Every resident will get a balcony or a deck at a four-story apartment building to be constructed on piers over an 89-year-old Central West End warehouse.
Planned are 22 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom apartments in the new building at 4534 Olive Street and an adjoining structure built in 1900. The warehouse will provide garage parking for residents.
The developers hope to begin construction May 1 and complete the project next spring. The $6.5 million project is the work of Rothschild Development and Blackline Design + Construction, with architecture by Arcturis.
Michael Schwartz, development director at Rothschild and an owner of Blackline, said the apartment project is an effort to pull Central West End redevelopment northward.
鈥淭he Central West End is a prime neighborhood, and we feel it鈥檚 an appropriate time to be pushing the borders,鈥 he said.
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Preliminarily called the Residences at 4534 Olive, the project already has won neighborhood support. Jim Dwyer, head of the Central West End Association鈥檚 planning committee, said the panel is enthusiastic about the project.
That stretch of Olive already has Bowood Farms nursery, Cafe Osage, new residences and the rehabbed Lister Building, said Dwyer, a developer who has lived in the neighborhood since 1967.
Many empty structures remain and redoing 4534 Olive will put another neglected building back in circulation, he added.
鈥淭hirty-three new apartments in a block that is very quiet right now is a terrific boon to the northern edge of the Central West End,鈥 Dwyer said.
Arcturis鈥 design is dramatic. The existing one-story brick warehouse, which opened in 1926 as an auto repair garage, will provide residents鈥 parking with the entry on the alley at the rear of the building.
The new building will sit on piers that will pierce the roof of the old structure. The even older Tudor-style building adjacent to the east side of the warehouse also is part of the project.
The unconventional combination of buildings is an effort to produce a sensitive blend of old and new construction, Schwartz said. The new building will be set back from Olive to allow room for 5,000-square foot deck on the warehouse鈥檚 roof.
He said the new building鈥檚 design emphasis is on providing each apartment an outdoor feel. Apartment balconies and a community rooftop terrace will be in addition to private decks included with the two top-floor penthouses. Garage parking and bike storage also are planned but 鈥渞eally, the main amenity in this building is outdoor space,鈥 Schwartz said.
The new building鈥檚 exterior will be composed of gray- and charcoal-colored fiber cement siding, ipe hardwood and 鈥渓ots of glass,鈥 he said.
Four of the apartments will be in the two-story building that adjoins the main structure. The developers plan to use historic preservation tax credits in that part of the project to restore the building鈥檚 Tudor-style facade.
Monthly rents will range from about $1,050 for a 660-square-foot one-bedroom unit to about $2,750 for a 1,400-square penthouse that also will have a 500-square-foot outdoor terrace, Schwartz said. About 3,000 square feet of street-level commercial space also is planned.
Because the project is within the city鈥檚 Central West End Historic District, review by the St. Louis Preservation Board is required. The board is scheduled to consider the project at its regular meeting on Monday.
Dwyer and Schwartz said contemporary architecture can be compatible with old buildings in a historic district such as the Central West End. Schwartz said a modern building can enhance an old neighbor.
鈥淲e feel that this modern interpretation on an historic building is something that has not been explored enough in St. Louis,鈥 he said.