Imagine walking through the heart of downtown Clayton along Central Avenue, weaving through street-side cafes and shops and hurried pedestrians. This familiar stretch, sandwiched between Maryland and Bemiston Avenues, is on the brink of change. In November of 2022, local developer Balke Brown Transwestern snapped up eight key parcels of this urban patchwork, laying the groundwork for Bemiston Place—a development to reimagine our community’s core.

Bemiston Place is a $101 million mixed-use apartment development with a courtyard, pool, parking garage, a two-level restaurant and bar. Mayor Michelle Harris considers it a key corner in Clayton that will bring more foot traffic and vibrancy to the downtown area. This development is set to be completed in the spring of 2024. 

“Adding several hundred new residents from Bemiston Place to the already growing number of downtown residents will increase the number of ‘feet on the street’ and support our existing shops and restaurants,” Harris said. “We hope this will, in time, bring new kinds of retail and entertainment to our community.” 

According to KSDK, this luxury apartment building will have 237 units and 268,535 square feet of floor space, including a garage below the apartments, with 10,300 square feet of retail and restaurants on the ground floor. This garage will have 15 charging stations for electric vehicles and will not be visible to people from the street.

“The building is designed to meet the National Green Building Standard bronze level,” Harris said. “This building will have 34 EV chargers which is 10% of the total parking. The chargers are designed to load share. This design will allow expansion of the EV chargers up to 102 spaces or 30% of the total parking spaces.”

While Harris highlights the eco-friendly features of the new building, such as its numerous EV chargers, the construction process raises immediate issues for residents. Senior Sage Bernstein expresses a common sentiment about the impact on daily life.

“The construction is a little annoying because of how it affects traffic, and it makes the area less walkable while it’s being built,” senior Sage Bernstein said. 

 Ultimately, Bernstein believes construction is necessary for buildings to be updated.

“I don’t think the annoyance of the construction outweighs the benefits of a new building,” Bernstein said.

While the construction on Bemiston Place appeals to junior Anna McAndrew, she also notes the downside. 

“[There] will be added traffic because of the influx of people, but since there will be more people, it will be great for businesses in Clayton and the city overall,” McAndrew said. 

One of the Mayor’s main goals is to increase the foot traffic in downtown Clayton so that more restaurants and small businesses can function. 

“I would like some more good restaurants or cute boutiques to be built in Clayton,” Berstein said. “For example, in Ladue by Companion, there is a cool strip that would be perfect to replicate in Clayton.”

At the State of Clayton meeting, Harris highlighted that alongside Bemiston Place, four more development projects are slated for Clayton. These projects are expected to add to the city’s housing options and could attract additional commerce. Clayton contributes to 6% of St. Louis County’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), despite having only 2% of the county’s population, according to Harris. 

“All the businesses and residential in our downtown and elsewhere in Clayton work in tandem to provide a thriving, productive economy for our city. I see this only improving for the near term, and we welcome new businesses to make their home in Clayton,” Harris said.