Tonight, the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood was finally presented with plans for significant market-rate residential infill south of Manchester Avenue. The new project is the final component of an overall plan to develop nearly 100 properties help for more than a decade by Washington University in St. Louis, via Forest West Properties.
As NEXT STL reported in January, a 50-unit affordable housing project is also moving forward and will take a number of the long-vacant lots and replace derelict buildings. That project, by Rise and designed by Trivers Associates, added to VOW’s Housing Now program, which plans to renovate 5-10 properties for low-income homeownership for women.
The market rate project presented Monday features homes with target sale prices of $300-$350K. The 50 homes will be built on Norfolk, Swan, and Vista Avenues. CORE @ South Newstead, as the project has been named (Formerly The View at Newstead), will feature 3BD, 2.5BA homes and two 20-unit apartment buildings.
Construction could begin as early as this month, with earliest occupancy later this year. Developers Kyle Miller and Chris Hulse formed Unify Grove Development to pursue the request for proposals issued by Washington University. Project design is by V3 Studios.
Model home by Unify Grove Development and V3 Studios:
Proposals for south of Manchester in The Grove have come and gone over the past decade. What was once eyed as an area primarily suited for affordable housing, has become a mix as the market in the neighborhood has exploded in recent years.
A decade ago, new market rate residential construction in the neighborhood was unheard of. Then UIC built a custom home north of Manchester on Gibson, eventually followed by four more market rate homes on the same block, and then a custom home on Hunt Avenue south of Manchester.
A Request for Information (RFI) was issued by the university just more than two years ago to gauge interest in development on the south side of the neighborhood. NEXT STL understands that while several responses were received by an initial deadline, Forest West declined to chose one, instead waiting to find what it considered a better fit.
Unify Grove Development is seeking a 10-year, 100% tax abatement, as well as a CID (Community Improvement District). CID revenue would be used for area infrastructure improvements. Approximately two dozen houses would be demolished and replaced.
Images from Forest West Properties RFI February 2015:
UIC residential infill in Forest Park Southeast:
Updated 12/1/17 to include the new name of the project “CORE @ South Newstead”
