An updated vision, by Green Street, for the Armory District in Midtown has been revealed.
The latest plans call for twin residential towers, both of which will stand 14 stories high. 40 Grand, which is what the tower along Grand is tentatively called, will rise 10-stories over Grand. It will stand on top of a parking garage and have an access ramp down to Prospect Avenue. It's believed this ramp is the Bernard Street extension, which would create a new street connection to the Armory District. On the upper 10 floors, there will be 260 apartments per building for a total of 520 market-rate overall. The top floor looks will be home to an amenity space with views of the surrounding City.
40 Grand is supposed to be “Phase 2” of the Armory District, but "Phase 1" of the residential components. 40 Grand would be the first to rise with the second tower beginning towards the end of 2023. The towers are within a short walking distance of the Grand Metrolink station, thus classifying these buildings as transit oriented development, the largest in the Region in terms of unit count, and maybe even cost (if you include Ballpark Village, this becomes the 2nd most expensive TOD in the Region). Beyond the Metrolink, 40 Grand will sit along the Number 70 Metrobus route, which is the busiest bus line in the State of Missouri and connects communities on the Northside, Southside and Central Corridor.
The entire Armory District will also be connected to the City Foundry via a future pedestrian bridge, a component of the Brickline Greenway, between the elevated and depressed sections of interstate 64. This will then connect the district to greater Midtown and the St. Louis University campus.
Additional public improvements, based on the rendering, include a slightly extended and realigned Market Street, a public plaza, and new sidewalks. HDA, a Green Street company, is the architect for this. Each building will cost $80 million for a total investment of $160 million. Depending on investors signing on, 40 Grand could begin construction by the end of the year with 40 Grand wrapping up by the end of 2023/early 2024. The new buildings will require the demolition of existing structures.
In October of 2020, Green Street sold their controlling stake in the Armory to Minnesota-based, Envisage Properties. That firm controls 52% in the Armory development. In December, it was announced that the main Armory building would open to the public beginning this Fall and be home to Rec Hall.
Previous plans for future phases of the Armory District included a hotel, additional office space, retail space, and residential and parking components. All of those plans, as seen in the gallery below, varied in size, but now the vision seems much more refined. Do know that some of these renderings were merely concepts created for Green Street according to the architects.
This story will be updated.
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