization of the support structure and the replacement of the building’s external decorative masonry blocks to restore original mid-century character. Mechanical systems also will be upgraded and relocated.
The redevelopment project includes the construction of a new 50,000-square-foot, four-story addition to the existing building. Three new elevators will access laboratory and office spaces, as well as accommodate future expansion. The ground floor lobby, designed to support access and security, will feature a coffee bar and common meeting spaces. A steel and laminated glass canopy will lead to a landscaped courtyard.
Plans also include the development of a courtyard-designed pedestrian street, which will serve as both a pathway and ground floor laboratory/office amenity. HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, is the project architect. “Tarlton views historic renovations as unique opportunities to preserve a building’s past, while modernizing for the future. We’re excited to bring our expertise to this project and have it moving full steam ahead,” said Andrew Nelch, Tarlton project director. “These types of projects that combine historic renovation with new construction can be challenging, but it’s exciting to see the progress and how it really takes shape.”