A former St. Louis Public Schools building (Lafayette School) located at 815 Ann in Soulard may see new life as an apartment building. The developer, Advantes Development, plans to convert classrooms into apartments in the historic (circa 1905) school building while converting the gymnasium into covered parking. This is not the developer’s first attempt at turning an old school building into apartments. Advantes recently rehabbed the old Hope Lutheran School in the Southampton neighborhood of south St. Louis for that purpose.
A “zoning-only” building permit is now on file with the City, which means that the City’s Zoning Section must approve a change in zoning prior to the building permit’s issuance.
The Soulard Restoration Group (SRG) offered its approval for the plans at the April 2014 Board Meeting after working out issues related to where residents would park and how they would access the site, among other concerns. The SRG meeting minutes note an approval of between 47 and 52 apartments, though the building permit on file with the City notes only 36.
Below is a photo of the former Lafayette School.
We will update this post with any news on the issuance of building permits.
