New Spirit in St. Louis: Historic Hotel Revived by Salvation Army

By Caitlin Jones
September 14, 2010 1 min read

Tax Credit Advisor — September 2010 — In the late 1920s, the hotel business in downtown St. Louis near the Union Station was bustling. Ten majestic new hotels along Market Street catered to businessmen and other weary travelers arriving from the nearby train station. One was the Robert E. Lee Hotel, designed by Kansas City architect Alonzo H. Gentry and completed in 1928 by the Robert E. Lee Hotel Company, a chain. Rising 14 stories, the Renaissance Revival style structure boasted interesting architectural details. Today, after varied uses and a $14 million gut rehabilitation, the sole survivor of the 10 hotel buildings has been resurrected as affordable “workforce apartments” for low-income residents, including those laboring at service jobs nearby in the rejuvenated central business district. The new development, called The Railton, was sponsored by the St. Louis-based Midland Division of the Salvation Army, a large international nonprofit organization which provides emergency disaster services and operates dozens of programs to help individuals gain or regain self-sufficiency. Funded entirely by equity generated by federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits and low-income housing tax credits, the project was developed by the St. Louis Equity Fund and a consultant, on behalf of the Salvation Army. Read More…

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