MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – A plan to build a large apartment and retail complex near Creve Coeur Lake is under review, and community members have a few more days to offer feedback on it.
The proposed apartment complex would be called “Maryland Park,” consisting of some land formerly used by a privately-owned golf driving range.
The City of Maryland Heights has requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies to review a building permit application on behalf of St. Louis-area developer KBG, Inc.
A public notice from USACE reports the development would consist of 800 garden-style units and serve as a “mixed use, multifamily residential and service retail development.” It labels the proposed location as “south of Creve Coeur Mill Road, north of Creve Coeur Lake, and west of Creve Coeur Creek.” That location would also be about a mile north of the Creve Coeur Airport and Page Avenue.
Trisha Hall, a communications manager from Maryland Heights, confirmed the location and said the previous owners sold that property to KBG several years ago.
When outlining the location in the public notice, USACE reports that 12.96 acres of wetlands were identified for the site and the project could impact 3.32 acres of wetlands for its expansion.
George Stringham, the chief of public affairs for USACE, said the wetlands are primarily on disturbed land previously used by the driving range. He adds, based on the plan, the impacted areas could consist of parking or a commons area.
Some St. Louis-area residents have recently turned to social media to express concerns over the potential effect on wetlands and other environmental impacts.
The public notice shared the following plans for proposed development.
Hall tells FOX 2 that the City of Maryland Heights has held multiple public hearings over the project, the first dating back to November 2021. The Maryland Heights City Council adopted a development ordinance during a meeting on Feb. 3, 2022.
According to Hall, the proposed development plan would mean 27% of the property serves as a designated stormwater detention area. The detention area would include paths for walking and biking. Hall says it would act as a buffer area between park property, neighboring railroad tracks, and the proposed complex.
Hall said the designated stormwater detention area is a requirement of the development, and the construction plan intends to mitigate stormwater runoff issues that might cause flooding or disrupt access to the park.
The USACE proceedings are part of a requirement to regulate the placement of property within jurisdictional waters. USACE notes in its public notice that a comment period is open through Friday. People can mail comments on the proposal to the following address:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Regulatory Branch
1222 Spruce Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2833
ATTN: Chad LaMontagne
After the public notice expires, USACE will forward comments to Residential One, LLC, the company that submitted the application. USACE tells FOX 2 there are a few steps before any plans can be approved:
“The applicant will have 21 days to formulate responses to the comments. The Corps will determine if the responses are sufficient, and will consider the comments/responses as part of the overall permit review process. That review includes impacts to waters of the US, impacts to federal & state listed endangered species, & impacts to cultural/tribal resources, etc. Unavoidable impacts to jurisdictional waters will need to be mitigated according to established criteria.”
The project is currently listed on the active projects section of Maryland Heights’ website with a status listed as “in plan review.” The City of Maryland Heights has also released detailed “conceptual” and “preliminary” development plans pertaining to the project.
FOX 2 has reached out to KBG, Inc. for comment, but has not heard back as of Wednesday afternoon.
