Latest hotel, a $50M project, opens in downtown Clayton

By Gloria Lloyd – Reporter, St. Louis Business Journal
Oct 31, 2024 –

It took more than 30 years for a new hotel to be built in Clayton, and now the city’s downtown area has seen two new hotels open within 18 months.

The new $50 million AC Hotel, constructed at the site of the demolished former Clayton Police Department headquarters at 227 S. Central Ave., opened last week after more than two years of construction.

The 11-story, 207-room hotel project from developers Koplar Properties and Homebase Properties has more than 3,000 square feet of top-floor meeting space and a rooftop bar, the developers said in a news release.

The hotel will be managed by Concord Hospitality Enterprises, the developer said. HomeBase, which develops projects in Montana and Missouri, specializes in financing, development and construction of housing, mixed-use projects and hotels, the company said. Koplar Properties, based in St. Louis, developed the Chase Park Plaza, York House and Maryland Plaza.

The opening of the latest hotel follows the May 2023 opening of the $47 million Residence Inn of Clayton, 8125 Forsyth Blvd., from Maryland Heights-based developer Midas Enterprises. Before the Residence Inn opened, the last hotel to open in downtown Clayton was the Ritz-Carlton in 1990.

AC Hotel’s restaurant, the AC Lounge & AC Kitchen, and the rooftop bar, High Bar Clayton, both have panoramic views of the city, the developer said.

Officials in the city of Clayton had sought to repurpose the site since 2011, and the development of the new AC Hotel has been underway since 2018, the company said. The development timeline for the project had to be extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and construction started in September 2022, with St. Louis-based Midas Construction acting as contractor. Details of the project’s financing were not disclosed.

The same development team opened the AC Hotel in the Central West End in late 2021. AC Hotels by Marriott are participants in the Marriott Convoy global travel program from Marriott International, the developer said.

The location in Clayton was chosen for its access to both business and leisure travelers, and the ability to promote access to Shaw Park and the walkability of Clayton, along with other nightlife and restaurant options, said Koplar Properties President Sam Koplar in a statement.

The hotel offers digital check-in, an open floor plan inside rooms and flexible workstations, along with a fitness center with stair climbers, rowing machines and treadmills, the developer said.

Peter Arscott, who serves as general manager of the hotel, said, “We wanted to bring something unique to the market that caters to the needs of travelers who are coming into Clayton from all over the world.”

The hotel was designed by DLR Group.

First posted in Uncategorized | Tuesday, November 1, 2024