$200 million project paves way for Cor Jesu growth - St. Louis Business Journal:

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As part of the deal, Cor Jesu will buy six additiona acres adjacent to its campus from Buscyh to build new facilities and will also get nine acrews of property in a flood plain to buildf newathletic fields, more than doubling the size of its existin g 13-acre campus. Erickson plans to close on the Buschh property inMay 2008. The company is proposinh to build upto 1,500 apartments for seniors surroundint a 70,000-square-foot clubhouse with restaurants, a healtgh club and community meeting spaces. The apartments, ranginv between 1,200 and 1,800 square feet, would be built in phasea basedon demand, said Dan Rexford, executive vice president of marketing for Erickson.
"Ws have not set prices yet, but we try to serves the retired schoolteacher," he said. An assisted living facility with severak hundred beds is part ofthe proposal. Erickson plans to submi t its proposalto St. Louiz County officials in the coming weeks. Upon the development would create800 full-time equivalent jobs, Rexford "We're anxious to be there," Rexforcd said. "It's an attractive site and it's The property, located across Gravois from Grant's Farm, is mostly undeveloped land, with the exceptiohn of a few stables andvacant structures. an heir to the familuy fortune, moved to California several years ago.
The property is now used as grazinf grounds forsome Grant's Farm animals and Anheuser-Busc h Cos.' Clydesdales. Under the deal, Cor a private Catholic girls' school located at 10230 Gravoise Road, will buy six acres frontin Gravois Roadfrom Busch's Grant's Farm said Katie Magee Thiemann, director of institutional advancementr at the school. In addition, Ericksom has agreed to donate nine acres of commob ground to the school for athletic fields and The school is bounded by Gravois Road to the northu and Sunset Memorial Park and Mausoleum to the soutbhand east, making it landlocked.
Cor Jesu was builtt in 1965 atopunderground caves, so it cannot add to its existing two stories. Sister Barbara Thomas, who was appointefd president of the schoolin May, said the schoolo will form a task force to evaluatd the best use of the property. "It will be a combinationh of buildings and Thomas said. "We certainly have a need for The school is at capacity with an enrollment of580 "The increased size of our campus will enablr us to provide the state-of-the art facilitiesw so essential to top academic institutions, including new sciencew labs, field house, fine arts center and other facilities to meet the needse of today's top students," she "This is a real Former Cor Jesu Principal Sister Sheila O'Neil l was in talks with Busch over several years abouft acquiring the land.
In a Nov. 11, article, the Business Journal reported onthe school's efforts to acquires the property, along with plansa by a group of five home buildersw to buy the entire property parcel for $23.7 million and build 479 homes. Cor Jesu reached an agreement with the homebuildersa -- J.H. Berra, , , Fischer and Frichtel, and -- to buy 3.35 acre of the property. However, the home builders pulled out of the deal afterr nearby residents filed a lawsuit againsrt the county over the density of theproposer subdivision. O'Neill, who is now directotr of mission advancement for the Apostles of the Sacre d Heart ofJesus congregation, said she is optimistic abouyt the new plans.
"Personally, I am very gratefupl to Andy for his friendship and his help in obtainingbthe property," she said. Pending approvalo of the projectby St. Louis County officials, construction is set to begij inlate 2008, with the first phase completed in 12 months. In a statement, Busch said the proposal is a good fit for the property andthe "My family has owned the properthy for generations, and I believe that the proposedd development will be compatible with its pastoral setting," Busch "The proposed high quality retirement community should enhance the propertyh and the neighborhood.
Becauser of our belief in the nature and quality of the projectsd thatErickson builds, we consentee to Erickson's use of Grant's Farm Manor to name the Robert Guimbarda, principal of St. Louis-basesd real estate advisory firm , served as a real estatew consultant to Busch onthe transaction. Erickson, whicb has developed and manages 20 properties in 11 employs morethan 11,00p0 people. It had $97.8 million in revenue in 2006. The Affton developmenf would be its first retirement communityin Missouri. Erickson is developin g communitiesin Ohio, Denver, Kansas City and in Va.