 ST. LOUIS, May 3, 2006 – Clark Properties has signed a six-year lease purchase agreement to lease the 27-acre Hill-Behan site in Pagedale and convert the former north St. Louis County lumber yard into a construction materials recycling center. The privately funded project is being hailed by county officials as the next step in the redevelopment of St. Louis’ inner ring suburbs.
Eco Recycling, Inc., 6515 Page Ave., is a newly formed company headed by Tim Surmeier, president, and partners Mike Clark and Tom Barnewolt of Clark Properties. The firm began operations March 1 as a permitted site for recycling concrete and asphalt generated from demolition projects consisting of residential, commercial, industrial and public works projects. Eco Recycling is expected to be selling recycled concrete aggregate products within the next few weeks.
Mike Clark, president of the St. Louis based real estate development and property management company, said the private venture did not require tax credits or public funding. “Our lease arrangements allow us to establish a concrete and asphalt recycling business while we are preparing the site for future development,” Clark said.
Surmeier said the project is expected to recycle concrete and asphalt waste from construction projects inside Interstate-270. “With our central location there is a tremendous opportunity to offset rising fuel cost by making shorter runs and moving more material each day,” Surmeier said.
Barnewolt added, “The response we have received has been very positive. Our customers really like the location and the fact that our site is fully paved and allows them to deliver with no hassle even in bad weather.”
Once the waste arrives at the site, it will be sorted, crushed and compacted for clean fill to be used on the site or for sale to contractors. Clark said profits from the recycling process will help pay for site preparation of the lumber yard which needs to be cleared of its 17 buildings and ultimately made level to attract future development.
Jerry Kolar, who represents the Behan family that owns the site, said Clark Properties was chosen for the project because of its redevelopment track record and its innovative solutions to preparing area sites for future development. The land is bordered by Metro rail tracks and a power plant sub-station to the east, the six-lane Page Avenue to the south, a buffered residential area to the west and more commercial buildings to the north-northwest.
“We’ve seen what Clark Properties has created from Brownfields, most notably the Plymouth Industrial Park site one block to the south, and its current work on the 24-acre Wellston Industrial Park being developed just north of the Plymouth site,” Kolar said. “Clark Properties is very resourceful when confronted with challenges that arise from commercial land redevelopment.”
Clark Properties is a full-service real estate development and property management company headquartered in St. Louis. Clark has acquired, renovated and sold or leased more than 5 million square feet of office, warehouse/distribution and light manufacturing space. The firm has expanded its services to include Clark Logistic Services, a full service third-party logistics company providing warehousing operations and transportation management services to local, regional and national companies. For more information, visit www.clark-properties.com. and www.clarklogisticservices.com.
Editor’s note: Clark Properties is located at 5391 Brown Avenue, St. Louis, Mo. (63120).
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