A $35.2 million senior living project in Chesterfield delayed by the pandemic is under construction and scheduled to open next year, after contractors redesigned plans to bring down the cost.
The 197,000-square-foot Shelbourne at Chesterfield will have 150 units, including 96 independent living units, 37 units for assisted living and 17 units for memory care. Amenities in the building include large visiting areas, libraries, a wine room and coffee bistros.
The senior housing development is being built on a prime corner at 805 Chesterfield Centre, next to the soon-to-be-shuttered Macy’s at Chesterfield Mall. Pennsylvania-based developer Shelbourne Healthcare Development Group purchased the vacant 8.2-acre property from Sachs Properties in December 2018 for $4.4 million, according to St. Louis County records.
Construction is underway and expected to finish by spring 2023. The general contractor is Brahms Construction LLC, with a design from Moseley Architects.
Nationwide developer Shelbourne also operates the Brookdale in Ballwin. In a change since the pandemic, the Chesterfield project is now a collaboration between the company and Cedarhurst Senior Living, according to a news release from Greystone, a national commercial real estate finance company based in New York City that is financing the project. Cedarhurst operates 48 communities in seven states.
The senior living project in Chesterfield was originally announced in early 2019, with a timeline to finalize financing and finish building set for summer 2020. But Shelbourne Healthcare Development Group requested a two-year extension to start construction in July 2020, citing market conditions during the pandemic.
Shelbourne originally tried to build a smaller development along Wild Horse Creek Road in 2016, but that faced opposition from residents. The new location for the Shelbourne at Chesterfield is a better site since it’s more centrally located, Shelbourne co-founding partner Jim Kane told the Business Journal in 2019. It is also within walking distance of Chesterfield’s Central Park.
Even with approval to build by the mall and financing in place, the rising costs of materials almost priced the developer out of the project, according to the design-build mechanical contractor for construction, St. Charles-based Wiegmann Associates.
The original designs for heating and air conditioning systems in the individual units pushed the project over budget and jeopardized it entirely, Wiegmann said in a news release. Working with the design team, Wiegmann helped engineer a more cost-effective HVAC solution to push the project forward, the company said. The solution came from a rooftop system that will provide zone control throughout the facility, increasing energy efficiency, Wiegmann said. Separate units will provide heating, air conditioning and ventilation for each resident room.
The Shelbourne at Chesterfield’s site is directly next to Staenberg Group’s planned $1 billion revamp of the mall as a mixed-use community named Downtown Chesterfield. The site will have apartments, condominiums, office, retail and other amenities. It is still about two years away from demolition of the mall, and the company is offering temporary office space inside to businesses that aren’t looking for long-term solutions for office space.