Walgreens, office building slated for western edge of U. City
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 12, 2011
By Margaret Gillerman
Construction is expected to begin early next year on a major commercial development that could be a catalyst for development on University City's western edge.
The project will include a Walgreens and a 30,000-square-foot, three-story office building near Interstate 170 and Delmar Boulevard.
"This is a major development in University City, and we are very supportive," said City Manager Lehman Walker, who was formerly planning director. He said the project would draw more development to that area.
The store and office building are estimated to cost about $12 million, and an additional $20 million would be included if a nearby related development comes to fruition.
For now, efforts are concentrated on the Walgreens and office building, which won unanimous approval Monday night from the University City Council.
Walgreens intends to vacate a current store at a shopping center along McKnight Road at Delmar. That store, with under 13,000 square feet, opened in 1991.
The new store, at Delmar and Delcrest Drive, will be 14,748 square feet with a drive-through pharmacy. A three-story office building now on the site will be demolished.
University City has put no limits on operating hours so Walgreens has the option of opening a 24-hour store.
As of December, Walgreens had 70 stores in St. Louis County and 14 in St. Louis, a spokesman for the company said.
The new office building will be on Delcrest across from the Crown Center senior housing complex on undeveloped land. The new building will have some underground parking.
Tenants in the building being torn down will have the opportunity to move into the new building.
Kent Evans, who is developing the project for investors, said work would begin on the office building only when enough tenants or users were committed.
He said this was necessary with this poor economy. "It's a tough market," he said. "We think it's a great corner for medical but we're looking at anything. We're also open to owner-users or a complete sale."
Evans said the project offers many benefits including creation of construction jobs.
"The country is in terrible economic condition," he said. "Very few times do we smaller guys have any ability to help out. This is an example of how a city can make good development decisions and bring developers in and put people directly back to work in the community."
Businesspeople and city officials say it should spark future development and noted that other developers are closely watching that neighborhood.
The project will be on about three acres now owned by Jakob Medve, who owns about 20 acres along Delmar and Delcrest.
The new owner, Delmar Investments LLC, is buying the property for an undisclosed sum. Delmar Investments involves three prominent St. Louis real estate professionals. They are:
- Evans, vice president of asset management for Principal Commercial Real Estate.
- John Porta, a partner in MLP, which was responsible for Kirkwood Station and Hanley Stationd
- Bob Walpert, who joined Principal following a merger of Walpert Properties and Principal.
Evans said the developers intend to install a traffic signal at Delcrest and Delmar and reconfigure the intersection, including adding lanes. They plan to seek creation of a Community Improvement District to help pay the costs. Medve attended the City Council meeting Monday night where approval was given. He said he was happy about the council's decision. Medve will retain a sufficient amount of land to expand his Mansions development to the west, if he chooses, and still sell off other land.
The City Council vote was unanimous for the project, with one council member recusing himself.
"I'm going to get up early and start working on the project," a delighted Evans said after the vote. It came after a contentious discussion that lasted nearly two hours over a staff recommendation that the developer consider moving the Walgreens building closer to Delmar and adding green space along Delmar.
Frank Ollendorff, a former city manager who has been working as a consultant to Medve and the developer, called the proposal a potential "deal killer" for the developer. He was joined by council members Terry Crow and Byron Price and Planning Commission chairman Benjamin Halpern.
Andrea Riganti, director of community development, emphasized that the staff strongly supported the project. She said the staff was merely asking the developer to consider shifting the building to promote green space, sustainability and a pedestrian and bike-friendly environment.
