Mansion House Groundbreaking Showcases Public-Private Partnership Model for Inclusive Downtown Revitalization in St. Louis
The $195M redevelopment project brings together institutional investors, local developers, and city government to preserve workforce housing in St. Louis’s urban core.
The $195M redevelopment project brings together institutional investors, local developers, and city government to preserve workforce housing in St. Louis’s urban core.
While downtown St. Louis has seen significant private investment in recent years, much of the resulting development has targeted higher-income residents. Mansion House takes a different approach. Bringing together impact investors, including capital from healthcare companies and banks, and public financing tools, the project modernizes a historic, 1960s-era building while simultaneously maintaining affordability, ensuring that downtown’s growth benefits the full economic spectrum of St. Louis families.
“The revitalization of downtown St. Louis depends on maintaining housing for the workforce that serves our hospitals, schools, restaurants, and businesses,” said Kristian Peterson, managing partner at Catalyst. “By partnering with institutional investors like UnitedHealth Group and JPMorganChase, who understand that housing stability drives economic health, we’re building a replicable model for preserving affordability in America’s resurgent downtowns.”
UnitedHealth Group and JPMorganChase have partnered with Catalyst Opportunity Funds to provide funding to support the preservation and redevelopment of Mansion House.
“Strong economies start in the neighborhoods where people live,” said Diana Kolar Leach, Executive Director, Head of Fund Investing, Impact Finance & Advisory at JPMorganChase. “We’re proud to support Catalyst Opportunity Funds in bringing projects like Mansion House to life as a powerful example of how public and private partners can come together to provide quality workforce housing and foster local economic growth.”
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer emphasized the project’s importance to the city’s inclusive growth strategy. “I’m so excited about the partnership here —with our city, our investment community here locally and the investors we’re bringing in from all over the nation. Not just to benefit the people you might think of as living in downtown high-rises, but making it possible for regular, everyday [people to] live here in our downtown area,” said Mayor Spencer. “This kind of visionary development is leading our city.”
The partnership leverages federal and state historic tax credits, an affordability-tied tax abatement, HUD financing, and equity from impact-focused institutional investors, creating a financing structure that maintains long-term affordability without relying solely on public subsidy. This approach —combining preservation, institutional capital, and public incentives— offers a scalable model for cities nationwide facing similar workforce housing challenges amid downtown revitalization.
Mansion House’s comprehensive renovation will modernize all 415 residential units with in-unit washers and dryers and energy-efficient mechanical systems. Amenity upgrades will focus on the project’s rooftop deck and pool overlooking Gateway Arch National Park, its fitness center, and community spaces. The building’s location along the St. Louis Metrolink line and adjacency to major employers, including the Federal Reserve, ensures residents have access to transit and employment opportunities.
The project marks Catalyst’s entry into St. Louis and reflects the firm’s strategy of partnering with cities experiencing economic momentum to ensure that growth includes workforce housing. Mansion House is anticipated to open to residents in Q2 2027.
About Catalyst: Catalyst is a double bottom-line private equity firm focused on transformative real estate investments in high potential, but historically underserved U.S. markets. With over $1.3 billion in real estate assets, Catalyst invests in impactful, market-rate return oriented development projects with a primary focus on workforce affordable housing. Institutional investment expertise, relationships with qualified sponsors in high-growth secondary markets, as well as significant experience in the structuring of creative capital stacks give Catalyst a competitive advantage in delivering long-term value creation to investors, as well as positive outcomes within communities.
Media Contact:
Nina Tschinkel / 914.221.7999 / nina@catalyst-invest.com
RIGHT: Catalyst Managing Partner, Kristian Peterson, addresses the crowd.