Silverstone Buys, Transforms 60 Plaza Square

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ST. LOUIS-San Diego-based Silverstone Communities has acquired 60 Plaza Square here with plans to convert the 127-unit apartment property to condominiums. The acquisition marks the first development in the Midwest for Silverstone, which also has divisions in Southern California, Northern California, Colorado and Florida.

“We like what we see in St. Louis, and we think this market will be a great springboard for our Midwest operations,” says Tom Bruin, Silverstone CEO. “The market has room for growth, especially at the entry level where this property is positioned.”

Located at the corner of 17th Avenue and Olive Street in Downtown, the 13-story apartment building was built in 1961 and designed by locally based HOK architects. The property is currently vacant.

Once complete, the tower will include studio, one-bedroom/one-bath, two-bedroom/one-bath and two-bedroom/two-bath layouts ranging in size from 434 sf to 1,060 sf. There will also be two 985-sf live/work spaces and approximately 4,800 sf of commercial space, all of which will be sold as condominiums.

Steve Anrod, division president of Silverstone Communities-Midwest, says prices at 60 Plaza Square will range from the $80,000s for studios, to the low-$200,000s for two-bedroom/two-bath plans. He notes that prices will be “substantially” lower than in many of the new developments in the neighboring Washington Avenue Loft District.

“There’s demand for high-quality, moderately-priced condominiums in or near the popular loft district,” Anrod says. “As this neighborhood has emerged in recent years, it has become expensive for a lot of first-time buyers. So, this is a second chance for those buyers, as well as those who work Downtown and second-home buyers.”

A sales program for 60 Plaza Square will get under way this fall, and first deliveries are projected for late 2006 or early 2007. Silverstone is anticipating a total project sellout of $18.5 million. In the transaction, Collin Duke of Realty Exchange represented Silverstone, and Rebecca Totty Corrington of Rothschild Realty Inc. represented the seller.

The Midwest is the third new region Silverstone has entered this year. In March, Silverstone launched its Colorado division with the condominium conversion of Park One Hundred, a 158-unit apartment tower in Denver; and in April Silverstone entered the Florida market with its acquisition of the 273-unit Citrus Falls apartments in Tampa.