By Linda F. Jarrett
When two high-profile developers come together for a single project, you know that project is big and full of challenges.
That was how Clayco, one of the nation’s largest privately-owned real estate development, design/build construction firms, and McEagle, a full service real estate development, property management and brokerage firm ended up on the same ticket.
For over 20 years, 550 acres at the northwest corner of I-70 and I-170 lie vacant, vines and weeds overtaking deserted homes and businesses formerly part of the municipalities of Kinloch, Cool Valley and Berkeley.
In the early 1980s, the Federal Aviation Administration, through a noise mitigation program, authorized Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to begin a buyout of this area, deemed uninhabitable.
In October 2006, NorthPark Partners kicked off the development, which is estimated to take 15 to 20 years to complete, and cost between $380 million and $400 million. The development will incorporate more than five million square feet of office, retail and light industrial.
The development, the largest in the Midwest, is expected to have a $7 billion impact on the community and create approximately 12,000 new jobs, according to Denny Coleman, president of the St. Louis Economic Council.
A MASSIVE PROJECT
With its central location, access to an interlocking highway system, the airport, the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus and other north county amenities, this location was begging for the right developer.
“The availability of this much quality acreage in the economic heart of the County and the region is a very important business opportunity for the County,” Coleman says. “That is why we invested over six years of time in the planning and predevelopment phases in getting this project ready for implementation.
“The task of getting six different governmental entities to approve one intergovernmental agreement, one land use plan, one over arching TIF district, one set of development covenants was albeit time consuming, but also important to make the site development ready so now businesses can come to this great location knowing that their development process can be expedited,” he says.
These entities formed an 11-member commission to oversee the development. Members include representatives from St. Louis City,
St. Louis County, the State of Missouri, and the cities of Berkeley (who has two representatives), Kinloch and Ferguson North County Incorporated, the University of Missouri, the Metropolitan Congregations United, and a business community representative.
“Anytime you have multiple jurisdictions with their own specific ideas on how development should occur,” Coleman says, “It obviously takes awhile to coalesce around a common vision, and it did take time doing that. But we were able to incorporate all those interests, and this entity actually chose the NorthPark team to develop the site.”
The Missouri Department of Economic development approved up to $9,233,772 in Brownfield tax credits for the property. These credits will help offset costs involved in the cleanup of asbestos and other contaminants.
“This is one of the largest public/private partnerships in the United States,” says Chad Richardson, director of sales and marketing for Clayco. “With capital investments on the partnership’s part, other resources were used such as Series E, Series B, and TIF in addition to Brownfield credits.”
“The remainder of tax credits is dependent on the individual companies who come in to use the park,” Coleman says. “There may be an enhanced enterprise zone that is individual to the companies, and there is a gross amount of state super TIF available to help individual businesses, but that’s allocated based upon need and size of investment coming in.”
BUILDING GREEN
In this climate of building green and sustainable, NorthPark will fall right in line. Express Scripts headquarters has obtained LEED silver certification, and the building currently under construction will also be registered for LEED certification.
The Partners are readying for construction of a LEED-certified prototype office building. The $20 million, three-story, 150,000-square-foot HPOD (High Profile Office Design) structure will include sustainable features such as energy-efficient wiring and cabling, exterior glass allowing natural light, and a raised floor design for a more efficient HVAC system. The building will also be built with local and regional materials.
This build-to-suit design and planning allows for updates in green building elements with any tenant wanting to build in NorthPark.
In addition, NorthPark has also integrated green space throughout the mixed-use development. This includes The Maline Creek greenway and renovations to Ramona Lake Park that currently exists within the development. There will also be a system of parks and trails designed in cooperation with the Great Rivers Greenway.
Other improvements that NorthPark Partners will be integrating either into or in conjunction with the development are:
- Creating civic facilities in Berkeley.
- Redeveloping Suburban Avenue and creating a greenway in Ferguson.
- Building a new MetroLink station
in the development.
BIG DEVELOPMENT—BIG CHALLENGES
Looking at the wide expanse of dirt, weeds, and broken concrete from the prior development, one can imagine what an ambitious endeavor this is.
Richardson admits that the size was a challenge. “Phase one, which is completely graded and ready to build, is about 220 usable acres. Phase Two is the remaining acreage and will probably be delivered online in two to three years.
“The assemblage itself was a challenge,” he says. “We had to assemble about 590
separate parcels, and we were dealing with three main municipalities, Cool Valley, Berkeley and Kinloch.
“At one point,” he says, “This was all
residential, and we had to remove all the infrastructure that was in this development—the gas, the sewer, the power—and go in with all new. It’s a mass grading excavation.
Dan Brungard, vice-president of corporate communications at McEagle, says the first challenge was “to get it kicked off. There had been a number of attempts to get it started in the first place, and one of the biggest
challenges was the multiple jurisdictions. The way we did that was to establish a quasi-governmental entity that basically governs the NorthPark area,” he says, referring to the commission.
“One of the other challenges was the competition,” he says. “It wasn’t until Clayco and McEagle sat down together, two relatively intense competitors, and came together to develop this property that things got moving.
Brungard says another challenge was the perception that security in the area is not good, for a couple of reasons. One is that the statistical area includes the airport, and airports notoriously have high crime rates by virtue of people being transient and not paying attention.
“As part of our design, we’re putting in a significant amount of lighting, not only for the streets,” he says, “but for the pedestrian area so there will be this lighting and other elements of security. We’re making sure that the area is well-lit, that there are clear view areas.”
TENANTS TO DATE
Last October, Vatterott College moved its St. Ann campus to a $15 million facility at NorthPark. The building, which houses its national headquarters, includes 90,000 square feet on two floors for the school.
NorthPark is building a second Express Scripts building at University Place/NorthPark, the Business, Technology and Research Park of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The $30 million building, slated for completion this December, will include 200,000 square feet of office space, a three level parking garage, and will house 900 employees. This building will join the main Express Scripts headquarters, which was completed in 2007.
Tom George, UMSL Chancellor, called the partnership with Express Scripts and NorthPark “exciting.”
“The University has morphed right into NorthPark with the expansion of Express Scripts,” he says. “You can get on University Boulevard and go under I-70. The developer for Express Scripts at NorthPark is the same as for Express Scripts on our campus. It’s a win-win for both.”
A $12 million, 87,650 square feet Hilton Garden Inn is under construction and scheduled for completion in spring 2009. The three-story hotel features 136 rooms and includes a 5,000-square-foot attached conference center which will be the first hospitality center at the mixed-use development.
A BOON FOR THE REGION
Richardson spoke about the extra mile the developers are going to take to make NorthPark the “go to” place for office, commercial and light industrial. Light standards will be 100 feet apart, and the developers are working with Ameren UE to bury utility lines when the development is completed.
He explained how they are using “dry” detention basins to discourage geese that have a tendency to get up close and personal with airplane engines. With the project being on Lambert’s flight path, the developers insisted on this safety component.
“We want some retail in here too, coffee shops, restaurants and other shops since we will have a large workforce,” he says. “Plus, we’re planning a shuttle service to and from the MetroLink, between the buildings.”
Plans are to add another major hotel in the development in addition to the Hilton Garden Inn, presently under construction.
“I heard that the Hilton is the first hotel development to be built near the airport in 20 years,” Richardson says. “This development will bring more business, so we’ll need another hotel.”
Having such an immense development so close to the airport and serving the north county area cannot help but bring bonuses to the St. Louis region.
“If this were in a cornfield, it would not be so striking,” Coleman says. “Having this much land in the middle of St. Louis County is amazing.”
PANATTONI DEVELOPMENT—AVIATOR BUSINESS PARK
By Linda F. Jarrett
When the Ford Motor Company took its assembly plant and disappeared from Hazelwood, Mo. in 2006, Mayor T.L. Carr’s chief concern was that the 155-acre site would sit vacant for years.
Not content to wait for Ford to act, Carr met with the company in 2007 and asked for them to sell the land and building to a developer that would tear the structures down and start anew.
Panattoni Development Company saw the property as prime space and is now developing Aviator Business Park, a $200 million commercial and light industrial project.
“We look at business sites all the time,” says Mark Branstetter, senior vice-president for Panattoni. “Being at that intersection (North Lindbergh Boulevard and I-270), made it very attractive.
Demolition began on August 6, and Panattoni hopes to begin construction in summer, 2009. The park will have 11 buildings at about 2.6 million square feet, geared for distribution and warehouse use.
“We might have some retail component also,” Branstetter says.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development approved up to $5 million Brownfield Tax Credits for the business park.
“While we have these Brownfield tax credits,” Branstetter says, “the majority of the park will be capitalized with traditional debt equity.”
The 48-year old plant, which made sport utility vehicles, employed 1,400 workers, and provided Hazelwood with approximately $3 million a year in property and business taxes. The new business park plans bring approximately 1,200 to 1,800 new jobs when it is completed.
“This really allows the City of Hazelwood to move forward,” Carr says. “This development will be very green and have an environmentally-friendly approach to development.”
Based in Sacramento, Calif., Panattoni
is one of St. Louis’ largest private developers. The company has a 750-acre industrial park, Lakeview Commerce Center, in Edwardsville, Ill., and last year, bought, rehabbed and sold a 120-square-foot
atrium building at Chesterfield Park and Highway 40.
In April, Panattoni completed three buildings with a total of 57,300 square feet in Green Park Commerce Center. They recently sold two buildings in the Center.
They are also doing a 95,000-square-foot expansion and rehab for a 389,000-square-foot building at Mid County 1 located in Vinita Park, Mo.
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