Rosemann & Associates has completed Phase 1 of the Villas at Peruque Hills, an independent senior living development in Wentzville, MO.

Developed by GHL Development, an affiliate of Gundaker Commercial Group who serves as the General Contractor, the Villas are mixed affordable and market rate senior housing with funding provided by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) and Bank of America. With 23 townhomes and 11 garden units, the Villas will provide needed affordable senior housing in St. Charles County.

"The Wentzville area is vastly expanding and there is a great demand for quality affordable housing in the region," says Andrew Koenig, AIA. "Our team is confident this project will help fulfill the need."

Rosemann's design concept coincides with the Universal Design methodology. UD is a "user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future."

For the Villas, unit entries, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and first floor bedrooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. All units include an oversized, attached garage allowing for someone with a physical disability to more easily access a vehicle. According to Koenig, the garages are a unique amenity not often found in affordable housing.

"For independent senior development, ease-of-use is extremely important," says Koenig. "With minor changes such as changing out some cabinetry and countertops and adding some grab bars we can easily convert units to be fully accessible. The townhouse unit staircases were also designed wider to accommodate a lift if necessary."

Proving to be a popular choice among the senior community of Wentzville, the Villas at Peruque Hills are already fully occupied, and a waiting list exists for the anticipated second phase of the project.

Rosemann Holds First Chili Cook-Off Contest

The wintery weather was the perfect background for a "hot" competition for "Who Makes the Best Chili?" cook-off. The office provided five willing contestants who brought their delicious concoctions to the Rosemann kitchen early in the day. The aromatic chili fragrances permeated the office all morning while staff drooled in anticipation of the arrival of the judges and the noon time meal.

Judging the contest were Michael Flowers, Sam Stewart and Brock Ostertag; all husbands of Rosemann staff. Each contestant prepared their bowl of chili in the kitchen with all the necessary garnishes and flair. Points were not only awarded for taste but also for presentation. Would you expect anything less from a group of designers? The prepared bowls were then handed over to Vanna, our very own Emily Ostertag, for presenation to the panel of judges seated out of view from the kitchen.

The judges were intense in their review of each entry, filling out an evaluation sheet on each. After all were tasted, the judges began tallying and review process. Of course, they were totally impartial in their process. The deliberation took some time but, Ann Motycka took first place for her delicious chili, Scott Rosemann took second place and Vickie Stewart took third.

A great time was had by all who participated and attended this event. Those who attended, but didn't bring chili, brought complimentary dishes or contributed five dollars for our Haiti Relief Fund. This event will certainly be worth repeating next year...but we can skip the cold weather!

(Pictured from left to right are judges Michael Flowers, Sam Stewart, and Brock Ostertag with 1st Place Winner Ann Motycka)

New Housing Will Help Fulfill Demand in Downtown Kansas City

Rosemann & Associates, Architects recently completed design, and construction has begun on the conversion of the 17 story historic 1006 Grand building into 134 apartment units to be called Grand Boulevard Lofts. This project, with an $18 million construction cost, will be a bright spot of development in a downtown that has experienced tremendous growth but has seen many projects stall in the current economic times.

"The downtown area has experienced revitalization and there is now a great demand for quality affordable housing inside the downtown loop," says Donald Rosemann, NCARB, AIA. "Our team is confident this project will help fulfill this need but there is still more work to be done." This seventeen story building at the corner of 10th Street and Grand Boulevard has been vacant for 10 years and is about to receive the historic preservation it deserves.

Developed by Sherman Associates, of Minneapolis MN, Grand Boulevard Lofts will provide much needed affordable housing to serve the downtown workforce. Financing for the project is provided by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the City of Kansas City, MO, various private institutional lenders and equity investors. Rau Construction Co. is the General Contractor for the project which is scheduled for completion at the end of 2010.

Rosemann's design concept preserves the historic context of this building. 1006 Grand was originally built in 1909 as a five story building known as The Gates Building. Over the next twenty years additions were completed to expand the building to its current seventeen story height and became known as The Homes Savings Association Building. This conversion will maintain the integrity of the historic qualities of this building, while offering all modern apartment amenities.

Rosemann & Associates Wins 2 Awards in One Week!

1st Place – Neighborhood Redevelopment

Rosemann’s project, the 14th Street Mall, won 1st Place Honors in the Neighborhood Redevelopment category. The awards were presented at a gala celebrating the 40th-Anniversary of Construction News and Real Estate Magazine, and were featured in its Nov/Dec 2009 issue.

3rd Place – Historic Residential Renovation

Rosemann’s project, GW Lofts, won 3rd Place honors in the Historic Residential Renovation category and was featured in the sponsors Nov/Dec 2009 issue of At Home St. Louis.

Thank you CNR and At Home St. Louis for sponsoring these ceremonies.

(Pictured from left to right are Gary Rogowski, Architect; Jarrett Cooper, Principal; Rob Wagstaff, Architect)

Rosemann Project Wins "Kansas City Beautiful Award"

On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, Parkway Apartments, LP was awarded a Kansas City Beautiful Award for the Parkway Apartments in Kansas City, Missouri. This project was designed by Rosemann & Associates, P.C. in conjunction with the landscape architecture firm of Michael Ashley & Associates, LLC. The Kansas City Beautiful Awards are jointly sponsored by the Kessler Society and the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.

These annual awards are presented to properties who have demonstrated the best efforts to beautify their site and community. The purpose of the these awards are to reward and encourage Kansas City property owners to continue to landscape and aesthetically improve their site. This year is the second year that the Parkway Apartments have been awarded this prestigious award!

The Parkway Apartments is a 40-unit, low-income housing project in Kansas City, Missouri consisting of two buildings. The two buildings are located on Paseo Boulevard, which is a major Kansas City thoroughfare. The importance of the project location led the design team and the property owners to make a concerted effort to create a beautiful and inviting landscape plan, and exterior elevations. This award demonstrates the effort was well received and that the property owner and manager have continued to make the appearance of this property a priority.

Rosemann Hosts Green Drinks KC's Eco-Tour of the Crossroads

On Thursday, September 17, 2009 Rosemann & Associates, P.C. was one of the hosts for an “Eco-Tour of the Crossroads” which was organized by Green Drinks KC. This tour was organized to visit several sustainability minded businesses in the Crossroads District of Kansas City. Rosemann was asked to host so that the attendees could experience all of the wonderful things that our rooftop garden has to offer.

Green Drinks KC is a group of people who are interested in environmental issues. The group meets once a month for a drink and an informal session on various topics. The Eco-Tour event was very well attended with almost 50 people participating. The highlight of the Rosemann tour stop was enjoying a gorgeous Kansas City day from our roof top.

As one of the first historic renovations in Kansas City to obtain LEED Certification, the entire office provides a positive and pleasurable working environment for staff, while significantly incorporating sustainable design principles. For more information on Sustainable Design and Construction you can contact our Kansas City office at 816.472.1448, or our St. Louis office at 314.678.1448.

Rosemann Illuminates Main Street Connections

Rosemann & Associates, P.C. were presenters at the inaugural revitalization conference Missouri Main Street Connections in Kansas City Missouri on August 19, 2009. Jarrett Cooper and Rob Wagstaff presented Illuminate the Fun in Downtown Living focusing on adaptive reuse of historic downtown architecture and the surrounding urban environment.

Downtowns big and small are usually graced with an excellent stock of historic buildings that are often underused. Jarrett and Rob’s talk had two different elements:

The first part focused on reusing the existing buildings for their maximum potential. Often older buildings have been modified over the years and appear as eyesores to the community. However, irreproducible qualities make them too valuable for demolition and the historical significance makes a valuable connection to the past. Jarrett demonstrated how over the years Rosemann has been able to remake these buildings into valuable contributing economic assets to downtown. They can lead to excellent living, commercial and retail spaces that have a unique vibe and contribute to downtown’s authenticity.

Rob spoke on the importance of the surrounding environment and the necessity of providing good walkable context to compliment rehabbed buildings and ensure their re-fit in the urban fabric. Good urban environments require places that are safe, easy to navigate, comfortable, adaptable or varied, and attractive. These elements when combined with rehabbed historic architecture create the kind of vibrant downtowns that visitors and citizens alike can enjoy. This in turn generates economic activity spurring the ability for more regeneration and new development

After Rosemann’s presentation, a representative from the State of Missouri Department of Natural resources spoke on the different financial tools the state had available for rehabbing historic structures, followed by a tour of Rosemann projects in Kansas City’s Crossroads District. The Conference was well attended, and Rosemann looks forward to attending Missouri Main Street next year.

Ronald McDonald House Family Room "Snack Food Drive"

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro St. Louis is requesting in-kind snack donations to fill its Family Rooms. Many times, families do not leave the hospitals at all while their child is receiving care. This leaves hospital cafeterias and RMHC's Family Rooms as their only options for grabbing a bite to eat.

To help fulfill the need, Rosemann & Associates has begun a "Snack Food Drive" to provide a convenient drop off location for those interested in making a donation.

Starting today (July 22) participants can bring in snack food items to the St. Louis Design Studio at 1221 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103. Our office is open Monday - Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. The last day to make a donation will be Friday, July 31st at 3 pm.

Suggested donation items: Pre-packaged snack foods (chips, cookies, soups, easy mac, breakfast bars, etc.)

To find out other ways to make a contribution visit http://www.rmhcstl.org/donate/index.php or for those interested in volunteering visit http://www.rmhcstl.org/volunteer/index.php

Thank you in advance from all of us at Rosemann and RMHCSTL!

Rosemann's Newest Architect!

This week Rosemann & Associates' Gabe Vogl passed his final ARE exam to become a licensed architect in the State of Missouri.

Gabe graduated from Kansas State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. After graduation, Gabe began his career working on large retail commercial projects.

In the summer of 2004, Gabe joined Rosemann as an intern architect quickly becoming an important part of Rosemann's design team. He is responsible for project development, construction documentation coordination and construction administration.

Over the years, Gabe has worked on the award winning Parkway Apartments, the D.A. Holmes Senior Living II project, Murphy Lake Apartments, Pine Ridge Estates and the historic renovation of Kansas City's HD Lee Building (aka Piper Lofts) and parking garage.

New Senior Villas Will Help Fulfill Demand in St. Charles County

Rosemann & Associates, P.C. recently began construction on an independent senior living development in Wentzville, Mo. called Villas at Peruque Hills. The $3.8 million project is part of a larger development including single family homes called Peruque Hills Estates.

Developed by GHL Development, an affiliate of Gundaker Commercial Group who serves as the General Contractor, the Villas will be mixed affordable and market rate senior housing with funding provided by the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) and Bank of America. Construction is scheduled for a winter 2009 completion.

With 23 townhomes and 11 garden units, the Villas will provide needed affordable senior housing in St. Charles County which is currently named a disaster county by MHDC due to severe flooding in 2008.

"The Wentzville area is vastly expanding and there is a great demand for quality affordable housing in the region," says Andrew Koenig, AIA. "Our team is confident this project will help fulfill the need but there is still more work to be done."

Rosemann's design concept coincides with the Universal Design methodology. According to the Universal Design Alliance's website, UD is a "user-friendly approach to design in the living environment where people of any culture, age, size, weight, race, gender and ability can experience an environment that promotes their health, safety and welfare today and in the future."

For the Villas, unit entries, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and first floor bedrooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. All units include an oversized, attached garage allowing for someone with a physical disability to more easily access a vehicle. According to Koenig, the garages are a unique amenity not often found in affordable housing.

"Being an independent senior development, ease-of-use was extremely important," says Koenig. "With minor changes such as changing out some cabinetry and countertops and adding some grab bars we can easily convert units to be fully accessible. The townhouse unit staircases were also designed wider to accommodate a lift if necessary."

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