ST. LOUIS — For years, a row of vacant buildings on Kingshighway just south of Forest Park and the BJC medical campus have marred one of the most heavily used entrances to the city.
But a developer is finally proposing to put the prominent stretch of land just off Highway 40 (Interstate 64) into use. Lux Living, a prominent local development company led by Victor Alston and Sid Chakraverty, is pitching a six-story, 144-apartment building on the site near Oakland Avenue.
Lux’s proposal, which the company planned to present Tuesday night at a meeting of the Forest Park Southeast Neighborhood Association, calls for demolishing the seven vacant residential buildings on the east side of Kingshighway to make way for the new apartments, which will include a 144-space underground parking garage.
For years, the properties were held by an arm of Drury Hotels. Back in 2008, Drury pitched a massive, $100 million project for two 16-story hotel towers overlooking Forest Park. But after the Great Recession hit, the plans never materialized, and a new proposal never came forward.
Earlier this year, Drury finally sold the land to a Lux affiliate, including several more parcels backing into the neighborhood along Arco and Oakland avenues. Those buildings aren’t included in the apartment building plans.
The Lux affiliate also signed an agreement with Drury, promising not to use the land for a hotel development nor to rent out its apartment rooms through services such as Airbnb.
Tribeca (tribeca-stl.com) is a brand new 160-unit smart tech luxury apartment complex in St. Louis. Nestled in between the campuses of SLU and Washington University, the building is receiving national acclaim for its groundbreaking design focused on fun, tech, and security – while remaining green and eco-friendly. The developers’ emphasis on exceptional design extended to their choice of which emerging technologies to showcase. Resident comforts include two amenities not seen in any building in the Midwest – a swanky lounge with its own self-serve beer and wine tap system, and even a robotic butler capable of special deliveries.
