ST. LOUIS 鈥 Nearly 300 new apartments are now open at City Foundry STL, adding more residential to a booming commercial district in the heart of Midtown.
offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and amenities like two rooftop parks with a yoga center, pool and a covered dog run at Forest Park and South Vandeventer avenues. Valet parking and a 481-stall parking garage, which is available to visitors of City Foundry鈥檚 movie theater, food hall and retail shops, also opened, owner and developer Steve Smith said Wednesday.
鈥淣ow we have people living on site, which adds energy and activity,鈥 said Smith, founder of real estate development firm . 鈥淧eople play there. They work there. And now they鈥檙e living there.鈥
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The 270 apartments mark the next phase for the $354 million City Foundry, which boasted 2.3 million visitors last year 鈥 nearing the draw of Busch Stadium and the 50度灰视频 Zoo 鈥 and nearly $50 million in on-site retail sales after first opening in 2021, according to data from New + Found.
And it鈥檚 avoided the trouble that鈥檚 hit the nearby Armory, 鈥渢he biggest bar in STL,鈥 which closed suddenly last week. Smith talked to the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday to tout the Foundry鈥檚 success, and dispel worries that troubles at the Armory, which he does not own, might spread.
City Foundry is next to Cortex innovation district and is within walking distance of 50度灰视频 University and Washington University outposts. It鈥檚 a redevelopment of the long-shuttered Federal-Mogul site, and entailed an environmental cleanup and tons of patience as half of the tenants Smith lined up dropped out once the pandemic hit.
It took Smith and his team 18 months to recover, aided in part, he said, because new tenants 鈥渃ould see what we were creating.鈥 The foundry is now 94% leased, Smith said.
In addition to the apartments at One Foundry Way, the district will soon welcome children鈥檚 play venue Urban Fort, Luxe Bridal and Escape Game and Great Big Game Show. Renowned local chef Gerard Craft just opened his new three-story restaurant, Expat BBQ. And lifestyle brand Golden Gems doubled its storefront and will reopen soon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a wild journey,鈥 he said.
Smith first came up with the idea of City Foundry in 2015, a mixed-use entertainment district with housing, retail and office.
An office building could still happen, he said: His development company finished the drawings for a 鈥mass timber鈥 building, and a foundation has been laid.
But New + Found is now less keen on building an office without tenants committed. Instead, it鈥檚 waiting to land companies before building. The office space the company built in the foundry鈥檚 first phase is fully occupied, Smith said.
His development firm remains optimistic for the future of the neighborhood.
Over the past five years, Midtown has been one of the most active city neighborhoods with 290 commercial permits issued and $211 million in development, according to city data.
The Armory closing is a hiccup, he said, but Smith believes it will come back in some form.
He said his company is not interested in buying it.