The Monday, April 22nd 2019 Preservation Board Meeting will bring us our first look at the first phase of the massive, $186 Million Jefferson and Chouteau development. While no name has been given to the project, it is being spear headed by Bill Odell, a former principal at Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) architects.
The first phase will be built on the vacant lot adjacent to the Becker-Anthes house ruins and will rise 5 floors. In the conceptual massing layout from late March 2018, this site was envisioned as a series of 3.5 story row homes and predominately showed up as "plan under development". The latest plans, as stated, will be 5 floors in height but the usage is slightly different.
The Preservation Board lists the project as "mixed use" so I can see apartments and retail space being built here. As far as design goes, it's up in the air. I could see Odell going for a historic vibe to fit into Lafayette Square better but I could also see a modern design that relates to the neighborhood in no way. I guess we will find out when the full Preservation Board agenda is released in the coming days.
As for building permit records, the city of St. Louis website is showing that LJA LLC, the owner of the property that this project will be built on, applied for a zoning permit on March 21st, 2019. The permit has not been issued yet. As for the greater development site, which is bounded by Chouteau, Jefferson, Hickory-LaSalle alley, Missouri, Hickory and MacKay place, no building permit activity has been found. Tax abatements were approved earlier this year and would last over 15 years.
Odell previously commented that 80% of the site would be under construction within a year while he also said that the full project could take 8 years to fully build out. We will see if that claim holds true.
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