Altus is proposing a 6-story, 178 unit apartment building on the site of the UMB Bank at 426 North Kirkwood Road. The project will also include 12,500SF of retail space. UMB will occupy a portion of the space. HOK is the architect. The City of Kirkwood Planning and Zoning Commission will hold the first review of the project on November 6th at 7PM.

If all goes well, Altus hopes to begin construction in Fall 2020 and wrap up in Spring 2020.

Parker, AKA The Kirkwood Gadfly, will update his blog page as updates become available. https://kirkwoodgadfly.com/the-kirkwood-flats/

Looking Southeast.


Looking Northeast.


View of the building from the South.


Aerial view.


Site plan.

Hey, that's pretty nice (I guess the gas station wouldn't sell). 

The city is trying to get more density close enough to the city core for folks to be able to walk to shops and restaurants downtown.  So this will help with that. But I believe there is a 60' housing height from Monroe street to Bodley, and this is within that zone, so it appears 60' defined the number of floors they could build.   Kirkwood Plaza apartments have only 3 floors above retail with 9' ceilings and a peaked roof.  I'm wondering if these are 8' ceiling to get 5 levels of apartments on top of the retail?

This will be 75FT in height. Altus is requesting a variance.

Isn't there a humungous condo building just south of the tracks? I don't get it.  I mean I hate new residents who will spend a lot of money in my city as well..

I wonder if there would be as much push back if this were on the NW or NE corner of Kirkwood and Adams. It's just a tenth of a mile but it seems like it makes more sense there.

Coverage in the Webster Kirkwood Times. Naturally, some neighbors are opposed to the "high rise" construction for all the usual reasons. Also, the folks at Modern STL are opposed to the demolition of the existing Mid-Century bank building:

https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster ... e0f55.html

Not sure when these are from, but a fellow forum member texted me the link to an HOK webpage that is titled "Mixed-Use Development for Confidential Client". Well, after close inspection and comparing things, I figured this is Kirkwood Flats. Reason being: the gas station at the corner of the aerial rendering and the structure on the left of the aerial picture. That is the bank. This is an alternative, much larger plan. I cannot figure the date on this plan but building design is a bit different than what we have seen already. There are similarities to the existing plan though. One big change is the large parking structure.

This plan actually reminds me a little bit of some college dorm buildings. Not sure why, but it has that vibe to it.

They also have this explanation about the design.

A new mixed-use development pushes an historic suburb toward greater community engagement and gives it a sense of place. The active residential and shopping district injects new life into a previously underutilized stretch of parking lots and isolated buildings, bringing the vibrancy of a city to the suburbs.

The design team carefully sited the building forms to enhance the street edge and create space for internal and external courtyards. The forms both line and bend away from the street to address pedestrian scale and proportion while adding valuable street frontage and roof plazas for tenants. The overlapping functions of ground-level retail and exterior landscaped spaces add vitality and reinforce neighborhood connectivity.

Cladding the building with two distinct facades creates a fresh, contemporary look that complements the historic context of the nearby business district dating back to the early 1900s.

The exterior features historically relevant warm brick and glass storefronts, while interior plazas offer a contemporary aesthetic with brushed metal and glass.

The site carefully considers paths of travel, creating easy vehicular circulation to accommodate an anchor tenant, pedestrian routes and a dedicated parking garage that blends seamlessly into adjacent residential buildings.

Link to HOK webpage: https://www.hok.com/projects/view/mixed ... al-client/

View from the Global Foods/Walgreens parking lot.

View from the gas station?

Courtyard view facing South.

Aerial view facing Southeast.

To be honest with people, I prefer this plan over what has been proposed. It seems better and really extends the main strip further North. While neighbors probably wouldn't be thrilled with this plan, I think it's a perfect size to continue the transformation of Kirkwood. If this plan were built (very slim chance, maybe never), the OPUS project and the other smaller buildings proposed in the neighborhood, Kirkwood will have grown substantially. 

So it looks like they're expanding to the north and taking out the Alpine Shop? 

framer wrote:So it looks like they're expanding to the north and taking out the Alpine Shop? 

Maybe at one point that was the plan. I’m unsure if they’re planning to do that now.

I live in Kirkwood, and I see nothing but 'Stop Kirkwood Flats' signs everywhere, so probably a slim chance this gets built.

As someone who grew up in Kirkwood I am unfortunately not surprised by the opposition. I'm sure nobody would be having problems if this was being built in Meacham Park.

BuilditSTL wrote: ↑

Apr 28, 2020

I live in Kirkwood, and I see nothing but 'Stop Kirkwood Flats' signs everywhere, so probably a slim chance this gets built.

i hope they're told to go f*ck themselves (they being the NIMBYs).

I reached out to the developer about the above plans and he told me that they're like 3 years old and were more conceptual than anything. Seemed pretty discouraged regarding prospects going forward in general. I wonder if 1) the upcoming city council election (the most ardent NIMBY's terms are up) and 2) the commerce bank apartment proposal right next door could change the calculus/offer some more political cover to get something through. 

Project passes 5-2. Looks like this one will happen, although with changes since it was initially proposed. Project name is "The James".

https://www.thejameskirkwood.com

Well good for Kirkwood, hopefully their NIMBYs can start getting used to losing. 

Was this the final approval? No more hoops to jump? 

framer wrote:Was this the final approval? No more hoops to jump? 

This was the “First Reading” approval. Second Reading vote scheduled for November 19th and then that should be it

How likely is the Global Market side of the street to get the same treatment?

I hope it happens, but I love that place. I trust they would be able to find a new spot if they were forced to.

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I would love to see Global Market move into one of the empty locations in Crestwood.

Stltoday - Kirkwood approves site plan for luxury apartments in downtown business district

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 69763.html

"(Kirkwood Mayor Tom) Griffin said Kirkwood is in competition with other communities such as Webster Groves, Soulard and the Central West End neighborhoods in St. Louis, Richmond Heights, Maplewood and St. Charles" . . . 

Again, we're "competing" against ourselves, rather than other metro areas. 

^it's nuts. you'd think that the various lords of the region would have gotten enough of a clue by now—what with all the press about dysfunction and the need for cooperation—that at the very least they'd stop making dumb-ass public statements like that.

urban_dilettante wrote: ↑

Nov 10, 2020

^it's nuts. you'd think that the various lords of the region would have gotten enough of a clue by now—what with all the press about dysfunction and the need for cooperation—that at the very least they'd stop making dumb-ass public statements like that.

^ & ^^, this type of "competition" seems perfectly functional and healthy - whatever you're municipal structure. Sure, the dark side of this is U. City bending over backwards and bulldozing neighborhoods to accommodate a Costco. But if development in the CWE makes other communities feel like they should encourage (or at least tolerate) more density and walkability, then great. The adoption of better land use practices by more municipalities will benefit the region as a whole - just as big box arms races hurt it.