Plans for a roughly $232 million Downtown West mixed-use development moved forward Tuesday after the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority Board voted to approve the remaining $171 million in bonds for the project and a construction sales tax exemption.
The development by aims to transform 12 acres of existing buildings and vacant land on both Locust Street and Washington Avenue just north of CityPark into more than 450 apartment units and tens of thousands of square feet of offices and retail.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of opportunity in Downtown West,鈥� said Kyle Howerton, a managing principal and partner with AHM Group. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of other places that you can find an entire city block that鈥檚 vacant ground that we can redevelop.鈥�
The project is divided between the redevelopment of two existing buildings and the new construction of three from the ground up, including a 29-story high-rise, he said.
Tuesday鈥檚 votes by the LCRA Board approved three different taxable industrial revenue bond issues and real property tax abatements for each parcel, including the lot set aside for the high-rise. The board had more than $60 million in bonds for last year.
鈥淎ll five phases together form a perfect scenario that is all market types,鈥� said Zachary Wilson, vice president of economic development incentives for the St. Louis Development Corporation. 鈥淎 mix of commercial and office space and residential, so it fits nicely into that neighborhood.鈥�
The board鈥檚 move puts the development group in a position to secure more investors as it looks to break ground next year, said Brian Pratt, a managing principal and partner with AHM Group.
鈥淎s the (commercial real estate) markets are hopefully thawing on the financing side, we鈥檙e positioning ourselves to be ready to move forward with the projects heading into 2025,鈥� he said.
The Downtown West location offers close proximity to a number of anchors including St. Louis University, the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency headquarters, CityPark and Union Station, said Howerton.
鈥淲e鈥檙e surrounded by demand drivers,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur focus is curating the neighborhood, creating a place that people actually want to live, work and hang out in.鈥�
Howerton added the whole project isn鈥檛 only about new high-end market-rate housing or office space. He said it also includes at least 100 apartment units earmarked for people making up to 60% and up to 80% of the area鈥檚 median income.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really focused on being able to create a neighborhood that serves everyone, and that鈥檚 really driven through diversity of incomes and affordability,鈥� he said.
This development joins others in the immediate area, like in the Butler Brothers building, which recently opened. To Howerton, it鈥檚 an opportunity to develop a healthy and vibrant market that is just underbuilt.
鈥淲hat we see here is a really strong, diversified regional economy and a market that has bad headlines,鈥� Howerton said. 鈥淏ut the truth does not match up with the headlines.鈥�
