On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, Ron Roberts, Vice President of Project Management and Business Development, led an “Insider’s Tour of Arlington Grove,” for members of the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group.

Mr. Roberts was joined by Michael B. Kennedy, President of KAI Design & Build, who is serving as the architect and general contractor on the project, and by Shaughnessy Daniels, Director of Communications of non-profit Urban Strategies, the human capital coordinator on the project.

Arlington Grove is a 112-unit, mixed-use, mixed-finance development under construction in north St. Louis.  The project includes the adaptive reuse of a historic St. Louis school as well as new construction of townhouses, garden apartments and mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail and commercial space.  The project is an Enterprise Green Community and includes solar panels, water conservation features and energy efficient appliances.  Mr. Roberts instructed the Young Leaders on the complex, multi-layer financing (which includes a Recovery Act HUD Capital Grant, National and State Historic Tax Credit Equity, National and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Equity, CDBG, and other sources) as well as the intricate project partnerships and community engagement involved.  Ms. Daniels also spoke on the community engagement component in addition to the importance of supporting residents with lower-incomes live in a mixed-income environment through a comprehensive Human Capital Plan.  Mr. Kennedy explained the challenges of meeting multi-agency requirements through design and construction.