WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. — The Webster Groves City Council unanimously rejected a necessary zoning change for a plan to remake 'Old Webster', effectively ending the proposal.
The council voted Tuesday night to reject the change that would have been the first step for the Douglass Hill Redevelopment Project. A commission voted last month to recommend $35 million in tax-increment financing for the proposed $250 million project, but the decision on zoning made a vote on that funding unnecessary.
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“This has been a long and thorough process that has involved considerable time, resources and discussion over the past year by the developer, City staff, elected officials and the residents of Webster Groves,” Webster Groves Mayor Gerry Welch said in a press release. “While this is a considerable disappointment for the development team, it has brought the community into the processes of local government with increased understanding and participation, I am hopeful for future positive creative development initiatives.”
Working under the name SG Collaborative, St. Louis developers Seneca Commercial Real Estate and Green Street were selected by the city last year to redevelop an area immediately north of the “Old Webster” neighborhood downtown, which is bound by Gore Avenue to the east, Kirkham Road to the north, Pacific Avenue to the south and Rock Hill Road to the west.
In the redevelopment plan, the developers propose 610 to 620 multifamily apartments, 90 to 100 condominiums and 15 to 20 townhouses, along with what the developer described as modern retail and restaurants with up to 47,000 square feet of space and up to 120,000 square feet of new office space. A parking garage with roughly 1,500 spaces would be built to support the development.
The St/ Louis Business Journal contributed to this story.