A new eco-conscious hotel, which will be built at the home of a long-time area non-profit organization, is coming to St. Louis by 2019. 
Owner Midas Forest Park, LLC, a subsidiary of Midas Hospitality, recently bought the current home of Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis (HFHSL) located at 3763 Forest Park Ave.  The 1.5 acre property was purchased for $2.4 million to make way for the $25 million Element by Westin.  Midas Hospitality will lease the non-profit organization space for up to one year while it relocates. 
The hotel concept encourages renewal through a nature-influenced environment and is constructed with an efficient use of space and sustainability in mind.  The eight-story, 119,000-square-foot hotel will include 153 extended stay rooms and feature 10,000-square-foot retail space plus a rooftop lounge.  
The environmentally-responsible rooms will have oversized windows to allow natural light plus fully-equipped kitchens with spa-inspired bathrooms.  The hotel will have an extensive fitness center, an all-natural saline pool, and a borrow-a-bike program for its guests.  Element will be located directly across from the St. Louis Foundry redevelopment.  It will back up to St. Louis University and be only three blocks from the Cortex Innovation District and one block from Ikea. 
Midas Hospitality will manage the hotel.  The builder is MC Hotel Construction, a general contractor specializing in new hotel construction and renovations, which is the sister company of Midas Hospitality.  The architecture firm is Gray Design.  All three companies are based in St. Louis, Mo., and this is the first Element hotel built and managed by these businesses.  Carrolton Bank provided the financing for the acquisition. 
“The vibrant midtown area is the perfect place for an environmentally-friendly Element by Westin,” said Midas Hospitality CEO David Robert.  “We are excited to work with this growing community by providing extended stay lodging to the university campuses, innovation district, and medical community.”  
“We are delighted with the sale and what it will mean to our much needed work in the community.  As good stewards of our organization’s assets, we were pleased to be able to take advantage of the strong commercial real estate market in the area,” said Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis CEO Kimberly McKinney.  “For up to a year, we will be continuing our important work of building safe and affordable housing for hard working families from our current Forest Park Avenue location.  We look forward to sharing more information in the future on our operations for our city Habitat ReStore, our construction warehouse and our administrative offices in a conveniently relocated space.” 
Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis (HFHSL) is a not-for-profit, ecumenical housing ministry working in partnership with individuals and communities of all faiths to improve housing conditions and provide safe, decent and affordable housing in St. Louis City and County.  In addition to a down payment and a mortgage, each HFHSL homebuyer invests 350 sweat-equity volunteer hours into building or rehabbing a home and attending life skills classes.  For more information, visit https://www.habitatstl.org. 
Founded in 2006, Midas Hospitality has developed, opened and currently manages numerous properties including 30 hotels in 14 states.  The company serves global brands including Hilton, IHG, Marriott, and Starwood.  Midas Hospitality’s headquarters are located at 1804 Borman Circle Dr. in Maryland Heights, Mo.  For more information, call (314) 692-0100 or visit https://www.midashospitality.com. 
MC Hotel Construction, which is also located at 1804 Borman Circle Dr., specializes in hotel construction and renovations with projects currently underway in six states.  MC Hotel Construction builds for leading brands such as Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Starwood and Legacy Suites.  For details, call (314) 339-6600 or visit https://www.mchotelconstruction.com.