I spoke to David Reary, Commissioner/Building and Zoning for Richmond Heights. He stated that the City of Richmond Heights has approved up to 500 units to be built on the current Manhasset Village Apartments site, which currently has about 355 units. A blurb was in the P-D last week too.



The project site will include many townhouses, a 3-5-9 story mid rise building, and a 15-story high-rise. The project is being developed by Draper & Kramer of Chicago. There is no rendering at this time.



The existing apartment complex will be torn down and a road rerouting will take place. Bids are currently going out.



He anticipates groundbreaking early spring 2005 after the existing complex is demolished.

^Thanks for the information.

Is this going to have any effect on the Hwy 40 widening?

This is a story about the Draper and Kramer redevelopment of the Manhassett Village area. I used to live there, so it'll be interesting to see how things progress in the next year or so.



St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Richmond Heights raises estimate for road construction by $1 million

DeBaliviere wrote:Is this going to have any effect on the Hwy 40 widening?

No, this development will be outside the additional right of way needed for the new Brentwood&I-170/I-64 interchange.



edit: The Manhasset development is out of the right of way, the Pinnacle may become an issue if it is to replace the Town & Country Apts.



Pinnacle Info

Here's another story about the redevelopment of Manhassett Village. This story goes into quite a bit more detail. Enjoy.



Condos coming soon to Manhassett Village

Ryan Heinz

Of the Suburban Journals

Citizen Journal





With the aid of an implemented Neighborhood Improvement District, construction may begin soon in the Manhassett Village area of Richmond Heights.



City officials anticipate the demolition of the Manhassett Village apartments, some 50 buildings comprised of 353 apartments, to take place this spring.



Owned by Chicago-based Draper and Kramer Inc., Manhassett Village is located just west of Brentwood Boulevard, south of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) and north of Eager Road. The firm then plans to begin construction this spring on the new Manhassett Village, which could consist of up 500 condominiums in a total of 13 buildings.



Construction will be divided into three phases, with phase one split into two parts. City Manager Amy Schutzenhofer said the construction phases will start with the westernmost portion of the development and work its way eastward. Part one of phase-one construction will begin after the apartment building demolition this spring. It will consist of the construction of 22 two-story townhomes, with ground-level parking, in a total of four buildings. Also included with this part of the first phase will be the construction of a new McCutcheon Avenue within the Manhassett Village area.



"McCutcheon Avenue kind of meanders through the site in an east-west direction somewhat," explained David Reary, building and zoning commissioner. "It is now going to continue straight south once it crosses the highway until it gets to Eager Road."



Part two of phase-one construction will include 120 condo units spread throughout two six-story buildings and two three-story buildings. The construction of a clubhouse and pool also will be included in this part of phase one.



Construction for phase two will include 98 condo units within two seven-story buildings and 96 condo units within one nine-story building and one three-story building.



Capping off the development will be the construction of 130 condo units within one 15-story building for phase three.



Schutzenhofer said there is no definite start date for the second half of phase-one construction, nor for phases two and three. In addition, Draper and Kramer are authorized by the city to build no more than 500 condominiums, although they are allowed to build fewer than that. The ultimate number of condos built, as well as construction dates for various phases, will be determined by market absorption, Schutzenhofer said.



To aid the developer in the construction of the condominiums, the city has deemed the area a Neighborhood Improvement District (NID). The creation of an NID allows for certain public-use improvements to be paid for by special tax assessments on the property owned by those within the improvement area, according to the Missouri Department of Economic Development web site.



NIDs are not uncommon within St. Louis County, Reary said, but this is the first time it is being utilized in Richmond Heights.



"It was just a method to give (the developer) a little assistance that has little risk and doesn't really involve any tax abatements or costs," he said.



Reary believes there is a huge market for condominiums in Richmond Heights. Given the location of Manhassett Village, future residents would be within seconds of the St. Louis Galleria and the Boulevard-St. Louis; and a matter of minutes from downtown Clayton and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, among other places.



"When you read the demographics of buyers of condos across the United States, you realize that the market's probably going to remain strong for a long time, particularly in Richmond Heights," Reary said. "With its location, you're right here by everything, but people don't want to rent, and they don't necessarily want a home with a half-acre yard."

Great details. This is a fairly dense project. Now I want to see the renderings. I hope they aren't too apartment-ish looking.



So this means 466 units in........



1 15-story building

1 9-story building

2 7-story buildings

2 6-story buildings

2 3-story buildings

4 2-story buildings



These will go fast. I wish I could afford one. Like Reary said they are close to everything. I-64/40, Galleria, downtown Clayton, Forest Park, CWE, downtown St. Louis, etc. They'll be on Phase III in no time unless some serious happens with the economy or job market.



Thanks for posting.

I got a call from a friend this evening who drives through the old Manhassett Village area everyday on the way to work in Clayton. That's where I lived until just over a year ago. My friend informed me that yesterday morning (Tuesday) they started demolition. Perhaps we'll get an update soon or see some renderings on what's replacing the complex. The last I heard, there were multiple condos in many buildings of different heights slated for the area. I guess we'll have to see.

They apparently decided to start with my old apartment on the far West side of the complex first. Perhaps I should drive by to see the progress.

Update:



Demolition is still underway. The project is behind schedule because demolition is taking longer than expected. Road rerouting, which was supposed to be completed in July, is underway.



There are no renderings to be released at this time, however, they anticipate moving people in mid-to-late 2006.



The condos and townhomes will be for purchase. There is a waiting list.

^emporis site, says..."This project was cancelled because the Missouri Department of Transportation needed the location of this development to make improvements to Interstate 64 / US Highway 40. "



I take it they worked it out?

Hadley Township area is being reused as a car oriented mass shopping area meant to pull sales tax revenue and copy Brentwood's successful shopping area. The drawback is that it seems the shopping is saturated with Target, Wal-Mart, Sams, Borders, Barnes Noble, Straubs, Dierbergs, Schnucks, Wild Oats, Old Navy, Galleria, etc....



Richmond Heights should have taken the RARE opportunity to redevelop Hadley as a New Urbanist community with its Metrolink station and be successful TOD and a New Urbanist development adjascent to the inner city like how we have clamored for; Boulevard St. Louis is a one-block and nearly isolated success. Its limited to the north, south, and west unless we replace the Galleria.

I used the McCutcheon Avenue overpass the other day for the first time in months. It was very strange to not see the old Manhasset Village apartments there. There is a new roundabout just south of the highway overpass along the new alignment of McCutcheon- I suppose it was designed with the new development in mind?

bpe235 wrote:^emporis site, says..."This project was cancelled because the Missouri Department of Transportation needed the location of this development to make improvements to Interstate 64 / US Highway 40. "



I take it they worked it out?

No, Manhassett Village sits just west of the old Town & Country Apts where the Pinnacle development was going to go.

brickandmortar wrote:

bpe235 wrote:^emporis site, says..."This project was cancelled because the Missouri Department of Transportation needed the location of this development to make improvements to Interstate 64 / US Highway 40. "



I take it they worked it out?

No, Manhassett Village sits just west of the old Town & Country Apts where the Pinnacle development was going to go.

ok well someone please explain how construction will begin this summer if the project was canceled and they need the land for the hi-way???

^The Manhasset Village project will not be affected by the I-64 project. The affected land is one parcel to the east.



Valencia is part of the Pace's Boulevard St. Louis. That project is across from the Galleria.

Condo project soon could begin at former Manhassett Village site

Ryan Heinz

Of the Suburban Journals

Mid-County Journal

06/28/2006



Carmen Pace-McFerren was a Richmond Heights resident for nearly 40 years before moving to St. Louis city.



Naturally, she can recall the Manhassett Village apartments, a large cluster of three-story apartment buildings just south of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in the southwestern corner of Richmond Heights near Eager Road.



"I remember they were nice apartments, good places for new couples to live," Pace-McFerren said fondly. "They were at the time very affordable and it was a good location."



It was because of the apartments' centrally convenient location and the safety of the area that Pace-McFerren became a tenant of one of Manhassett's nearly 180 apartments, just as many Richmond Heights residents had before her. For three years, she and her teenage daughter resided there.



Her month-to-month leases would eventually come to an end when the area was targeted for redevelopment, making Pace-McFerren one of the last residents of the apartments. (She went on to purchase a home in south St. Louis.)



The main reason the developer gave for redeveloping the site was the apartments were simply too old to manage anymore. They were razed last year after standing for about 70 years.



In their place, Chicago-based developer Draper and Kramer Inc., which also owned the apartments, plans to construct up to 500 condominium units. This would be done in three phases, with the first phase featuring units in 23 two-story town homes on the western portion of the 21.7-acre site.



Additional phases could include mid-rise buildings in the middle of the site and a possible 16-story high-rise building to the east. The high rise could hold about 150 condos.



As one city official said, in referring to an old newspaper article from the time of the Manhassett apartments' inception, they were considered fairly exclusive.



"It was a wild thing to have those apartments at that time," said David Reary, Richmond Heights building and zoning commissioner.



And if Draper and Kramer Inc. has its way, the new luxury condos will receive a similar reputation. Given the range of the asking price -- $500,000 to $700,000 per condo in phase one of the project -- that might just be the case.



The Richmond Heights City Council has approved preliminary plans for all three phases, although the developer has only been given the go-ahead to start the first 23 town homes.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/neighb ... enDocument

Still can't find any drawings or plans on these yet but there is a sales site



www.manhassetheights.com



This is only for the western most part of the project.

I lived at Manhasset Village during school. It was a great place, nice central location, and a good mix of students and non-students. I visited St. Louis a couple weeks ago and had to check-out the property. Kind of wierd to see the apartment buildings freshly razed, but I guess that's why they call it history. The best views I've ever seen of Richmond Heights, Brentwood, and Clayton were from that site on Eager Rd.

^

I have to agree with you about the view from there. I lived there the final 3 years those apartments were occupied. It'll be interesting to see what finally rises in that whole area.