Work apparently is about to start on the project to put apartments in CPI Corp.'s former headquarters in downtown ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´.
Michael Knight, the building's owner, has a city permit to carry out the necessary interior demolition within the nine-story building at 1706 Washington Avenue. The permit issued Jan. 11 estimates interior demo costs at just over $1.2 million.
Knight, who is from Kansas City, plans 168 market-rate apartments and a preschool. His name for the project is Monogram in recognition of the building's original moniker. Knight said last summer he hoped to begin work in September. A few months later, the project appears to be ready to move ahead.
Resident parking and a dog park are planned for the parking lot on the building's east side. A one-block section of 17th Street will be closed to accommodate the project. Last summer, aldermen approved the closure over the objection of some downtown residents.
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Financing of the $51 million Mongram project includes city property tax abatement and historic preservation tax credits.
The Monogram's previous owner was downtown property holder David Jump, who acquired the century-old building in 2012 for $3 million. CPI, an operator of portrait studios, continued to occupy the building through a lease with Jump's American Milling, of Cahokia, before it went bankrupt and closed its U.S. locations in 2013.
