Financing the hotel had yet to be completed, but Dixon said the project would use state and federal historic preservation tax credits.

JLL, a Chicago-based commercial real estate firm, represented IBC Investors LLC in the building’s sale to Fe Equus. John Warren, a JLL vice president in St. Louis, said Fe Equus had “a unique plan and a solid track record for creating innovative urban environments that can help transform neighborhoods.”

Aries Capital is the investment partner working with Fe Equus on the St. Louis project, JLL said.

Dixon said he was aware of other boutique hotels downtown, adding that he believed the market could support his project, too. The Magnolia Hotel, formerly the Mayfair, opened in 2014 on North Eighth Street. Developers Amy and Amrit Gill recently bought the 122-year-old Union Trust building on Olive Street and plan to redo it as apartments and 130 boutique hotel rooms.

Gary Andreas, a hotel analyst based in Chesterfield, said downtown St. Louis could support three boutique hotels “as long as development costs don’t price them out of the market.” To succeed, such a hotel needs a nightly room rate “well north of 200 bucks,” he said.