ST. LOUIS — The ӣƵ Preservation Board on Thursday agreed to delay a vote on whether to overturn a requirement that the developer have a building permit before it can raze part of the former Wells Fargo campus in Midtown for two hotels.
The board will allow up to two weeks for legal counsel to determine whether the developer, Maryland Heights-based hotelier Midas, can offer a $250,000 bond if it does not move forward with building hotels at the site, at 2601 Market Street, after demolition.
“You’ve run into a gang of building huggers,” board member Michael Killeen told Midas.
Midas and its partner, Green Street Real Estate Ventures, are proposing to build a 170-room boutique Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and a 129-room extended-stay Staybridge Suites for about $120 million. The property sits on the Midtown and Downtown West border and is a quarter-mile west from the new soccer stadium and other neighborhood attractions like Union Station.
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Green Street Real Estate Ventures and Midas are proposing to build a Kimpton Hotel and Staybridge Suites.
Last month, the preservation board approved the developer’s request to demolish the buildings, but added a stipulation that Midas get a building permit first. That condition caught the hotelier off guard, co-founder David Robert said Thursday, adding that his firm is still working on a design and won’t be ready to apply for a building permit for months.
The project has already been redesigned three times due to the coronavirus pandemic and rising construction costs and interest rates. The developer only has financing for the demolition, he said.
Another delay, Robert said, would cost Midas $5 million, including a $1 million penalty from the hotel franchisor for not starting the project on time.
“Our project can’t absorb that and move forward,” Robert said. “It will honestly kill our project.”
Board chair Richard Callow suggested a bond as one way to protect the city. Robert proposed a $250,000 bond that would be paid if his company demolishes the buildings but doesn’t build the hotels.
The board’s legal counsel, Barbara Birkicht, will have up to two weeks to determine the legality of the proposed bond, which she said was “unprecedented.” The preservation board will then hold a special meeting on whether to allow the developer to demolish the buildings.
Also on Thursday, the board approved the demolition of six residential buildings at 4534-4556 Manchester Avenue, on the western edge of The Grove, for construction of a four-story mixed-use facility. The developer, Austin Barzantny of Groveland LLC, plans to build 71 apartments and several retail shops. The neighborhood’s alderwoman, Tina Pihl, is in support of the project.
The board also approved a request for Gateway Global to demolish part of a brick wall at its north ӣƵ property, at 1435 Mallinckrodt Street, in Hyde Park. Gateway Global aims to create a geospatial job training center at the former Most Holy Trinity Catholic school.
Board members Michael Allen and Michael Killeen abstained from that vote because they serve as a consultant and architect, respectively, for the project.
Lux Living's proposal to redevelop a historic building was approved, but its request to demolish a row of vacant buildings on South Kingshighway was denied.
Steph Kukuljan • 314-340-8506 @StephKukuljan on Twitter skukuljan@post-dispatch.com
