New $4.4 million guesthouse, lodge debut at Inns at St. Albans

A new 12-bedroom luxury guesthouse and meeting lodge will officially open its doors to the public on Memorial Day weekend at The Inns at St. Albans at the western edge of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The $4.4 million, 11,000-SF lodge with a wraparound veranda and lake views will sleep up to 32 people in a range of room configurations featuring king and queen beds, mini wet bars and private baths.  Located within walking distance to all the historic attractions at The Inns at St. Albans, the new lodge also features a state-of-the-art meeting space for up to 25 people.

“Our new lodge offers excellent accommodations for a variety of guests and occasions, from individual travelers and weekend staycationers to larger groups like wedding parties, family reunions and corporate clients requiring an entire block of rooms,” said Schuyler Clark, general manager of The Inns at St. Albans. 

“We have nearly doubled the bedrooms available at The Studio Inn, the Old Barn Inn Cottages and The Farm House so more guests can experience our sought-after overnight getaway destination flavor. Later this summer we will be opening a three-bedroom renovated home called Link’s Cottage to keep pace with our overnight stay popularity with individual travelers, couples or groups.”

Destination event guests can participate in many nearby activities while staying at The Inns at St. Albans including access to 36 holes of golf and on top-rated courses nearby, weekend cooking classes, wine tastings and hiking trails.

Construction of the new lodge began in September 2019 on the site of what was once the Chesterfield Day School near the historic Heads Store, where guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner. New and renovated facilities added at The Inns at St. Albans in recent years include a larger event pavilion at the Studio Inn which can seat up to 180, a new tiered ceremony site at the Old Barn Inn, and a new pavilion in the Old Barn Inn gardens that can house outdoor cocktail events. The existing pavilion at the Old Barn Inn can accommodate up to 220 seated diners.

Nestled in scenic rolling hills first charted by Lewis & Clark near the Missouri River, The Inns at St. Albans is situated on what was once considered America’s western frontier. The rich history of St. Albans is steeped in Americana culture from the 1700-1800s including Osage Indians, Daniel Boone, Lewis & Clark, Mark Twain, the International Shoe Company and riverboat commerce.  The Studio Inn was built by renowned architect Theodore Link, the designer of St. Louis Union Station.  For many years, the area was the country retreat of some wealthy St. Louis families.

For more information on The Inns at St. Albans, visit www.innsatstalbans.com.  

City Foundry STL gears up for debut, despite official opening date

St. Louis' $220 million mixed-used development, City Foundry STL, is gearing up for their highly-anticipated debut, despite an official opening date.

The 15-acre site includes 122,000 SF of food hall and public market space, 107,000 SF of creative office space and 105,000 SF of retail shops - all rolled into its own midtown destination on Forest Park Ave between Vandeventer and Spring streets.

Steve Smith, CEO of the Lawrence Group, the property's developer, has reinvented the former Century Electric site with inspiration from similar developments - like Chelsea Market in New York City and Krog Street Market in Atlanta. 

Unlike a typical outdoor mall, the majority of vendors in the development are independently-owned, small businesses - as well as a few emerging concepts new to St. Louis - who will make their debut in the nearly 100-year-old foundry structure. The food hall and public market will bring together more than twenty different local chefs, each with their own unique-food-concept "mini restaurants,” as well as the other vendors in the food space.

The collective City Foundry STL team sees the public market as an opportunity to give local chefs, restaurateurs, artisans and more a platform to rebuild from COVID-19.

“Our local hospitality industry defines the current culture and uniqueness of our city. It’s also the most vulnerable during this time. Our hope is that City Foundry can be a place for ideas to incubate and grow into a viable business; a place where new concepts will be surrounded by industry leaders to learn from and succeed,” said City Foundry STL asset manager, Will Smith.

Anchor tenants include grocery store Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which marks its first metro area location.

Other tenants include: 18Rails|The Venue @City Foundry STL, Buenos Aires Cafe, Bullhorn, City Taco Shack, Fassler Hall, Gateway Blend, Good Day, Great Rivers Greenway, Hello Poke, Orion Genomics, Press Waffle Company and Punch Bowl Social.

An on-site hiking-and-biking trail connecting Forest Park to downtown St. Louis is in the works via Great Rivers Greenway, the sponsoring regional agency. Free parking will also be available, with over 1,000 parking spaces on site.

City Foundry STL continues to progress on construction of the overall development. An exact opening timeline will be determined and announced soon, based on recommendations from health officials as well as the comfort level of future customers.

Prospective tenant interest has returned to pre-covid levels, according to the development team, with 95% of office space leased and 65% of the development pre-leased overall.

For more information on leasing, please contact Rob Soete at rob@cityfoundrystl.com.