Olivette Gateway developer updates council on retail, hotel and construction timing; council approves TIF collateral acknowledgment

At the Olivette City Council meeting on March 11, 2025, developer Greg Yowits of Keith Olivette Gateway gave a progress report on the Olivette Gateway project and Council members approved an acknowledgment that TIF revenues would serve as collateral for a construction loan for Keith Olivette Gateway LLC.

Yowits told the council the long‑planned grocery anchor has opened after more than 35 years without a full grocer in town, describing residents’ positive reaction and saying final site landscaping and interior work at Aldi were expected to complete within days. He said the developer is installing stop signs inside the Aldi lot to reduce conflicts at three exit points onto Olive Crossing Drive.

The presentation outlined near‑term construction plans for Lot 3, which the developer said will start within about 30 days. Yowits estimated a simple retail shell could be made weather‑tight in roughly four months in ideal weather, and he said the project team hopes retail tenants will be open before Thanksgiving, though weather and tenant fit‑out needs could extend that schedule. He said an on‑site construction trailer had appeared in the last 48 hours and that the underground utilities and transformer pad are already installed, which should shorten site work time.

Yowits described a 19‑foot public art “node” planned for the Olive Crossing entry — a three‑sided, internally lit olive tree element whose base sits about 4.5 feet above grade, bringing the display to roughly 23 feet above the roadway — and said the clover‑shaped apartment building is 96% leased and roughly 87% occupied. He also reported activity on tenant leasing: one retail lease had been sent for signature and another tenant was negotiating; an additional 1,300‑square‑foot space was in discussions with multiple concepts.

On the hotel, Yowits said the team intends to reduce one floor from an already‑approved five‑story design, producing a four‑story, 28‑room hotel (the hotel parcel identified in the presentation as Lot 6). He said his operating partner was finalizing details with Marriott and hoped to begin architectural planning next week.

Regarding Lot 5 — previously envisioned as an office building — Yowits said the team is preparing an alternate plan that would replace the single large office building and second parking garage with two smaller, primarily food‑oriented buildings. He described that concept as a response to a weak office market and said the developer would present the Lot 5 alternate as an either/or deliverable as part of any request to amend the redevelopment schedule.

During council questions, members pressed on lease timing and construction dependencies: Yowits said construction of Lot 3 will proceed whether or not the outstanding leases are fully executed because two signed tenants represent about 61% of the building. He also confirmed the hotel design package still needs final material selections and a formal site plan presentation to the Planning and Community Design Commission.

Separately, under agenda Item 10 the council approved, by unanimous vote, a motion authorizing the city manager to sign an acknowledgment of collateral assignment and agreement that permits Keith Olivette Gateway LLC to use future TIF revenues as collateral for a construction loan from UMB Bank. City staff described the document as the bank’s requested acknowledgement and said the action replaces an existing collateral assignment with a new lender; council members and the city manager emphasized that the vote did not itself change the redevelopment timeline.

Why it matters: the Gateway project contains multiple interlocking elements — anchor retail, smaller retail pads, a hotel and apartments — whose construction timing affects Olive Boulevard traffic, parking and the city’s TIF revenue projections. The bank acknowledgment is procedural but important: it allows the developer to secure construction financing that the developer said is needed to meet tenant and construction schedules.

What’s next: the developer indicated he will return to the council for a discussion about a potential extension of the project’s substantial completion deadline later; he also said the team plans to present hotel materials and a site plan to the Planning and Community Design Commission when ready.

Quotes

“As we all know, Olivette got a grocery store open again after 35 plus years,” Greg Yowits said, adding that residents told him “the Aldi is great.”

“The leases are there. We’re gonna sign the other leases. We’re building the building,” Yowits said when asked whether construction will proceed without every lease finalized.

On the collateral assignment, Mayor Waldman and council members voted to authorize the city manager to sign the city acknowledgment to the collateral assignment and agreement; the motion passed unanimously.