A dedicated but self-admitted “amateur” developer is making change and progress happen in the Central West End (CWE) of St. Louis with projects that provide revitalization and innovation in housing and commercial real estate.
That was the message from Kevin Bryant, who has become a leader in community and building development in the Kingsway/CWE corridor as founder of the Kingsway Development Corporation (KDC), at an October 18 presentation to the St. Louis chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America Mid-America Region (DBIA-MAR) at Built Interior in the Locust Business District.
Bryant’s organization has retained master development rights for projects on 207 acres in what is now called the Kingsway District. By creating connections with architecture, construction, finance, development and government entities, Bryant is overseeing multi-million-dollar business and community development projects in the area, and Kingsway is driving economic development through a core focus on revitalizing vacant and underutilized properties.
Noting that he had minimal experience in development, “It’s important to be an organizer and a planner,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt me to share with other developers.”
KDC takes “a comprehensive Building Sustainable Communities approach to neighborhood revitalization,” according to its website. That approach includes as much green building as possible, according to Bryant in his presentation.
“I had 30 years of experience in marketing,” Bryant recalled of his journey to Kingsway. He went from Anheuser-Busch to nonprofit organizations and founded Kingsway around 2018 when he saw that “the neighborhood to the north (of Delmar) was collapsing while to the south, it was booming. He started with an initial focus on a plan for tackling issues in Fountain Park.
“Fountain Park was one of the first St. Louis neighborhoods to be integrated,” Bryant recalled. The result was first “white flight” to the suburbs and then middle- and upper-class black flight, leaving the area with more than 100 vacant houses and a crime problem. “We knew we had an opportunity to turn the area into an affordable Central West End. We bought and boarded up empty houses,” he said. “Then we could put restraining orders against bad actors and have site control.”
Kingsway now has more than $84 million to invest in improvements. “We’re working hand in hand with the community,” Bryant said.
The first step was to create new homes with the same skyline and height as the original houses, but smaller in square footage than those across the way on Westminster, so they could be sold for affordable prices.
Kingsway’s commercial projects in the area include the Bridge Apartments at the corner of Delmar and Euclid, taking up an entire block, with 200 market-rate units; Trivers is the architect. Other businesses involved in this ambitious venture are CASCO Corp, KAI, Simms Building Group, Kwame Construction, Emerald Capital, an international institute providing services for immigrants and more.
The mixed-market model was top of mind: “We were planning for retailers we could bring in,” Bryant noted.
The Elevation building will provide office space along with a performing arts center, bank, banquet facility, ghost kitchen, Courtyard Marriott/Fairfield hotel and more. The Black Repertory Theater’s new home will be part of the project.
Culture is also a factor. “Everything we’re doing is incorporating art,” Bryant said.
Kingsway is working on several other buildings and projects in the area, including the corner of Delmar and Taylor; they are waiting for the city to determine whether there’s any contamination to deal with through brownfield remediation.
To keep the momentum going, “we’re looking all over the country for models of best and highest uses,” Bryant said.
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Feature photo: Nestled between two unique neighborhoods, The Bridge apartments aim to foster connections across the Delmar Divide. Rendering Credit: Trivers