CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — The backers of a Chesterfield music production studio designed to attract national touring acts paid nearly $11 million for two properties, which once served as the site of St. Louis County's jail and will be transformed into the $150 million Gateway Studios development.
Sale records from St. Louis County show that Gateway Studios LLC purchased 15 acres at 18299 Chesterfield Airport Road for $5.6 million from longtime real estate developer Gordon Gundaker Jr., who is the chairman and CEO of real estate firm Gundaker Commercial Group.
In a separate transaction, Gateway Studios also bought nearly 15 acres at 18125 Commerce Drive/950 Spirit of St. Louis Blvd. for $5.3 million from 950 Spirit Land LLC, tied to former Cassidy Turley CEO Mark Burkhart.
The 32 acres across the combined sites are set to house the 330,000-square-foot Gateway Studios production facility, which boosters peg as the largest production services and rehearsal facility of its kind in the U.S. Developers hope it will serve as an important practice stop for large touring acts. Construction is underway, with an opening scheduled as soon as spring 2023. The facility, which developers estimate will create 106 jobs, is to be located at 900 Spirit of St. Louis Blvd.
Gateway Studios CEO Trey Kerr said Monday, "We’re certainly excited and thrilled that the ground’s been broken and are looking forward to watching the building going up."
In May, St. Louis County approved issuing at least $88 million to as much as $130 million in Chapter 100 industrial development revenue bonds for the project, plus a 50% abatement on property taxes over 10 years and sales tax exemptions on construction materials and the purchase of personal property. The state of Missouri is also offering incentives.
Click here for the full story.
