Blackline is planning what could be considered a "phase two" of the redevelopment of the Louis Lange Publishing Company building at 3600 Texas Avenue in the Gravois Park neighborhood. The firm is planning to build a 12-unit apartment building in a row house style just south of the Lange Building at 3620 Texas. Apartments here will be market rate with rents starting around $900 per month, which is comparable to the Lange Building. The site is grass currently, so no demolition is required.
The project will only feature one-bedroom units that are laid out in a "shotgun" house style. This means that each apartment will be a single floor within each "house", if that makes sense. Behind the apartment building, a new parking lot with parking for 9 cars will be poured. The parking lot is right up against in the alley in this case.
The estimated cost for the development is $950,000. A 10-year, 95% tax abatement was requested for the project and has yet to be reviewed but the abatement is expected to be approved. The current assessed value of the property is a mere $4,330, so this development will be a big improvement to the assessed value.
The project first showed up in the September 2nd Planning Commission agenda, where a request to rezone the property was heard. The property was zoned as "B: Two-Family Residential" but the request called for it to be up-zoned to "D: Multi-Family Residential". The rezoning request also applies to the already redeveloped, and handsome, Lange Building.
The project is one of many showing up in the Gravois Park neighborhood, which has seen a good amount of home renovations over the past few years as well as continued success on Cherokee Street. However, this apartment building by Blackline is the first new-construction apartment building in the neighborhood in years. This is an entirely new product that could set the stage for future infill projects based on how successful the project is.
In a statement to CityScene STL, developer Michael Schwartz of Blackline had this to say about the project...
"We are looking forward to continuing our investment in the Gravois Park neighborhood and bringing new, diverse housing types to the area. We hope that the addition of these new types of properties will further diversify the neighborhood and inspire others to invest here. We see a great deal of potential in the neighborhood and are excited to be able to continue making our mark on its rebirth"
The hope is for the Texas Avenue apartments to begin construction in 60-90 days.
As stated earlier on, this neighbors "the Lange", a redevelopment of the Louis Large Publishing Company building at 3600 Texas. The project was designed and developed by Blackline and was completed in 2018. The Lange won a Landmarks St. Louis Most Enhanced Award.
Below is a floor plan (1st floor) and a site plan. These come from the Planning Commission document.