A unique four-unit single family development in The Grove has received an endorsement for tax abatement from the Park Central Development Corporation. Planned for 4310 Vista, across from Adams Elementary, the project has added a unit an moved east a few lots from a 2015 proposal.

Not only does the project demonstrate belief in demand for market-rate housing south of Manchester, it introduces a new and interesting housing form to the city. The equivalent of four narrow city lots will see four homes, two behind two facing Vista, and detached four-car garage.

Each home will own the land around it, with common ownership of the central courtyard and vegetable garden. The arrangement allows, not only the sharing of amenities and parking, but a different house form, avoiding the constraint of the typical 25ft-wide lot.

The 2015 proposal stated the exterior material will be all wood. The total project cost is estimated at $1.53M. Construction could begin in September, with completion in June 2017.

In addition, a second phase is planned for the corner of Vista and Tower Grove Avenues. There, a three-story mixed-use building will anchor a prominent corner in the neighborhood. There is also interest in the Columbia Iron Works site and the two and three-story historic buildings facing Tower Grove. The site is owned by Lamb’s Bride Church, which is located on the northeast corner of the intersection.

The previous design for the project included three homes, two stand alone, and one above the shared garage:

Another proposal for infill south of Manchester in The Grove received support for tax abatement as well. Planned are four traditional style duplexes that will feature 925 sf apartments.

The project would acquire four city-owned (LRA) lots on the 4300 block of Hunt Avenue, which has yet to see significant investment. The identical units would be built at 4358, 4345, 4315, and 4311 Hunt. The total project cost is estimated at just more than $1M. The developer is J2 Environs.

For more than a decade, dozens of vacant lots have sat unused south of Manchester Avenue in The Grove (Forest Park Southeast neighborhood). The largest real estate holder is Forest West Properties, Inc. (AKA Washington University in St. Louis). Now, with the expansion of the medical center and adjacent Cortex, a market is emerging for the area.

Forest West owns 85 properties south of Manchester in The Grove, by our count. In February of this year, a Request for Information (RFI) was issued for the properties. It was expected that several developers would be chosen, but deadlines have come and gone without action. It’s anticipated that the RFI could be reissued, or the famously patient landowner could simply continue to wait.

In the meantime, individual parcels are being chipped away for various developments. In December of last year the Park Central Development Corporation endorsed a dozen development proposals from four different developers for vacant homes or lots across the neighborhood, though to-date none have broken ground and some parcels may become available.

Earlier that month, a proposal for a $500K custom home on Hunt Avenue that would repurpose an existing vacant home and occupy two vacant parcels, was given the green light. A $485K construction permit was issued for that project in February of this year.

{one of the approved infill projects for The Grove}

{custom home planned for Hunt Avenue}