Union Club progressing nicely

If you often drive I-44 in St. Louis City, you’ve probably been wondering what’s going on at the southeast corner of Lafayette and Jefferson. This development project has been hard to miss as it has rapidly progressed from foundation towards completion. Being developed by local developer, Gilded Age, this project has been named and modeled after the Union Club in honor of the building that stood at the site until a tornado destroyed it in 1896.

The project is scheduled for a summer 2008 completion and will feature 39 residential units with retail space on the street-level. Unfortunately, Gilded Age hasn’t provided information on the size and type of the retail space nor any potential tenants. They have, however, been more forthcoming with information on the residential spaces. The 39 units will feature the following:

• Each unit is 2 bed/2 bath
• Sizes range from 1,109 to 1,336 sq ft
• Prices range from $210,000 to $291,000

Other Gilded Age projects in the area include the City Hospital/Georgian, the Mississippi Place townhouses, and the Eden Lofts. They are also involved with the proposed Bohemian Hill shopping center, which has gotten so much attention. The work they have already done has been pretty impressive so the future for the Union Club looks bright. For more information on the project, visit Gilded Age’s website.

Its great to see such a significant infill project being built in the area. Lafayette Square has come a long way, buts its western edge needs more projects like this. Hopefully it will be the first of many. The northeast corner of this intersection was at one point planned for development as well, but that since fallen through. And don’t get me started on the old National supermarket on the western side of Jefferson. If this project proves successful it could prove a catalyst for such areas to get another look.

I took a few pictures of the project to keep tabs on the progress. Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view: