"Everly On The Loop" Mixed-Use Project on Delmar Boulevard - 2016 St. Louis City Talk Development Favorite

This impressive investment on Delmar Boulevard will bring apartments and retail to a property that sat vacant for ~ten years. The project is called "Everly On The Loop" and it takes its name from a popular "hipster" baby name, a nod to the age group that this project is marketed toward. If you're a music fan like me, you might think the name had something to do with the buttery and haunting harmonies of the Everly Brothers and the property's proximity to the popular music venues in this part of town...not so, but a good tie-in nonetheless.

Another of my favorites from 2016 was the proposal for a mixed-use office/retail building at the northwest corner of Delmar and Skinker Boulevards, and this one is just down the street.

Combined, these two projects will really be a shot in the arm for this part of the Loop, colloquially referred to as "the East Loop" that extends just west of Skinker Boulevard eastward to roughly Rosedale Avenue. This is the section of the popular entertainment district that is in St. Louis vs. the western stretch that lies in University City, MO.

I first read about this project on NextSTL in January, 2016.

It's easy to like a project that fills in a massive vacant lot that extended from Delmar Hall (formerly Big Shark Bicycle) all the way to Gokul Indian Restaurant at Rosedale Avenue:

Of course, this wasn't always a vacant lot, ten years ago there were a couple single-story buildings on the property until a demolition permit was issued on June 16, 2006 and those were razed, leaving the above blank palette for ~ten years.

Here's a 2006 photo of the former buildings posted on St. Louis' online record site (Geo St. Louis):

photo credit Geo St. Louis

Thousands of tourists and visitors coming to nearby venues the Pageant and Delmar Hall for a show, or the Moonrise Hotel for a night's stay, or bowling at Pin-Up Bowl walk up and down this dense, urban strip.

But reaching 6105 Delmar meant coming to a fenced-in dead zone. A note to passersby heading west saying: "alright, we've reached the end of the line, time to turn around". 

This mixed-use project will extend the positivity and activity east and fill a major gap in the street wall. 

The Everly brings a $66M 14-story building with 209 residential units making up the top 13 floors and the first floor will have street-level commercial space.

image from everlyontheloop.com

image from everlyontheloop.com

The project is targeting students from nearby Washington University and St. Louis University. It is being billed as boutique student living.

image from everlyontheloop.com

14-stories is a massive building, the tallest on this stretch of Delmar. This height will dramatically change the skyline.

soon to be 14 stories

True to the urban environment, it is being built right up to the street and it hugs the charming little Gokul building to the west. No set backs for cars off of Delmar!!!

 from Rosedale Avenue looking west

The building will also hug the Delmar Hall music venue to the west.

Unfortunately Big Shark Bicycles closed their shop on the Loop and moved to the burbs (although they kept their awesome location Downtown). But how can you lament their move when we have an equally great use. And the project is bringing more retail to the Delmar sidewalk.

Imagine being a student here. The car-free lifestyle is totally attainable.

The site is connected to multi-modes of transportation. You can get to the airport, downtown and many places in between with a short walk to the nearby Delmar Loop Metrolink stop and catch the red line.

Come Spring, 2017 there will be a Loop Trolley stop right out front as well, connecting the inner ring suburb of University City with the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park...and several stops in between.

The apartment housing demand is high in this part of town due to it's proximity to Washington University and it's good to see developers jumping on the opportunity.

The property is being developed by the Koman Group who have offices in Downtown St. Louis. Per their website:

Koman is pleased to be developing this 14-story student housing complex in the Delmar Loop neighborhood of St. Louis. The Loop offers six blocks of exhilarating one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants, art galleries, live music, café culture, and the St. Louis Walk of Fame. This $66 million development consists of one, two and three bedroom units with bedroom/bathroom parity. 

The Everly is designed to provide a high quality off-campus student housing option in the heart of the growing Delmar Loop neighborhood.
The new development consists of one building featuring three levels of gated garage parking, first floor commercial space, and 13 floors of residential space. In addition to the outstanding location, residents will enjoy a pool and lounge area, multiple study rooms, bike storage with a fix-it station, a fitness center, and a yoga room. Individual apartments will boast high-end finishes including stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, in unit W/D and fully furnished upscale furniture. 

This student housing complex is driven by a strong demand for off campus housing. The overall vacancy rate of 1.6% in the surrounding market is extremely low and indicates that the market is limited by a lack of supply rather than a lack of demand. 

// Available for the Fall 2017 academic year
// 0.6 miles from the Washington University campus
// 209 units, 211 parking spaces
// High quality interior finishes and full amenities

Like the project on the corner of Delmar and Skinker, it's easy to be supportive of any development north of Delmar Boulevard as a step in the right direction toward attacking the "Delmar Divide". Sure, this literally abuts Delmar, but investment here has the potential to bleed north (if the powers that be allow it).

We need more people living here bringing activity, eyes on the street and...well, money. This becomes very obvious if you look at the U.S. Census data for this part of town.

The property is in the West End Neighborhood which lost a whopping 27% of it's population between 1990 and 2000. Things got better from 2000 to 2010 as a tiny numerical gain was observed...but still way under-populated. This project is needed. How can one deny that?

This is a clear win for St. Louis. 

The leasing office for the Everly is just down the street occupying a handsome storefront.

I look forward to seeing the full 14-stories on the skyline and watching young people enjoying our city, hopping on the trolley and bringing some much needed vibrancy to the East Loop and the West End neighborhood.