Posted Oct 12, 2017, 8:32 PM
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Gate District Rising: More Modern Infill on Lafayette
https://nextstl.com/2017/10/gate-dis...ill-lafayette/
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“How does the modern fit into the historic?” asks Mark Keoshkorian, who is just completing the first two units of a 12-unit project at Lafayette and California. It’s a question not always allowed in a city filled with historic districts, many requiring replica infill based on a historic model example.
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Keoshkorian’s Metamorphi Development has completed at least a dozen houses between Compton and Jefferson. At 2831 Lafayette, a historic renovation gained a modern addition. Next door, a couple who sold their house in the neighborhood bought a vacant lot. Though not a Metamorphi project, the couple is building their modern dream home. Second Empire Victorians continue to see renovation along these blocks, as do brick and cast iron storefronts. Keoshkorian dreams of one day renovating the turreted Garavaglia Quality Foods building at the corner of Nebraska. For now, the Garavaglia family still keeps an eye on the place.
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Keoshkorian’s current project will be twelve units in six buildings designed by architect Dave Mastin of St. Louis Design Alliance. The next two buildings will share a central courtyard. Formerly a school blacktop surrounded by a ten foot chain link fence, the site was purchased from the St. Louis Public Schools. The single family unit at 2757 Lafayette is listed for $415,000 and is built around a custom glulam, wire and wood central staircase.
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The neighborhood along Lafayette is changing. An Aveda salon is open across the street, while Bob Cassily’s former studio stands a block east. And while the neighborhood is seeing a $500 million investment along its western edge with SSM’s rebuilding of St. Louis University Hospital, the genius of Lafayette Avenue is the way numerous small projects are creating a unique urban space. The Dominicans still pray every morning and evening in their priory at the western end of the street. They built a modern addition, too. The historic mansion next door to it at 3259 Lafayette is undergoing a complete renovation.
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At the opposite end of the street, you can buy a giant (if lightly damaged) terra cotta pharaoh head at the architectural salvage shop that opens on Saturdays. The Barr branch of the St. Louis Public Library has computers and free wifi. And while there is little retail in the neighborhood, there is a hotel. Small businesses like law firms and the offices of Bailey’s Restaurants fill many of the storefronts along Lafayette. And people always love the salmon quesadillas at Ranells Market at the corner of Compton.
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