This story was originally published on November 19th on the old website.

In a few years, the area around the Forest Park-Debaliviere MetroLink Station will look radically different. Indianapolis based Pearl Real Estate Fund (Pearl Companies) is planning a $70 million project that will consist of 34,000SF of retail space and 265 apartments along with an 342 space underground parking garage. The garage will be shared with Metro for the Station. A strip mall (owned by a private entity) and two parking lots owned by Bi-State, will be replaced by this dense and incredibly vital development.

The project was forwarded after Bi-State approved of the parking lot’s development to the Pearl Companies on Friday November 16th. It’s not clear whether Bi-State will sell the lots or lease them to Pearl. Pearl also owns the strip mall that was acquired through a separate transaction. Either way, this development is going to be a true game changer for this part of the city and could eventually lead to more development along the Debaliviere strip (Delmar to Forest Park Parkway).

As it currently stands, the area surrounding the MetroLink station is depressing. Parking lots and half-assed landscaping give this area a boring and downright depressing feel. With the addition of 265 apartments and the 34,000SF of retail space, this area will become more lively and will invigorate the Debaliviere Strip. The addition of the space also breathes a breath of modern architecture into a neighborhood identified by it's brick structures. The project also bookends the dense Pershing Place Street. The feel on Pershing makes you feel like you’re in another city so a new project like this will help keep that feel alive despite being on Debaliviere and bookending Pershing.

Another interesting tidbit is that this project is located directly along the Loop Trolley line. This project wasn’t designed around the Loop Trolley but rather the MetroLink which is to be expected as the Loop Trolley is more of a tourist attraction than a public transpiration method. According to the Post Dispatch, Pearl Companies’ Jeff Tegethoff, expects this Development to be a catalyst for future TOD at MetroLink stations and will change the narrative on TOD. No name has been given to the project as of yet.

The Pearl Companies expect to break ground in the third quarter of 2019 and wrap up in late 2020/early 2021 depending on how quick construction goes. Trivers is acting as the architecture firm. No contractor has been named for the project as of yet, but it is expected to be Raineri construction considering how Pearl has used Raineri for their other projects in the region. As stated earlier, the cost of the project is $70 Million and is TOD (Transit Oriented Development).

Other Projects by the Pearl Companies in St. Louis

The Pearl Companies have been investing heavily into St. Louis recently as Jeff Tegethoff is a native to the St. Louis area. Below you will find the names of the other projects in St. Louis along with their price tag and status. The gallery features renderings of those projects.

- Hibernia = $25 Million (Under Construction) - The Georgian (City Hospital) = $15.5 Million (Under Construction) - The Pearl @ Wild Horse Creek = $75 Million (Proposed) - Forest Park/Debaliviere = $70 Million (Proposed) TOTAL INVESTMENT: $185,500,000