Lawrence Group is proud to announce that City Foundry STL, a transformative mixed-use development in St. Louis, has been honored with the Gold Award and a Sustainability Commendation at the ICSC Global Design & Development Awards. This international program celebrates projects that set new benchmarks for design excellence, placemaking, and environmental responsibility.
Read more: ICSC 2025 Global Design & Development Awards: Gold Winners | ICSC
Designers and architects across the Marketplaces Industry continue to push the boundaries of what retail and mixed-use environments can be, blending compelling experiences with community impact and forward-looking sustainability strategies. The 2025 ICSC Global Design & Development Awards honor projects from around the world that elevate urban districts, reinvigorate existing assets and set new standards for placemaking, adaptive reuse and experiential retail.
This year’s Gold honorees demonstrate bold thinking at every scale — from Best-of-the-Best winner Guatemala City’s Oakland Place, which reimagines a traditional mall as a connected urban district, to The Well in Toronto, a pedestrian-first neighborhood powered by innovative low-carbon infrastructure. U.S. winners span immersive brand destinations like The Rawlings Experience and adaptive reuse efforts like City Foundry STL, each showcasing inventive design and measurable community or economic impact.
Announced at ICSC+CENTERBUILD on Dec. 4, this year’s honorees include Gold and Silver winners and a global roster of finalists. View all finalists are available here.
Project Description:
City Foundry STL reenvisioned a long-abandoned, 15-acre industrial site into a significant adaptive reuse district in St. Louis, pairing historic preservation with a contemporary food, retail and office program. The master plan repurposes the former Federal-Mogul foundry’s brick, steel piping, mezzanines and concrete floors, layering in new entrances, storefronts, lighting, landscaping and pedestrian routes to create a walkable environment that retains the site’s industrial character. A network of public plazas and an internal main street link the food hall, creative office space, Fresh Thyme supermarket and retail tenants, while future connection to a Great Rivers Greenway bike route will strengthen multimodal accessibility.
Design decisions centered on reuse and place-based identity. Preserved structural elements pair with modern systems and code updates that remain visually subordinate to the historical fabric, allowing the original architecture to anchor the district’s aesthetic. The 30,000-square-foot food hall — curated around local chefs and makers — is a culinary incubator and the project’s social heart, complemented by entertainment venues like Alamo Drafthouse and Sandbox VR, fitness amenities and outdoor gathering areas.
The redevelopment has catalyzed the growth of the city’s Midtown neighborhood, generating more than 1,000 construction jobs, attracting nearby residential development and drawing more than 2.2 million visitors a year.
Owner and Development Company: New + Found
Design Architect: Lawrence Group