St. Louis Neighborhood Development Blog

A Catalog of St. Louis developments, large and small

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Rubicon Corporation to Rehab Two Dutchtown Properties

Rubicon Corporation is set to rehab two properties in the Dutchtown neighborhood, both of which were previously owned by the City’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA).

The first property is located at 4218 S. 37th Street and is a single family structure. The building permit amount is $97,000.

Below is a wintertime Geo St. Louis shot of 4218 S. 37th:

The second property is located at 4436 Alaska and is also a single-family structure. The permit amount is $100,000.

Below is a Geo St. Louis photograph of 4436 Alaska:

  The properties are about a half mile from one another. The building permits have not yet been issued.

Click here for a map of 4218 S. 37th.

Click here for a map of 4436 Alaska.

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Tower Grove South Two-Family to be Rehabbed into Single Family (3950 Fairview)

A vacant and boarded Tower Grove South two-family building located at 3950 Fairview will be rehabbed into a single family at a cost of $50,000 by its owner, Ladue Holdings, LLC. A building permit in that amount was issued this week for interior and exterior alterations.

Below is a recent Google Streetview capture of the building (May 2015):

Click here for a map of the area.

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Tower Grove South Mid-Century Modern Home Sees Transformation (3855 McDonald)

A small, circa 1954 mid-century modern infill home located at 3855 McDonald in Tower Grove South has seen a vast transformation with a $125,000 second floor addition (by owners Charles Closser and John Simpson). The formerly one-story, 850 square foot home now clocks in at over 2,000 square feet with the addition of a second story. Its height and massing is now more similar to its early 20th Century neighboring structures.

Below is a before-and-after view:

The site is located within the Tower Grove Heights National Register Historic District, which offers rehabilitation incentives for qualified properties, but contains no regulations as to design standards for additions or new construction.

Click here for a map of the area.

Click here to view the real estate listing while it is still active.

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New Apartment Building Proposed for Parking Lot on Pershing (5510 Pershing)

A new, 165-unit apartment building is proposed for a large parking lot at 5510 Pershing Avenue in the City’s DeBaliviere Place neighborhood. The current owner of the lot is shown as Kilamanjaro IVC and the contractor is listed as Klitzing, Welsch and Associates. A “zoning-only” building permit application was received by the City yesterday to construct the new multi-family structure. If approved by the City’s Zoning Section, the project may move forward.

We do not have renderings of the building at this time, but will post them as soon as they become available.

Below is an aerial of the site:

The lot with the tennis courts just across the street (5539-51 Pershing) has its own multi-family proposal. You can read more about that development here. If both projects are built, very few gaps in Pershing Avenue’s already dense streetscape would remain.

Click here for a map of the area.

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Addition, Renovation Planned for 21 N. Meramec in Clayton

  A significant investment is planned for the small building at 21 N. Meramec Avenue in Clayton. The project includes a two-story 14ft addition, rooftop deck terrace, and full renovation of the existing two-story office building. According to a pending application filed with the Clayton Architectural Review Board, the renovation will also include an elevator installation. Design is by SP Architects of St. Louis. The building is owned by Twin Springs Investment, LLC.

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Marine Villa Corner Building to be Rehabbed (3600-02 South Jefferson)

A Marine Villa corner building with a troubled past may soon be rehabbed by its owner. The building is located at 3600-02 S. Jefferson, just south of Concordia Publishing. The new owner, Sam Meller, has applied for a $160,000 permit for interior/exterior alterations of the building, which will become four residential units. That building permit has not yet been issued.

In January 2012, news broke that Concordia Publishing would seek to demolish 3600 S. Jefferson to provide a green space for its employees. Ultimately, the company did not prevail and the Preservation Board denied the demolition, and so Concordia never purchased the structure. Read here for the Landmarks Association write-up protesting this intended demolition. Even prior to demolition threats, the building was troubled. A botched rehab attempt by DHP Investments in 2005 left the building structurally questionable, with its roof line raised in an inappropriate and potentially unsafe manner.

Below is a Streetview capture of the building that shows some of the faulty work on the third story:

Recently, re-tiling work was completed on the building’s mansard roof, preserving this odd configuration. Perhaps any structural issues have been addressed and the building is ready for a full rehab.

Click here for a profile of owner Sam Meller published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2012.

Click here for a map of the area.

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New Soulard Single Family Home Nearing Completion (2112 S. 11th)

A new single family home located at 2112 S. 11th Street in Soulard is nearing completion. The home was constructed at a cost of $200,000 according to city building permit records. Below is a recent photograph of the home:

  Click here for a map of the area.

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Old Delmar High School Under Rehab into Loop Trolley Barn (5875-89 Delmar)

The former Delmar High School located at 5875-89 Delmar is currently under rehab into the Loop Trolley project’s maintenance facility. Interior demolition had already begun, though exterior work should begin soon, as the Loop Trolley Transportation Development District has applied for an $838,000 building permit for a full rehab. That permit was issued this week.

Below is a shot of the old Delmar High School (which was a car dealership prior to that):

The long-delayed Loop Trolley project is a $43 million, roughly 2-mile streetcar line serving the Delmar Loop, with terminals near the University City Public Library on the western end and the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park at the eastern end. Initially envisioned in the 1990s, the Loop Trolley project has hit a series of snags including both lawsuits and high construction bids. Nevertheless, officials held a groundbreaking for the project in March 2015. While no actual track laying has yet begun, road work in preparation for the trolley has begun.

The old Delmar High School will serve as the Trolley’s maintenance facility (AKA trolley barn). Below is a rendering from 2013 that may detail the intended final product (obtained from here).

Below is a map of the proposed Loop Trolley route (but note that the western terminus has been moved eastward since). The Trolley Barn sits just west of the Laurel station.

And here is a before-and-after vision of possible Transit Oriented Development (TOD) opportunities near the Wabash Station / Delmar MetroLink Station once the trolley is in place.

Click here for a map of 5875-89 Delmar.

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New Apartment Building Slated for DeBaliviere Place Neighborhood (5539-51 Pershing)

A new multi-story apartment building is planned for a lot addressed as 5539-51 Pershing in the City’s DeBaliviere Place neighborhood. DeBaliviere Place is lesser known among the City’s neighborhoods and is often simply assumed to be an extension of the Central West End, which is located just east of DeBaliviere Place. The lot to be constructed on currently features tennis courts. No demolition permit records are available for 5539 Pershing; aerial photography suggests that several apartment buildings were demolished on this site at some point in the 1970s or 1980s.

  The developer was originally posted here as Mills Apartments as project applicant is listed as 5539 Pershing LLC with Kirk Mills as the registered agent.

Below is a photograph of the current lot for which the new apartment building is proposed:

The developer will be appearing before the City’s Preservation Board next week as revealed by the preliminary Cultural Resources Office (CRO) agenda available online. The new structure would sit in the Central West End Local Historic District, which regulates the design of new construction within the district boundaries.

Typically, CRO posts a final agenda on the Friday prior to the Preservation Board meeting which, due to Memorial Day taking up the Board’s usual meeting date on the final Monday of the month, will be on Monday, May 18th instead. That final CRO agenda is likely to include renderings of the proposed apartment building. We will post those renderings and further development details (such as a unit count and project cost/scope) here when they become available.

Click here for a map of the area.

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Three Benton Park West Properties Proposed for Full Rehab

Three homes in Benton Park West are slated for full rehabs by owner 2174 Properties, LLC. The three building permits in question have not yet been issued.

The first is 3169 Iowa, just south of Arsenal. Its permit amount is $130,000.

The second is located just to the south of 3169 Iowa, at 3171 Iowa. Its permit amount is $145,000. This single family home is set back from the street (at left).

  Finally, the third property is located one bock north of 3169 and 3171 Iowa at 2739 Arsenal. Its building permit amount is $135,000.

All three homes currently show Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) ownership when viewing Assessor records on Geo St. Louis. This means that the properties are under contract to the new owner, have already been sold to the new owner with the records not yet updated, or that the developer has an option on the lots granted by LRA.

Click here for a map of 3169 and 3171 Iowa.

Click here for a map of 2739 Arsenal.

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Long Vacant Soulard Mixed Use Corner Building Set for Rehab (700-02 Allen)

A long vacant corner commercial building located at 700-02 Allen in Soulard may soon be rehabbed by an adjacent gas station owner. The two-story structure contains a one-story extension with garage access. This rear portion of the building will be fashioned into the car wash for the nearby BP gas station, which itself is currently being rebuilt.

The gas station owner–South Side Property, LLC–has applied for a $410,000 building permit to rehab 700-02 Allen. That permit is subject to approval from the City’s Zoning Section.

Interestingly, the permit shows that the two-story portion of the structure may become retail space with apartments above. This might make 700 Allen the City’s first mixed-use car wash.

Below is a Google Streetview capture of the building:

  Click here for a map of the area.

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New Infill Homes Coming to a Prominent Vacant Lot in Soulard? (1719-33 South 9th)

A new real estate listing by Alexander Realty shows four new townhouses are proposed for construction atop a prominent vacant lot in Soulard–the corner of 9th and Soulard. The lot at 1719-33 South 9th Street–actually four parcels–has been vacant and cleared of buildings since the 1980s.

This stretch of 9th Street hosts the popular iTap bar, Epic Pizza and Subs, Mission Taco and is just one block south of Soulard Market. It is something of a “Main Street” for Soulard, so it is surprising that development has eluded this lot for so long. Still, time will tell if this high-end residential product planned for the site will come to fruition in what can be a rowdy (and mostly commercial) corner of Soulard.

Below is a rendering of the proposal to build four new townhomes on the lot:

And here is a site plan:

Click here to see a real estate listing while it is still active.

Click here for a map of the area.

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Building Permit Application on File for New Mixed-Use Central West End Building (4534 Olive)

Click here to read the earlier nextSTL story on this development.

A new, 29-unit mixed use building may soon be coming to the Central West End’s northern end, at 4534 Olive. A 3,000 square foot retail space will be located on the ground floor in an existing one-story warehouse that the new structure will be built upon–something of a novelty for St. Louis. Rothschild Development is the developer; Blackline Design/Construction is the architect on the project. Rothschild applied for a $5.5 million building permit last week. That permit has not yet been issued, as the development will have to first be reviewed and approved by the city’s Zoning Section.

See the rendering below:

And here is another angle:

Below is a shot of the existing building that will be preserved as a part of the development:

  Click here for a map of the area.

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Cherokee Street Soon to Feature a Shipping Container Cafe (2622 Cherokee)

A long-rumored shipping container cafe may soon be constructed at 2622 Cherokee Street (at Texas Avenue) by owner and Cherokee Street investor Jason Deem. A $150,000 building permit application is now on file with the City. That permit has not yet been issued.

Deem had announced plans for the cafe long ago. It already has a name–Empire Cafe–and a Facebook page. The name is a throwback to the old Empire Sandwich Shop that once occupied the site (see the final photo on this post). The building that housed the old iteration of Empire was torn down in 2006.

Below is a rendering of the new Empire Cafe, to be constructed using several shipping containers (a novel mode of construction in St. Louis, but now popular in Europe and some coastal U.S. cities). The rendering shows the Texas Avenue elevation.

Here is the Cherokee Street elevation (apologies for the tiny photo):

Below is a photograph of the old Empire Sandwich Shop that used to occupy the site:

  Click here for a map of the area.

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Former Lafayette School in Soulard to be Converted into Apartments (815 Ann)

A former St. Louis Public Schools building (Lafayette School) located at 815 Ann in Soulard may see new life as an apartment building. The developer, Advantes Development, plans to convert classrooms into apartments in the historic (circa 1905) school building while converting the gymnasium into covered parking. This is not the developer’s first attempt at turning an old school building into apartments. Advantes recently rehabbed the old Hope Lutheran School in the Southampton neighborhood of south St. Louis for that purpose.

A “zoning-only” building permit is now on file with the City, which means that the City’s Zoning Section must approve a change in zoning prior to the building permit’s issuance.

The Soulard Restoration Group (SRG) offered its approval for the plans at the April 2014 Board Meeting after working out issues related to where residents would park and how they would access the site, among other concerns. The SRG meeting minutes note an approval of between 47 and 52 apartments, though the building permit on file with the City notes only 36.

Below is a photo of the former Lafayette School.

We will update this post with any news on the issuance of building permits.

Click here for a map of the area.

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Grove Mixed Use Building to be Rehabbed (4248-50 Manchester)

A mixed use building located at 4248-40 Manchester in the Grove may soon be rehabbed by owner Guy Slay of Mangrove Redevelopment. The permit, which has not yet been issued, is for $250,000.

Below is a capture of the building slated for rehab:

Mangrove Redevelopment has restored a number of buildings in Forest Park Southeast, including the corner building (at Tower Grove Avenue, 4268 Manchester) that houses Sweetie Pie’s as well as 4248’s neighbor to the west, known as the Melroy’s Building.

Click here for a map of the area.

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First of Five New Homes in Benton Park to be Built Soon? (3011 Missouri)

The first of five new homes set to be constructed on a vacant lot in the Benton Park neighborhood at Missouri and Crittenden (addressed as 3001 Missouri) now has a $225,000 building permit application on file with the City. That applicant/owner/developer is Liberty Group USA, with Killeen Studio Architects designing the new structures. One historic home on the site will be rehabilitated as well.

The March 2015 Preservation Board agenda featured the renderings for all five homes. You can see them below:

If the address on the permit is correct, the first of the five to be constructed will be 3011 Missouri, the farthest south of the bunch, located just north of the existing historic building.

The Benton Park Local Historic District requires that a builder select a “Historic Model Example” (HME) to base their design off of so that there is a historical precedent for any new construction. The address serving as the HME for 3011 Missouri is a red brick building located at 1950 Wyoming, just south of Benton Park. Below is a capture of that building:

  The new structure at 3011 Missouri appears to copy the HME’s cornice detailing and various other design elements.

Click here for a map of the area.