The HBE Corporation/Fred Kummer condo tower is out and a 7-story building is in for Downtown Clayton.

A website and a rendering have been released for "Bemiston Place", an apparent apartment project that will be developed by Balke Brown/2B Residential on the half block bounded by Central, Maryland, Bemiston and an alley. The site previously saw activity when the HBE Corporation, led by Fred Kummer, proposed a 21-story, and later 14-story, condo building. That project brought much controversy as it would do away with some smaller and older structures that made up Downtown Clayton's restaurant row. The buildings were also some of the last remaining buildings of Old Town Clayton.

The HBE plan also planned to do away with the Shanley Building at Bemiston and Maryland. The Shanley is regarded as the first building of the International Style in the Midwest and was designed by local architect Harris Armstrong.

The first rendering we have seen of "Bemiston Place" shows the new building doing away with the older buildings along Central Avenue but the Shanley Building will be preserved. Bemiston Place will be roughly the same height as the Ceylon Apartment complex on Central. Another observation of the rendering shows what appears to be a different facade along Central. However, it's not entirely clear since this is the only perspective of the building available at this point.

Additional information, such as unit count, retail space totals, development cost, architect, and a timeline are not yet available. According to the development website, there will be a public, but virtual meeting, on September 14th to kick the project's development process off. According to the Business Journal, Balke Brown is in talks with HBE to acquire the land to build this project. HBE will not be involved in the project.