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Saint Louis Construction & Housing News Focusing on new construction & redevelopments within the Metropolitan Saint Louis Area...  www.slfp.com St. Louis Front Page P. O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 http://www.slfp.com Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com |
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), April 13, 2010 - The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) is helping finance the $68 million conversion of The Laurel, a historic building in downtown St. Louis known formerly as the Dillard's building, into a new mixed-use facility that will serve as a cornerstone for the city's downtown redevelopment efforts. The project involves the substantial rehabilitation of the now-vacant Dillard's department store located on Washington Avenue in the central business district. The HIT is providing $45 million in financing for the project's residential component, which features the conversion of 375,507 square feet, or 61% of the building, into 205 units of market-rate rental housing. The residential area will also include almost 32,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, 350 interior parking spaces, and a 10,000 square-foot interior atrium. The Laurel and the HIT-financed Park Pacific, located a few blocks away, are part of the city's largest revitalization effort in 30 years. Adjacent to The Laurel is the redevelopment of One City Center and St. Louis Center, while major sports and entertainment venues are nearby, including the Edward Jones Dome, home of the St. Louis Rams, the new St. Louis Cardinals baseball stadium, and the proposed Ball Park Village project. The HIT is providing financing for The Laurel through a $45 million FHA-insured construction and permanent mortgage loan securitized with a Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed security. By including a split interest rate, with different rates for the construction period and permanent financing, the HIT financing package is more economical for the developer. "Projects like The Laurel demonstrate the HIT's continuing commitment to help St. Louis with its downtown revitalization drive," said HIT Director of FHA Finance Terrance Pearson. Over the past 20 years, he noted, the HIT has invested over $425 million in St. Louis area projects that represent more than 3,500 housing units and an estimated 4,600 union construction jobs. The HIT's investment in The Laurel is expected to generate more than 450 jobs for members of the local building and construction trades unions.
The $98 million Park Pacific project will convert the historic 22-story Union Pacific Building into a mixed-use facility featuring 230 market-rate residential units, 31,000 square feet of retail space, and 88,000 square feet of office space, along with a new seven-story parking facility. The neo-Gothic-style masonry and steel building was constructed in 1928 as headquarters for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which merged with Union Pacific in 1982. When Union Pacific relocated its operations in 2004, the vacant building was marked as a prime redevelopment site due to its location in the city's Downtown West neighborhood on the edge of the Central Business District. The HIT is providing financing for the Park Pacific project through a $63 million FHA-insured construction and permanent mortgage loan securitized with a Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed security. "We always tailor our financing to meet the specific needs of the project," explained Terrance Pearson, Director of FHA Finance. "For example, we were able to make the financing package for Park Pacific more economical for the developer by offering split-rate financing, with different interest rates for the construction period and permanent financing." Work on the Park Pacific project is expected to generate over 650 union construction jobs. "The HIT investment in Park Pacific will be a shot in the arm for the building trades here in St. Louis," said Gerald Feldhaus, Secretary-Treasurer of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council. "It's a significant project that will help keep our union brothers and sisters working." The HIT has worked previously on other Midwest multifamily developments with Gershman Investment Corporation, the mortgage banker underwriting the Park Pacific project. Historically, the HIT has supported St. Louis' housing and urban redevelopment efforts with investments of $359 million in projects that have created more than 3,100 units of housing and generated almost 4,000 jobs for members of the local building and construction trades unions. Archived Pages: Construction Begins on Kirkwood Senior Living Facility St. Louis Cardinals Plan Softball Field on Site of Proposed Ballpark Village Ballpark Village On the Horizon for Downtown St. Louis Proposed Ballpark Village Development Could Transform St. Louis Downtown Into the Center of Universe Redevelopment of the Former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall Receives Critical Financing  
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