Archway Commons

What is today Archway Commons was originally built in the late 1890s as the Frank P. Blair School to serve the St. Louis Place neighborhood. The property was converted into 35 units of affordable housing in the mid-1980’s using low income housing tax credits. Evergreen Partners acquired Archway Commons, formerly known as Blair School Apartments, in April 2014 using a combination of 4% Federal and State Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Federal and State Historic Tax Credit Equity, new HUD 221(d)(4) permanent 1st mortgage financing, construction period tax exempt bond proceeds, City of St. Louis HOME Funds and a subordinate loan from RISE St. Louis.

Evergreen completed substantial renovations of the property in February 2015. The renovations will update virtually all aspects of the interior and exterior of the buildings. The rehab focused on modernizing the units and replacing the building’s major systems (roofing, HVAC, decorative historic components, exterior façade repairs). We also converted an unused building on the property into 3 new one bedroom units and installed an elevator in main building to enhance accessibility. Post renovation the property has 18 one bedroom and 18 two bedroom units. 100% of the units serve family households earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income. 12 of the 38 units are received project-based rental subsidy via two HUD HAP Contracts. We worked with both the St. Louis and Kansas City HUD Offices to issue two new 20 year HUD HAP Contracts to the property as part of our preservation plan.

Archway Commons
2707 Rauschenbach Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63106
Phone: (314) 899-9762

Preservation Transaction Description

First Mortgage Financing: New HUD 221(d)(4) debt financing was provided to the project by Red Mortgage Capital LLC.

Other Key Financing: In addition to the new First Mortgage Financing, the project utilized proceeds from tax exempt bonds provided by the St. Louis Industrial Development Authority, City of St. Louis HOME Funds and a subordinate loan from RISE St. Louis.

Equity Financing: PNC Bank N/A provided equity to the project from the sale of 4% Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Federal Historic Tax Credits. Gardner Capital provided equity to the project from the sale of 4% State Low Income Housing Tax Credits and State Historic Tax Credits.

Section 8 Contract Renewal: Yes

Property Rehabilitation Scope

Over $3.5 million in total rehabilitation is planned for Archway Commons, including:

  • New kitchen cabinets, countertops, fixtures and appliances
  • New bathroom vanities, fixtures and lavatory
  • New flooring throughout the units and common space
  • New hot air heating system with central air conditioning
  • Substantial repairs to existing historic windows, brick re-pointing and exterior façade repair
  • New security cameras and site lighting
  • New elevator installed in stairwell of main building
  • Conversion of an unused annex building on site into (3) new units

Development Partners

Tax Credit Allocating Agency
Missouri Housing Development Commission

Local HUD Office
HUD St. Louis & Kansas City

Local City/Municipality
City of St. Louis

Tax Exempt Bond Issuer
City of St. Louis IDA

HUD Lender/First Mortgage Lender
Red Mortgage Capital LLC

Subordinate Financing Lender
RISE St. Louis

HOME Loan Lender
https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/

Federal Equity Investor/Partner
PNC Bank NA

State Equity Investor/Partner
Gardner Capital LLC

Legal Counsel
Thompson Coburn LLP 
Nixon Peabody LLP 

Architect 
Wallace Architect

General Contractor 
E.M. Harris Construction