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A developer is in the early stages of planning a project near St. Louis University that will include a significant retail portion and is estimated to cost $150 million to $200 million.
Jim Koman, president of Clayton-based Koman Properties, is working with the city and property owners along Forest Park Avenue to develop the up to 40-acre mixed-use project.
The proposed development will be along both sides of Forest Park Avenue east of Vandeventer Avenue. The final area has not been determined.
"It is an exciting opportunity to create some retail density in an urban setting," Koman said.
Besides retail, the development would include offices and residential space. A hotel also is possible.
Koman has been talking to city leaders about the project.
"We have been in discussions with Jim Koman," said Rodney Crim, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corp. "Obviously, there are a lot of steps to making it happen, but it starts with a new idea. But we are very much interested in bringing services to the city that may not be there."
Crim referred to the possibility of "medium- and big-box retailers" in the development. One source close to the deal said Whole Foods and Target were among the possible retailers.
Joshua Thomas, spokesperson for Target Corp., said he would need to do some research before he could confirm whether the company was looking at that location. He added that the company typically doesn't comment on new stores unless it is within a year of the store opening.
Whole Foods is looking at several locations and is interested in branching out in the St. Louis area, said Kate Klotz, spokeswoman for the company. She added that she couldn't comment on any sites that haven't been announced.
The development would provide high-end
shopping and living opportunities, said Bob Clark, president and chief executive for St. Louis-based Clayco, which is a development partner and builder for the project.
"I think there is a tremendous potential to create a mixed-use development where researchers and students and faculty at SLU and Washington University can come together," Clark said. "A place where people would want to live, work, shop and play."
There is a need for such a development in the city, Crim said. "The sooner we can meet the need the better," Crim said. "The next step is to have the developer talk to retailers and work with the various stakeholders."
Assembling the land could be the biggest challenge for Koman.
Doug Kirberg, president of Kirberg Roofing, owns about 3.5 acres of property along Forest Park in the area of the proposed development. He has been approached by a couple of developers about purchasing his property, Kirberg said. He wouldn't confirm if one of the developers was Koman.
"Everything is for sale for the right price," Kirberg said, without disclosing whether he was willing to sell.
Koman has also made an offer for the 250,000-square-foot Federal-Mogul Corp. manufacturing plant on 10 acres along Forest Park. The facility is expected to be shut down by the end of December as part of a plan to close 25 locations and cut 10 percent of the company's work force.
Tim Convy, vice president for industrial properties for Clayton-based CB Richard Ellis, is the listing agent for the Federal-Mogul building. He forwarded Koman's offer to Federal-Mogul, Conbi said, but the company has not responded to it.
"The building is not officially on the market yet. We are working on the final details of the listing," Convy said. "When we do, we would like to take it out to as many people as we can to get the highest price for it."
He has shown the property to a couple of people so far, Convy said.
Koman also is working to include some land from the nearby Cortex biotech business corridor on the west side of Forest Park Avenue.
Cortex's real estate committee last week approved an agreement to sell a piece of property to Koman. The full board meets next week and will consider the proposal then. The exact size of the property hasn't been disclosed.
The organization is enthusiastic about the plan, said John Dubinsky, chairman of Cortex, adding that the board likely will approve the agreement.
Cortex would reserve the right to ensure that a portion of the development was consistent with the organization's overall mission.
The Koman project "is not an exclusively biotech project, but some portion of it would focus on biotech," Dubinsky said.
The development would help Cortex create more economic development opportunities in that corridor, said Lewis Levey, president of development for Cortex.
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