CWE Apartment Tower On Hold, But Developers Still ‘Committed’
Date Posted: June 4, 2024
Posted In: News, Projects,
From St. Louis Business Journal: The developers of a $145 million apartment tower at a prominent intersection in the Central West End are still pursuing the project despite a lengthy delay in the start of construction, while navigating a challenging capital environment.
The 30-story residential tower proposed for the vacant parking lot across from Forest Park at 4974 Lindell Blvd., a project of St. Louis-based Koplar Properties and Chicago-based apartment development firm Albion Residential, is in a holding pattern due to interest rates and the capital environment, said Sam Koplar, president of Koplar Properties. The firm owns the property where the project would be built at the corner of Kingshighway and Lindell boulevards, on one of the last open lots overlooking Forest Park.
The modern, mostly glass skyscraper project, to be called Albion West End, has city approval for tax incentives for 293 market-rate apartments, 1,500 square feet of retail space and 340 parking spaces.
“We’re committed to getting this thing done, and it’s taking longer than we’d hoped, but that’s the way it goes,” Koplar said. “We’re going to see it through. It’s just what I don’t know is when. That’s what we’re working on right now.”
Developers across St. Louis have said that the complicated capital environment created by higher interest rates and higher construction costs has delayed or ended their projects, and some of them have had to get creative with financing in order to make deals happen. The difficulty in getting huge projects to the finish line most recently was seen in St. Louis-based apartment developer Midas Hospitality’s decision to drop its proposed $119 million hotel tower in downtown Clayton.
Even as the development team behind the Albion West End navigates a challenging environment for massive new projects, Koplar said that the developers are a step ahead of other projects because Koplar Properties owns the land it wants to develop outright, with no financing necessary to secure the real estate.