Hotel developer seeks reprieve from building houses

Shawn Clubb

Of the Suburban Journals

Southwest City Journal

11/16/2005



Developer Charles Drury has offered to give back part of a 20-year tax abatement for the proposed Drury Inn site off Hampton Avenue in exchange for being let out of a part of his original deal with the city.



Jim Shrewsbury, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, has introduced a bill that would have Drury get 10 years of full tax abatement and five years of half tax abatement on the hotel. For giving up part of the abatement, Drury would not have to replace ten houses that had to be removed to make room for the hotel.



However, Tom Bauer, the former alderman for the 24th ward who is running in a special election for the board seat after being recalled, said he would not have backed the original project had the ten new homes not been part of it.



"I didn't want to lose ten homes in the 24th ward without seeing them replaced somewhere else in the ward," Bauer said. "We couldn't afford to lose population. There's a huge benefit to the community when you see new homes built of quality materials and new residents."



Without the homes, Bauer said, Drury shouldn't get any tax abatement.



Shrewsbury said it makes no sense economically for Drury to build the homes. He said Bauer's requirement that the homes be built was not practical.



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Demolition work begins to make way for Drury Inn

Shawn Clubb

Of the Suburban Journals

Southwest City Journal

05/31/2006



Crews recently began work to demolish ten homes and a former Chinese restaurant in the Clifton Heights neighborhood to make way for construction of a Drury Inn and Suites.



Charles Drury of Drury Development said the hotel at Hampton and Wilson avenues would have 164 rooms and a 250-seat meeting room and should be open by May 2007.



The project had been delayed since it was first announced more than a year ago, but Drury said it's just part of the process of construction.



"It's just a process of putting a job together. It's how long it takes," Drury said.

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While Drury said he does not blame anyone for the delay, an issue surrounding the project for some time was the requirement that Drury would have to build ten homes to replace the ten that are being demolished. Former 24th ward alderman Tom Bauer had made that part of the requirement for Drury getting tax abatement on the property.



The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee of the Board of Aldermen amended that requirement in November. Drury Development is still required to build the ten homes, but it does not have to build them as quickly.



Drury said the next step in building the hotel includes installation of utilities and preparation for street work. He said excavation of the site would follow and the first concrete could be poured in 60 days.



The hotel will have one floor below ground and five floors above ground. Drury said the contract for the work has not been awarded. He declined to state the cost of the project.



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I wonder if the homes Drury is required to build will be single-families or if they may be something more dense like townhouses.

Great. We have plenty of Hotels in this area already, two actually, and more Downtown, Clayton, and in the West End.



I wonder if there is actually a demand. I also wonder if the Hampton 90 Bus will be stopping there as this would make it TOD. Taking MetroLink from the Airport to Forest Park Station, then the 90 to this Hotel would be nice. Thinking of all the options here as there are already plenty of accidents at this intersection.

Doug wrote:Great. We have plenty of Hotels in this area already, two actually, and more Downtown, Clayton, and in the West End.



I wonder if there is actually a demand.

If Drury is a building a hotel, it is definitely warranted. Like matguy70 said, Drury is one of the more efficiently run hotel chains in America. To expound on the efficiency aspect, Drury consistently ranks #1 in customer satisfaction among middle-tier hotel chains - and it is St. Louis-based.



Also, hotel demand is up in St. Louis, but supply is not keeping up.

"Demand for hotel rooms in St. Louis area grew 3.2 percent in 2006 while supply only grew by 2.5 percent, according to data from Smith Travel Research, a national lodging and hospitality research company."

Source

It's rather interesting. I was thinking that these developers are actually in the cave, in reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.