Unions Ante Up $130 Million for Apartment Projects

The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust announced that it has committed over $130 million to help three local apartment projects move forward.

Ted Chandler, chief operating officer of the housing investment trust, said the total development cost for the three projects, two of them in downtown St. Louis, will exceed $260 million.

He made his announcement at the PRIDE Investment Summit in downtown St. Louis on Monday.

"We've committed $63 million to the Park Pacific apartments, part of a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Union Pacific headquarters; and $45 million for the residential component of The Laurel, a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Dillard's department store across the St. Louis Center," he said. The trust will buy federally-guaranteed Ginnie Mae securities to help finance the projects.

The total development cost for the 24-story Park Pacific building is $98 million and the project will include retail and office space in addition to 230 market-rate apartments, Chandler said.

The total development cost for The Laurel is $68 million, and it will include a hotel and 205 apartments.

Combined, the two projects are expected to create over 1,100 union construction jobs.

The Laurel is part of a larger project to redevelopment the vacant St. Louis Center shopping mall and the City Center office building. "Since this project is moving forward, they've been able to lease City Center and they have a $25 million tenant improvement project there," Chandler said.

Chandler said the investment trust also committed $25 million to the Park Plaza apartment project in O'Fallon, IL.

The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust has previously provided $325 million in financing for 22 apartment projects in metro St. Louis, including the redevelopments of the Continental Life Building in Grand Center; the Forest Park Apartments in the Central West End; and the Pet Building, the Paul Brown Lofts, and the Majestic Stove Lofts downtown.

PRIDE of St. Louis, Inc. organized the summit with union-backed investment trusts to energize investment in stalled economic development projects in the area. PRIDE is an acronym for Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development & Employment, an organization that promotes cooperation between labor, management, and building owners.

Columns