Olive Crossing developer outlines progress, seeks council extension and option to swap office for restaurants

Greg Gowlitz, the developer of the Olive Crossing project, told the Olivette Planning & Community Development Commission that work on the 14-acre site has produced a 184-unit apartment building and an Aldi grocery and that construction will move forward on Lot 3 this year. He said he will ask the City Council for a two-year extension to the redevelopment agreement — to June 30, 2027 — and for the council to approve an either/or option allowing Lot 5 to be developed as originally approved office space or, alternatively, as retail/restaurant pads that could be built and leased sooner.

Why it matters: Olive Crossing has been built with tax-increment financing (TIF) and public-road improvements; changes to the plan or the project schedule could affect the project’s tax revenue projections, the TIF repayment schedule and the scale of the final development in a key commercial corridor.

Gowlitz gave the commission a short chronology of the project. He said the original concept dates to 2015; the city approved amendments in 2019 and again in 2021 to add additional uses. He described site challenges that extended the schedule, including major road widening coordinated with MoDOT, a multi-year Army Corps of Engineers permitting process to encase a federally regulated tributary in a storm pipe, pandemic-related material and labor shortages, and lengthy lease negotiations that delayed key retail components. He said the Clover apartments are essentially complete and about 95% leased; Aldi opened in early February 2024.

On Lot 3, Gowlitz said permits were issued in 2023 for a multi-tenant retail building and that site mobilization is under way. He identified confirmed tenants on the broader project including Brass Tap and Paris Baguette and said a Verizon and a small smoothie tenant are under lease or negotiation. He said Lot 3 construction will begin “in the next couple of weeks” and that tenant buildouts are expected through the summer and ideally to open by the Thanksgiving season.

Turning to Lot 6 (the hotel), Gowlitz said the project’s hotel franchise has been revised from a previously planned dual-brand Marriott to a single Courtyard franchise; he said the hotel design will be reduced in height from the previously approved five stories to four, and that he anticipates a larger-than-typical meeting room (about 1,400 square feet) to serve business customers. He said the hotel design and construction could take roughly 18 to 20 months after site and architectural approvals.

On Lot 5 — the long‑disputed office parcel north of the hotel — Gowlitz said market shifts have made new large office construction difficult to finance because the pool of tenants for 50,000‑plus square‑foot “whale” leases is small. He said his team has an alternative plan (which he called “plan B”) to build two mid‑scale sit‑down restaurants (roughly 7,000–13,000 square feet) and other retail that would occupy the same four acres and share surface parking rather than a structured parking garage. He told the commission that if the city approves the either/or option he will proceed with the restaurant/retail option immediately; if the council insists on the office-only plan, he will continue marketing for a large office tenant and seek further extensions if necessary.

Gowlitz described the financial and civic context: he told commissioners the developer has already invested “north of $85 million” in land acquisition, site work, the Clover apartments and the Aldi; he said the city has issued about $20.8 million in TIF notes of a $23.2 million maximum and that roughly $2.83 million of notes have not yet been issued. He said his team will bear the risk of any TIF shortfall and that the developer’s lenders have urged an extension request to clarify completion timing. He asked the commission and staff to work with him and to bring the extension and plan‑change request to the City Council for consideration.

Commissioners and staff asked detailed questions about the hotel franchise, how the restaurant pads would be configured, parking demand, the TIF revenue modeling, and whether plan B would require revising TIF assumptions or other technical analyses. Carlos Trejo, Olivette’s director of planning and community development, said a revenue and compliance analysis would likely be required if land uses in the TIF area change and that the timing would be tighter under an accelerated restaurant plan. Mayor Missy Waldman said council deliberations will require a majority vote of the council and suggested the city should set clear deadlines and conditions in any extension to protect public interests.

Gowlitz said he will submit a formal extension request to the council and said lenders and tenants are pushing for an early decision; he asked for a two‑year extension to June 30, 2027 to complete the remaining lots under the either/or framework. No formal vote or amendment of the redevelopment agreement occurred at the commission meeting; staff indicated the matter will go to the City Council for decision.

For now, the project components described as completed or underway include the 184‑unit Clover apartments (nearly fully leased) and the Aldi grocery (opened February 2024). The retail on Lot 3 is permitted and mobilizing; Lot 5 remains the contingent parcel where Gowlitz seeks flexibility between office and restaurant/retail. The developer said he expects to continue signing leases and to make additional tenant announcements in coming months.

"I love where we're going," Gowlitz said of the mixed-use center. "It's significantly larger and a much greater impact to our community." He added that he preferred an approval path that preserved optionality: "That's why I'm going to ask the council for the either-or."