Salvation Army Residence Recognized for Enhancements

 The Landmarks Association of St. Louis named The Salvation Army's historic Railton one of the area's 11 Most Enhanced Places for 2010. Landmarks Executive

Director Jeff Mansell had high praise for both The Salvation Army, the building's owner and operator, and Trivers Associates, architect for the building's rehabilitation. He said, "The Railton is a wonderful example of The Salvation Army's finding a way to provide affordable housing, while rehabbing their existing building, as opposed to looking for new." He praised their selection of Trivers, saying, "Trivers does excellent work in historic rehabilitation.

Trivers, led by Vice President-Project Management and Project Manager Andrew Smith, AIA, converted the building's single-room, hotel-style units to small apartments, complete with kitchen and living space. They also added a computer center, fitness facility and meeting spaces.

Built in 1928 as the Robert E. Lee hotel, today's Railton was one of 10 hotels serving the then-bustling Union Station. Today it is the only one still standing. The building's age, however, is only one reason for its importance to St. Louis. The other is that of all of downtown St. Louis' lofts, condominiums and apartments, The Railton is one of few to offer affordable housing.

The building's age, however, was an issue. "Due to increasing maintenance costs and the facility rapidly nearing functional obsolescence a complete $14 million rehab was necessary to save the building," says Major Randall Polsley, general secretary for The Salvation Army Midland Division.

With the assistance of federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits and Missouri low-income housing tax credits, the building is now much more energy-efficient, much more comfortable for its residents, and far more closely resembles its original beauty.Trivers not only converted the single-room layout to one- and two-bedroom apartments (91 and 13 respectively), but also made a number of changes to restore the building's historic appearance and to improve its energy efficiency. They replaced exterior flush-steel doors with new glass-light wood doors and existing single-pane windows with new insulated aluminum windows that replicate the original two-over-two pattern.The lobby's wood wainscot is now restored and the deteriorated decorative plaster cornice, which had been covered for years by a drop ceiling, has been molded and recast. On the upper floors, Trivers replaced more modern apartment entry doors with two-panel doors that match the originals.

While Trivers' Smith specializes in historic restoration, restoring The Railton had even greater significance to Smith personally. "I discovered during the course of the design phase that my mother lived in an apartment on the sixth floor of the building. She moved to St. Louis upon graduating from college in 1960 to take a chemist position, and this was her first apartment."

Occupancy is 100 percent, with a waiting list. Has the project achieved The Salvation Army's goal? Polsley says: "We have surpassed our goal. We were able to save the building. Create a new living environment and fill a real need in St. Louis. The Railton has become a shining example of how organizations like The Salvation Army and their communities can partner together to improve living conditions for those in need."

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