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University Lofts, $5.6 million rehabilitation project spearheaded by a partnership between the School of Art, Bank of America and the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance (RHCDA), celebrated its grand opening Jan. 25 in a substantially rehabilitated 1907 warehouse structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis' Washington Avenue Loft District.
Located at 1627 Washington Ave., University Lofts will serve as a hub for the district's artistic activity. The building features living and working space ideal for practicing artists as well as a first-floor gallery, to be operated by the art school and used for exhibitions, meetings and other community events. The gallery was dedicated as the Des Lee Gallery, in honor of alumnus E. Desmond Lee, at the Jan. 25 event.
In addition, Island Press, the art school's collaborative printmaking and visiting artist program, will move to a space on the top floor from its current home on the Hilltop Campus.
The University Lofts development is the brainchild of W. Patrick Schuchard, the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Community Collaboration at the art school. Schuchard, a nationally recognized painter and sculptor, has participated in numerous public and private redevelopment projects throughout his career.
He saw the project as an opportunity to provide art school alumni with incentives to remain in St. Louis after graduation and as a way to establish a Washington University presence in the heart of a developing arts district.
The eight-story, 60,000-square-foot building offers 26 one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments, which were aggressively marketed to School of Art alumni. Sixteen of the units are to rent at affordable rates through the use of federal and state housing tax credits provided by the Missouri Housing Development Commission. The remaining 10 units will rent at market rates ranging from $950 to $1,200 per month. Units range in size from 1,250 to 2,500 square feet. Planning is in progress for a first-floor restaurant as well.
The development also uses federal and Missouri historic tax credits, made available by the Missouri departments of economic development and natural resources, and a 10-year real estate tax abatement from the City of St. Louis. The development will benefit from the city's Washington Avenue public improvements program, for which construction plans are now in progress.
All 26 units have been pre-leased, with moving in scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 1.
Schuchard first presented the concept to Richard A. Roloff, executive vice chancellor at the University, who in turn took it to the RHCDA, a local organization with significant expertise in the packaging and execution of complex real estate developments. RHCDA refined the concept, packaged the development and presented it to Bank of America.
University Lofts Associates, a limited partnership with affiliates of Bank of America and RHCDA as its general partners, completed the financing arrangements and constructed the development. Bank of America provided all the rehabilitation financing. The building and a nearby parking lot were donated by the University.
"This is really a unique initiative for an art school," Schuchard said. "I think it will help make St. Louis a more desirable place for young artists to live and start their careers. It will also give the school a real presence in a thriving arts district and should become a locus for artistic activity in St. Louis."
Said David Darnell, president of Bank of America Midwest: "Our equity investment in University Lofts is part of our continuing commitment to the revitalization of downtown. With its rich mix of residential and cultural life, University Lofts will help create a 24-hour downtown, which is essential to building a strong center city."
John Dubinksy, chairman of the RHCDA Board of Directors, also expressed enthusiasm for the project. "RHCDA is proud to have had the opportunity to work with Bank of America, Washington University and its School of Art to make Pat Schuchard's dream a reality," Dubinsky said. "University Lofts is a concrete illustration of what RHCDA has achieved in the past and hopes to achieve in the future -- improving the economic and social well-being of our communities and the people who live in them."
