$50M Kirkwood Apartment Development Advances Despite Rejection of Tax Incentives
Date Posted: October 29, 2026
Posted In: Projects,
by Tom Finan, Executive Director, Construction Forum
Kirkwood’s City Council approved a $50 million, 202-unit apartment development October 15, less than a month after rejecting $5.6 million in proposed tax incentives for the project.
Double Eagle Development plans to redevelop approximately 5.9 acres at 345 S. Fillmore Ave. and 336 and 340 S. Taylor Ave., immediately south of the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.
The project calls for six four-story apartment buildings, a clubhouse, swimming pool and parking facilities. Major sitework includes grading, retaining walls, stormwater improvements and a new privately owned street connecting Taylor and Fillmore avenues.
Double Eagle is affiliated with St. Louis-based Balke Brown Transwestern, which recently completed the $85 million Bemiston Place mixed-use development in downtown Clayton. Double Eagle President Andrew Juiris has represented the developer during Kirkwood’s planning review.
Dallas-area-based Humphreys & Partners Architects, a national firm specializing in multifamily residential design, is identified on the project’s architectural renderings. Stock & Associates is providing civil engineering and site planning, Loomis Associates is handling landscape design, and Lochmueller Group prepared the traffic study.
Development Team and Construction Scope
City planning documents outline substantial grading, underground utility work and construction of a new box culvert. Retaining walls along the southern property boundary will generally be five feet tall, with some reaching eight feet.
Stormwater improvements include a landscaped bioretention basin requiring review and permitting by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District.
Plans provide for 304 parking spaces, including garages, surface parking, tandem spaces and spaces along the internal street.
The 202 apartments will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with two-bedroom units accounting for approximately 54% of the total.
Landscaping includes 88 canopy trees, 11 understory trees, three evergreens and more than 400 shrubs.
Lochmueller’s traffic study projects 77 additional vehicle trips during the morning peak hour and 76 during the afternoon peak hour.
Project Advances Without Tax Abatement
The City Council unanimously rejected a proposed Chapter 100 industrial revenue bond incentive package September 17. The proposal would have provided a 90% property tax abatement valued at approximately $5.6 million between 2029 and 2042.
Council members expressed concern about lost revenue for the Kirkwood School District and other taxing jurisdictions.
The council nevertheless approved the project’s major site plan October 15, clearing the way for further design review and permitting.
Construction Awaits Municipal Relocation
Construction cannot begin until Kirkwood relocates its public works, water and electric operations to 545 Leffingwell Ave.
The city acquired the replacement property for $12.5 million and has authorized additional financing to renovate and convert the facility for municipal use.
Proceeds from the sale of the Fillmore Avenue property are intended to help offset those costs.
Double Eagle anticipates approximately 24 months of construction, with completion potentially extending into 2029.
The project is scheduled for Architectural Review Board consideration November 2.