Top St. Louis Completions in 2019
Date Posted: June 27, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
From Multi-Housing News: Consistent demand for housing in St. Louis is matched by a healthy development pipeline—developers had some 3,550 units underway in the metro as of May, according to Yardi Matrix data, and more than 10,300 units were in the planning and permitting stages.
Almost 1,100 units came online year-to-date through May, accounting for 0.9 percent of total stock, outpacing the national rate of 0.7 percent. Yardi Matrix compiled a list of the top completed projects—by number of units—in the first months of 2019. A relevant trend to observe is how developers focused on repositioning structures and seized value-add opportunities in case of sites previously employed for industrial and retail purposes, among others.
5. Level on Locust
TWG Development acquired several vacant buildings in Downtown St. Louis situated on the 900 block of Locust Street in 2016, with plans to transform them into townhome-style condos. Although the developer didn’t keep every structure—the Tudor Building was demolished—two former warehouse buildings have been transformed into an 88-unit apartment community.
The 12-story Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney Warehouse at 917 Locust St.—listed on the National Register of Historic Places—and the five-story Leacock Sporting Goods Building were delivered in April. The project is part of a larger redevelopment movement taking place Downtown, where several other historic properties such as Jefferson Arms, Chemical Building and Railway Exchange Building are undergoing significant overhauls.
4. Woodward Lofts
The 250,000-square-foot historic Woodward and Tiernan Printing Co. building underwent a $40 million conversion after developer Pier Property Group acquired the structure for $5.1 million from JBG Properties in 2017. PPG financed construction with a $25 million loan originated by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. St. Louis aldermen approved 10 years of tax abatement for the project.
ARCO Construction served as the general contractor, while architectural firm Trivers Associates’ design preserved the factory’s early 20th-century charm. The property’s foot-thick walls and the new, heavily insulated windows muffle the sound of the adjacent railroad, which is only a few feet from the building.