The COVID-19 outbreak is not stopping a construction project that is changing the skyline of the Central West End.
Crews are still working on One Hundred, a 36-story apartment tower at 100 N. Kingshighway Blvd., on the edge of Forest Park. Developers say the city and state have defined new residential construction as an essential service and precautions are being taken, including spacing workers out.
“We'll only have one or two people working in a particular apartment or in a particular group as opposed to what might have under ordinary circumstances been five or seven or 10 people working in a similar, or in a tight confine,” said Peter Cassel of developer Mac Properties.
Workers are following guidelines from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, including avoiding close contact and washing hands more frequently. Even with those measures in place, Cassel, who is the director of community development for Mac Properties, said everybody remains on a timeline for opening in a few months. But that could change.
"We are working a pace to continue delivery this summer. But with the rapidly changing environment, we just don't know what the coming weeks will bring," Cassel said in a phone call this week.
During a tour of the building a few weeks before the outbreak gained a foothold in the U.S., Cassel expressed confidence in the long-term appeal of One Hundred to professionals looking for places to live.
“We are interested in building buildings like this without a worry for, ‘Oh, here comes coronavirus, nobody’s going to want to buy an apartment for the next six months,’” he said.
The plan is to attract people from the nearby medical campus, Cortex and even some who are working in Clayton.
“We know that people will always want to rent near Wash U and Barnes. We know that people are going to want to rent in the Central West End and that there will always be demand,” he said.
The tower will have more than 300 apartments with windows as big as 9 feet from floor to ceiling. The unique design comes from architectural firm Studio Gang, which also has structures dotting the skylines of New York City, Amsterdam and its home base of Chicago.
The bird's-eye view of Forest Park to the west, or the city of St. Louis on the east, will not come cheap. Rents will run from roughly $2,000 to more than $7,000 per month.
Follow Wayne on Twitter: @WayneRadio
Send questions and comments about this story to: feedback@stlpublicradio.org
