Arlington Grove and North Sarah win 2012 St. Louis Developments of the Year
The two projects and the partnership between the St. Louis Housing Authority, McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., and the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church were honored at the 2012 Mayor’s Business Luncheon hosted by St. Louis Development Corporation.
McCormack Baron Salazar’s two newest communities, Arlington Grove and North Sarah Apartments, were both honored as the “St. Louis Development of the Year” at the Mayor’s Annual Business Luncheon on Friday, October 5, 2012.
The City of St. Louis, the Mayor’s Office and the St. Louis Development Corporation recognized the St. Louis Housing Authority, McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., and the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church for their work in revitalizing the North Side of St. Louis with innovative, collaborative, mixed-income, mixed-use communities.
Arlington Grove, located in the 22nd Ward of St. Louis City, consists of 112 mixed-income garden and townhouse apartments, a mixed-use building with commercial space fronting Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Drive and the adaptive rehabilitation of the William Ittner-designed, historic Arlington School, which now features 21 loft-style apartments. The development came out of a master plan for the area and was supported by the neighborhood anchor, the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church.
The North Sarah community, located in the 18th Ward just north of Gaslight Square includes 120 mixed-income apartments, in a combination of townhome and garden-style units in a mix of two and three-story buildings, plus almost 12,000 SF of commercial, management and community space, including a small, locally-owned, fresh food grocery store.
Both projects received national recognition from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The St. Louis Housing Authority received a $10 million Capital Fund Recovery Competition (CFRC) grant for Arlington Grove from HUD as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus program. In 2011, HUD awarded a $7.8 million HOPE VI Grant to the North Sarah project. The HOPE VI funds will support the removal of the final Blumeyer public housing tower at 3501 Franklin Avenue in Grand Center and will relocate those residents to the new community.
In addition to the new housing and commercial space, both developments also generated significant economic benefits in the community by targeting construction jobs and contracts to disadvantaged businesses and workers. Read more about these results here.