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Olive Crossing project to add restaurants, retail and housing; hotel likely limited to four stories, planner says
Summary
City of Olivette planners outlined remaining pieces of the Olive Crossing planned development district, including a 16,000-square-foot Lot 3 multi-tenant building expected to include Paris Baguette and Brass Tap, a hotel site, and possible office space.
Carlos Trejo, planning and community development director for the City of Olivette, described progress and remaining elements of Olive Crossing during a public meeting about the Olive Boulevard corridor.
Trejo said Lot 3 — the east end parcel across from the Aldi store — is proposed as a roughly 16,000-square-foot multi-tenant building that will be anchored by two restaurants identified in the meeting as Paris Baguette and Brass Tap. "Those two restaurants are the Paris Baguette, which will be the first location in Missouri, and then the Brass Tap, which will be the first location also in Missouri," Trejo said.
Trejo said the project also includes a hotel site behind the former OfficeMax location; at a city council meeting the previous evening a developer reportedly said the hotel would be a four-story building rather than a five-story building. Trejo said an office component and structured parking were contemplated but that market conditions — especially for office space — remain uncertain.
John Wagner, University City's director of planning and development, said new apartment construction in the region (he referenced a roughly 260-unit apartment project in the Loop) and other commercial activity are changing local demand patterns. He said the interchange and other improvements along I-170 and Olive Boulevard have supported additional development opportunities.
Trejo framed Olive Crossing as part of a broader strategy to create a mixed-use gateway with residents, jobs and retail integrated near the interchange. He noted the City's 2024 comprehensive plan and corridor plan for Olive Boulevard as the policy basis for those expectations, and said elements of the development are intended to help pay for pedestrian and bike improvements such as Hilltop Crossing and GRG (Great Rivers Greenway) connections.
Why it matters: Olive Crossing is intended to act as a gateway to the corridor and provide retail, dining and housing that could fund pedestrian and streetscape improvements. Project components include identified national-brand tenants and a hotel site; the office portion remains contingent on market demand.
What’s next: Trejo and city staff said the public can follow council proceedings for specific developer proposals and that final design and tenant decisions will continue through site-plan and council review.
