SLU’s Interiors Unlimited building to be converted into hotel
Construction is to begin in May on a boutique hotel that Lawrence Group and St. Louis University plan for the vacant Interiors Unlimited building on Olive Street just north of the SLU campus.
The 51-room Hotel Ignacio will be named after St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order that runs SLU. The hotel, located at 3407 Olive, will open early next year, Steve Smith, president of Lawrence Group said Wednesday.
Peter Pierotti, director of real estate at SLU, said the lobby area will have rotating displays of art from university collections. The artwork will help connect the hotel and the Grand Center arts district, Smith said.
They declined to divulge the project’s cost. SLU does not publicize the cost of projects built without private donations, a university spokesman said. The project has historic preservation tax credits and $5 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits, Smith said.
Adjoining the five-story Interiors Unlimited building is Triumph Grill, which is in a structure owned by Smith.
He said the two buildings will be connected to allow the restaurant to provide the hotel’s food service.
Built in 1905 as the Morgens laundry, the Interiors Unlimited building has been vacant for years. SLU bought it and other properties in the vicinity several years ago when it considered building an arena in Grand Center.
Instead, the project eventually became Chaifetz Arena, which opened in 2008 on SLU’s southeast corner.
Hotel Ignacio will feature the usual amenities, including a business center and spa. The parking area on the building’s east side will be landscaped as part of a new main entrance. Guest parking will be on a university-owned lot just north of the hotel.
"We don’t have to create any more asphalt," Smith said.
Pierotti said the hotel will invigorate an area near the SLU campus.
"We want to get people in the street, enliven the street," he said.
As part of the deal, Lawrence will get a stake in the hotel.
Already under way a block from the hotel site is work on another project by SLU and Lawrence Group. Two buildings in the 3300 block of Locust are being renovated as 25 apartments and street-level store space.
The apartments, scheduled to open this fall, will be marketed to SLU students as well as the public.