Last year, developer Kevin McGowan and his company blueurban held a one-day sales event for lofts in their new Ballpark Lofts at Cupples Station Building #8, and sold 61 of 68 lofts in an hour and a half.

The real estate market is very different this year, but blueurban plans to repeat the sale and the buyers’ priority list that led up to it. Does McGowan expect similar results?

“Interest for our Cupples Station Building #9 loft project is much greater and we expect to sell all of these lofts on a single Saturday this spring,” said McGowan in an announcement. The lofts in question overlook Busch Stadium and will sell for $170,000 to over $500,000. McGowan expects to sign up 61 priority buyers who each will hand over a refundable $2,500 check for priority right to pick and buy the loft of their choice.

“Our goals are the same as last year and our expectations so far have been met,” said bluerban’s marketing rep Jenni. “Ballpark Lofts are right in front of Busch Stadium. During ball season, living there is an experience only few can say they have.”

We’ll be interested to see how it goes…

Dave Dwars of the Lawrence Group was quoted in a Midwest Construction cover story on redevelopment of downtown St. Louis this month.

According to the article, 69 buildings have been restored downtown since 1999, totaling $1.3 billion in development.

An example is the Lawrence Group’s $125 million Park Pacific Building. Renovation of the 22-story, 470-sq-ft former Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific building, originally constructed in 1928, will include 108 condos, 50 apartments, 51,000 sq ft of office space and another 10,000 sq ft of space for street-level retail.

Another $1 billion in projects is in the pipeline with 26 buildings being restored or under development.

Other facts:

• 10,000 people live downtown of which 5,000 are new, according to the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.
• About 1,200 additional residents are expected to move in over the next three years.
• 2,700 new housing units opened downtown in the past two years.
• Downtown currently has more than 7,400 rental and sale units.

New York City-based Nassimi Realty has acquired the 20-story Millennium Center office tower  at 515 Olive St. in St. Louis. The building has 260,000 square feet of space, including ground-floor retail. Tenants include law firms Evans & Dixon and McAnany, Van Cleave and Phillips. Nassimi plans to upgrade the building to attract additional tenants.

Source: REBusiness Online 

The US Green Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter is accepting abstracts for presentations at their fifth annual “Greening the Heartland Conference,” which will be held in St. Louis June 22 to 24. They’re looking for submissions from the architecture, building and planning fields, corporate policy makers and facility/real estate managers, green innovators on school campuses, public officials, planners, lawmakers and others involved in sustainable programs and processes.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is this Friday, January 11, 2008. For details, visit www.greeningtheheartland2008.org or call 1-866-933-4GRN.

The U.S. Commerce Department reports that construction spending edged up slightly in November, with the steep slump in housing offset by record spending on government and business projects, according to Engineering News Record.

At the same time, a key gauge of manufacturing activity fell in December to the lowest point in almost five years, indicating that the slowdown in housing and a credit crunch are having an impact on the overall economy.

The housing slump is the worst in more than two decades, following five boom years that pushed home sales and prices to record levels. Analysts believe the housing slowdown will last through much of 2008, forcing builders to slash construction plans to reduce a huge backlog of unsold homes.

The impact of the housing slump on the construction industry is cushioned somewhat by strength in government projects and non-residential activity, according to ENR.

Source: Engineering News Record

Wellspring Development Company and Belcher Homes LLC, will break ground this month on Rock Hill Trails, billed as “the area’s first totally ‘green’ new home community.”

Located in Woodriver, Illinois, the development will feature about 290 single family homes, multi–family units, and neighborhood commercial properties. Rock Hill Trails will offer high-performance homes, open spaces with trails and nature corridors, and neighborhood amenities to support social interaction.

According to Wellspring, all homes in the development will conform to National Association of Home Builders Green Building Guidelines and will be eligible for LEED certification. Homeowners will be able to “up-green” with other energy savings and conservation features. The landscape plan will provide natural habitat for wildlife and native plant species.

Wellspring plans to begin home construction on Phase I by first quarter 2008.