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Which team are you betting on to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?Murphy sets sail with Chouteau's Landing
Steve Murphy's Chivvis Development is getting started on its $18.75 million plan to transform a four-block stretch of Fourth Street. The rehab and new development is the first start in Chivvis' more than $300 million development plans at Chouteau's Landing, located south of downtown near Broadway and Fourth Street.
The first phase of the development will have 190,000 square feet of mixed-use space, including loft-style office space and retail. More than 43,000 square feet of ground floor retail is being developed.
The plans call for renovation of 10 historic buildings and new construction on adjacent vacant lots. The development area extends from 744 to 914 S. Fourth St. Chivvis also will demolish the former Hardee's restaurant on South Fourth Street and seek to attract a boutique grocer to the site.
The historic buildings, which are two and three stories tall, are in varying stages of deterioration. Murphy, an attorney with Devereux Murphy, began assembling the properties in 2000. He spent more than $2 million on property acquisition in the district, including $275,000 for 744 S. Fourth St., $200,000 for 754 S. Fourth St., $355,000 for 756 S. Fourth St., and $175,000 for 900 S. Fourth St.
Murphy said he used private financing and a variety of banks for the acquisitions. He has not yet selected a lender for the development of the first phase of Chouteau's Landing.
Steve Murphy's son, Andy Murphy, a real estate broker with NAI DESCO, said the district already is receiving a high level of interest due to its proximity to the new Cardinals ballpark and to downtown.
"At the end of the project, there will be a four-block continuous area of rehabbed or new buildings that will have very good curb appeal," Andy Murphy said. "We're drawing from Soulard, Lafayette Square, the Metro East and the downtown central business district. It also has awesome highway access with all the highways converging at the Poplar Street bridge."
The office space will have exposed brick interiors. "It's definitely going to be creative space," Andy Murphy said. "It will have a loft feel, with hardwood floors and high ceilings, catering to small creative firms that are being reborn downtown."
In the rehabbed buildings, office spaces ranging from 1,200 to 6,000 square feet are available. In the new construction, office spaces as large as 20,000 square feet will be available. Lease rates for the office space will range between $12 and $15 per square foot. The retail space will start at $14 per square foot.
St. Louis-based The Lawrence Group is the project architect, Jamestown Constructors Inc. is the general contractor, and Ladue Engineering is the construction manager.
