Today, an official grand opening and ribbon cutting event was held at Hue at Chroma, 900 South Sarah Street, in the Grove. The building can be considered the second phase of the massive Chroma development.
Hue rose on a site formerly occupied by dirt and rock. The overall Hue and Chroma site was once a vastly underutilized field at the east entrance into the Grove, officially Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Chroma was developed jointly between Green Street and KDG and opened in 2017 with 235 luxury apartments. The success of Chroma led to Hue being proposed and built. And while the second phase of this development was once supposed to include a small office component, the move to more housing, approximately 110 apartments, in the neighborhood was welcome.
According to Green Street Vice President Liz Austin, Hue has only 12 apartments left which means occupancy is at around 90%, which is exceptional considering the building started welcoming residents about 5 months ago. The grand opening was attended by Green Street Founder and CEO Phil Hulse, newly elected 17th Ward Alderwoman Tina Pihl, 79th District State Representative Lakeysha Bosley, Park Central Development Executive Director Abdul-Kaba Abdullah, and other representatives and employees of Green Street, KDG, Chroma, Hue, and more.
Phil Hulse reflected on the good things to be thankful for as well as praised St. Louis for having the infrastructure and room to grow. Phil also mentioned that Green Street is committed to the City of St. Louis and that they're just really beginning to show what our City can become. Mr. Hulse also mentioned that one of Green Street's goal is to bring back the St. Louis of the late 1800s and early 1900s, which was a time when we were an incredibly dense City and everything was within walking distance of each other. He tied that back into his comments on Chroma, Hue and more by saying that these projects are just the start.
Park Central Director Abdul-Kaba Abdullah mentioned how Hue sits on Sarah Street, which runs from in the Grove at Vandeventer, all the way up to North St. Louis near Fairgrounds Park. He mentioned how Hue will act as one of the anchors for a stronger Sarah Street and then tied that comment into mentioned the planned Sarah Street connector, which will feature z bike lane and pedestrian improvements connecting Tower Grove Park to Forest Park Avenue by way of Tower Grove Avenue, Vandeventer, and Sarah.
In her speech, Alderwoman Pihl talked about how the Chroma and Hue site was once a dust field with Commerce Bank in the middle of it. She said that both Hue and Chroma connected and strengthened the surrounding community and benefited Manchester by making it come alive. In her closing statement, she said, "We need not to leave anyone behind. We need to have the fabric of the community weave together the old and the new".
State Representative Lakeysha Bosley's comments revolved around the importance around economic development and housing in the City is. She also congratulated the Green Street team on completing the project over the past year and then mentioned the challenges and losses that COVID-19 brought. Ending her comments, Rep. Bosley said, "This is hope right here on this ground. It's called Hue for a reason. One of the definitions for Hue is not just color, it's character. This brings character back to our community as well as making sure that we will survive".
Hue and Chroma are just two of over 10 individual projects that Green Street has publicly revealed. Additional projects that Green Street has underway, or are planning, are:
Union at the Grove (6 Buildings): 168 apartments - under construction.
Terra at the Grove: 308 apartments - under construction.
Armory District Residential Towers: 520 apartments - proposed.
McRee Corporate Office and Bar K: Under construction - opening in October.
McRee Apartments - 260 apartments - proposed.
River City Business Park (Carondelet Coke).
Green Street also has a few more projects in the pipeline in the City that I am aware of, but am not going to share at this time since they are early on. Still though, to see Green Street investing in St. Louis is truly great. They've quietly become one of the most active, if not, the most active developer in the St. Louis Region and it all focuses on the City of St. Louis.
Additional photos and a video of some of the speeches given tonight at the opening can be found below.