St. Louis’s first major transit-oriented, multi-family development recently opened with 287 apartments available for rent. The $71 million Expo at Forest Park project includes a network of pathways to accommodate many modes of transportation including ride share, the region’s Metro Transit system, a trolley line, pedestrian traffic, automobiles, and bike traffic on the 7-mile St. Vincent Greenway Trail. It also provides parking, extensive amenities, and 30,000 sf of retail space.
Located in the historic Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood, the development is composed of two buildings. The north building, which will soon feature a ground-level, full-service grocery store, began welcoming residents in August 2022. The seven-story south building followed with an opening in December. The Expo’s entrance was designed to keep streets private, and created walk-up style townhome units. The stepping of the massing helps the development better nestle into the single-family homes surrounding it.
The top-floor south building units are each two stories and include green roofs planted with prairie grasses. An amenity deck features extensive vegetation, bocce court, a pool, fitness center, lounges, and a pet wash.
“Since even before the 1904 World’s Fair, the Skinker-DeBaliviere Neighborhood developed as a dense, diverse residential community along the former Wabash rail line,” said Trivers principal Joel Fuoss, AIA, LEED AP. “This new transit-oriented development, designed to accommodate nearly every mode of modern transportation, will help create an active node of energy at the convergence of these transport pathways.”
Trivers engaged in conversations with Bi-State Development (operator of Metro Transit) and the area’s residents throughout the planning process to ensure the development would be a welcomed addition to the community, according to a Trivers news release. With groundbreaking occurring in 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire project team overcame health and safety issues as well as supply chain snarls and material shortages to complete the Expo project, the release says.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: Tegethoff Development
Design architect: Trivers
Architect of record: Trivers
Associate Architect: HOK
Interior Designer: RD Jones
MEP engineer: G&W Engineering
Structural engineer: Bob D. Campbell and Company
General contractor/construction manager: Brinkmann Constructors
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Sep 17, 2024
New California building code encourages, but does not mandate heat pumps
New California homes are more likely to have all-electric appliances starting in 2026 after the state’s energy regulators approved new state building standards. The new building code will encourage installation of heat pumps without actually banning gas heating.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 12, 2024
White paper on office-to-residential conversions released by IAPMO
IAPMO has published a new white paper titled “Adaptive Reuse: Converting Offices to Multi-Residential Family,” a comprehensive analysis of addressing housing shortages through the conversion of office spaces into residential units.
MFPRO+ Research | Sep 11, 2024
Multifamily rents fall for first time in 6 months
Ending its six-month streak of growth, the average advertised multifamily rent fell by $1 in August 2024 to $1,741.
Legislation | Sep 9, 2024
Efforts to encourage more housing projects on California coast stall
A movement to encourage more housing projects along the California coast has stalled out in the California legislature. Earlier this year, lawmakers, with the backing of some housing activists, introduced a series of bills aimed at making it easier to build apartments and accessory dwelling units along California’s highly regulated coast.
MFPRO+ New Projects | Sep 5, 2024
Chicago's Coppia luxury multifamily high-rise features geometric figures on the façade
Coppia, a new high-rise luxury multifamily property in Chicago, features a distinctive façade with geometric features and resort-style amenities. The 19-story, 315,000-sf building has more than 24,000 sf of amenity space designed to extend resident’s living spaces. These areas offer places to work, socialize, exercise, and unwind.
Products and Materials | Sep 4, 2024
Top building products for August 2024
BD+C Editors break down August's top 15 building products, from waterproof wall panel systems to portable indoor pickleball surface solutions.
Resiliency | Sep 3, 2024
Phius introduces retrofit standard for more resilient buildings
Phius recently released, REVIVE 2024, a retrofit standard for more resilient buildings. The standard focuses on resilience against grid outages by ensuring structures remain habitable for at least a week during extreme weather events.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 29, 2024
More than 1.2 billion sf of office space have strong potential for residential conversion
More than 1.2 billion sf of U.S. office space—14.8% of the nation’s total—have strong potential for conversion to residential use, according to real estate software and services firm Yardi. Yardi’s new Conversion Feasibility Index scores office buildings on their suitability for multifamily conversion.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 28, 2024
Cities in Washington State will offer tax breaks for office-to-residential conversions
A law passed earlier this year by the Washington State Legislature allows developers to defer sales and use taxes if they convert existing structures, including office buildings, into affordable housing.
Affordable Housing | Aug 27, 2024
Not gaining community support is key barrier to more affordable housing projects
In a recent survey, builders and planners cited difficulty in generating community support as a key challenge to getting more affordable housing projects built. The survey by coUrbanize found that 94% of respondents tried to gain community input and support through public meetings, but many were frustrated by low attendance. Few respondents thought the process was productive.
