There is a new condominium project on the boards for the Historic Shaw neighborhood. They are building 36 new condos on South Grand Boulevard. They will be constructed on the vacant lot at <A HREF="http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?co ... 6">[b]2201 South Grand[/b]</A>. This is the site of an old Shoney's that has been an eyesore for years. Below are a few different color shemes of the same rendering.
This project may not architecturally be homogeneous, but it is Parisian and despite it's lack for streetfront retail it is a great project. The development is adequate height and should add another story or so, but currently its perfectly on human scale. Or is it? Grand Blvd. is how wide? To be on a human scale perfect height of the building is proportional to the width of street by a ratio of 1.0 to 1.6 or so which is the Greek Golden section. Thus, the development is below height. It needs street level commercial space for pedestrian orientation. Sometimes those historic district restrictions are too strict and prevent the future. Ohh yeah and more floral beds and trees.
Condos will go up on site of former Shoney's Restaurant
Jim Merkel
Of the Suburban Journals
South City Journal
Where waitresses once served pancakes and sausages, a 36-unit condominium development will rise.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Compton Gate Condominiums was held Thursday at 2201 S. Grand Boulevard, the site of a shuttered Shoney's restaurant.
The $10 million development will be at the edge of the Shaw neighborhood and across the street from the gates to the Compton Heights neighborhood.
Those at the groundbreaking ceremony, including Mayor Francis Slay and Alderman Stephen Conway, D-8th Ward, spoke of the vibrancy of the neighborhood and the building boom in the city.
The Shaw neighborhood "really showcases some of the best that St. Louis has to offer," Slay said. "This is a wonderful neighborhood. This development is going to be great."
A lot of people ? developers and investors ? are seeing the opportunities in St. Louis, Slay said. "People are coming to the city and they're making money."
The condominiums will have two three-story, 15-unit buildings above a 50-car parking garage. The single-level two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominiums will be 1,246 to 1,933 square feet. They will sell for $230,000 to $365,000.
Finishes include bamboo flooring, granite counter tops, gas fireplace and balconies.
Six townhouses on the western edge of the site will complete the development. They will sell for $375,000 to $387,000.
The buildings will surround an enclosed, landscaped courtyard with a pool.
The project is being developed by Bridge Partners, a new entity formed by Kenneth Nuernberger, Michele Duffe, Lynne Cooper and Terry Crow.
Construction should begin in early June and last a little over a year, Nuernberger said.
One of the reasons for developing on the site is its size ? slightly larger than an acre. "It's hard to find a large one-acre site," Nuernberger said.
"It's also in a great neighborhood, the Shaw neighborhood, and adjacent to a great neighborhood in Compton Heights," Nuernberger said. "We thought those neighborhoods and the location would be perfect to do a condominium development."
Along with two others in the partnership, Nuernberger lives in the Shaw neighborhood. He moved there in 1979. "It is a neighborhood that I've observed over the years has strong churches, strong schools and a place where people not only move and live in the city, but raise families," he said.
The four partners have worked together in Doorways, a charity that develops housing for people living with AIDS.
"Over a period of time, I enjoy developing projects and I wound up making partners out of my friends and we formed a partnership to develop this project," Cooper said.
"We love the neighborhood," Cooper said. "This site has been an eyesore for a long, long time. And we feel like we can add something not just to the city but to the neighborhood where we live."
The area has shown a phenomenal resurgence, Crow said.
"You have as much diversity along South Grand now as you have in any part of the city," Crow said. "And we also think that there's a wonderful stock of homeowners who are probably willing to move into a smaller home, but stay in the neighborhood."
The site is the last piece of Shaw that has to be redeveloped, Duffe said. "It's in a great location," she said.
This is an interesting 12 page document. A lot of great context photos and initial drawings.
There seems to be a lot of "does not comply" and "partly complies" remarks regarding the Shaw Historic District Ordinance. This document was created on 02/28/05 with construction to begin in early June, so I guess they got some of the building height, location style and retaining wall issues cleared up. The one thing I wasn't aware of is the proposed 10-foot high wall along the street. I am glad the CRO staff is concerned about this as well and would rather see an "open, pedestrian-oriented environment". I would like to see the revisions (if any) that were made.
It would have been great if this development had included storefronts... but that would have added more height to the project, something the CRO is already trying to reduce by altering the scale of the roof or by placing the basement parking entirely below grade.
Driving by last night I noticed concrete forms in the Southeast corner. Looks like the basement is dug out, and full scale construction will be starting.
This place is moving along at a rapid pace. Yesterday they delivered prefabricated wall sections and today the first floor looks close to being framed out. I'll try and remember to bring my camera the next time I go by there.
This project is really going to change the area. I don't know how the final structure will look compared to the plans, but it is a huge building and is as urban a plan as you'll see with new construction. It is right on the sidewalk with no setback at all. The parking will be in the rear or underground. Unfortunately it sits next to a Jack in the Box, but it is also across the street from the entrance into Compton Heights.
