Condo Plan Emerges for East Dallas Tract

DALLAS-A local condo developer is planning a 26-unit project beside the former St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church, which is owned by an investor from Los Angeles who’s eyeing a conversion to residential and commercial space. St. Kim Flats, now on the drawing board, isn’t expected to break ground until late 2009.

St. Kim’s Development LLC acquired the 29,000-sf tract beside the church at 2712 Swiss Ave. in November 2007, getting a spot within walking distance of Baylor Medical Center. Philomena Hu, division manager of Dallas-based Mayse & Associates Inc. is St. Kim Flats’ lead architect. In today’s world, Hu says construction costs would hit $5 million, but that certainly could change by the time work begins.

Hu tells GlobeSt.com that the density formula would allow the developer to put in 30 units without rezoning, but St. Kim Flats is being designed with three penthouse-size condos, one of which will have a private elevator, so the count was lowered to 26 to accommodate the premium component. “Density is really critical to condo projects, more so than any other project,” Hu says.