Balke Brown Transwestern Plans 280-Unit Apartment Project at The Highlands

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

A new residential project is set to be added to the 26-acre Highlands mixed-use development, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Steve Brown, a principal at Balke Brown Transwestern, said site work is already underway for the new 280-unit apartment complex, known as Cortona at Forest Park. The project is situated at the southwest corner of the Highlands and will more than double the number of apartments at the mixed-use development.

Located on the site of the former Blues hockey arena and demolished in 1999, the Highlands features two office buildings, a hotel, a restaurant, medical offices and two loft-apartment buildings. Balke Brown is also planning a fourth office building.

Balke Brown appointed Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners as architect of the Cortona. The five-story building will feature approximately 200 one-bedroom apartments and 80 two-bedroom units. The development, which gets its name from a picturesque Tuscan town, will have an Italian villa-style exterior, with earth-tone panels. The project is slated to be completed in early 2014. Amenities will include a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse, an outdoor kitchen, a spa and a saltwater swimming pool. The residents will also benefit from a car-detailing service, a leash-free pet park and close proximity to the Forest Park Community College and the Forest Park Hospital. Monthly rents are expected to range from $1,000 to $1,750.

The $42 million project is financed by the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, which in the past years also invested in other St. Louis projects such as Park Pacific and the Laurel.

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