The Essence of 3714 Texas Avenue

3714 Texas Avenue was a burned out shell, but is now a fantastic addition to the gorgeous Gravois Park neighborhood. With 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, you will be blown away by the design-forward layout and unique look of this amazing property.

Since being built in 1895, this property has been called home by many. In recent years, it fell into severe disrepair, even burning in 2017. But now, after a very extensive rehab, it's back and it's better than ever. You get a nearly-new house that still has all the fun character that you're looking for. This expertly-designed 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home has the flexible and functional layout that the home-buyer of 2022 is looking for. If you need an office, the first floor bedroom offers plenty of space and privacy. Enter into your modern, functional kitchen and spacious open floor plan. Then head up the breath-taking stair tower to your massive owner's suite with double sinks and a separate water closet right next to your huge walk-in closet. You also get zoned heating and cooling and two-car covered parking. Owner/occupants, come see your new, hip and fun pad in the the beautiful Gravois Park neighborhood. Investors, keep looking.

Virtual Tour

The Story

I'm proud to announce that our latest rehab at 3714 Texas avenue is finished. It is hands down the most dramatic transformation we have ever done.

When we were working on 3717 South Jefferson last year, I had a slight problem. The property was turning out great. It had one terrific feature -- the entire back wall was windows. Tons of light, a two-story atrium area and we created an amazing floor plan and updated everything. The problem was that the wall of windows looked out onto a burned-out shell and two falling-down horse stables from the late 1800's. The burnt-out shell was 3714 Texas Avenue.

Not really knowing it's condition or if the market at the time could support a full rehab in the neighborhood, I bought it. I wanted to at the very least have some control of the terrible view from the rear of 3717 Jefferson.

So, as we dug into it, we found that the very old stable was beyond repair. To make matters worse, it was connected to the very old stable on the neighboring property; which was also in very bad shape. We couldn't really tear ours down without also tearing the neighbors down. Fortunately, the neighbor agreed and we tore both of them down, after convincing the city's cultural resources office that they were un-salvageable. The historic stables along with several other unique, historic features made the prospect of doing historic tax credits impractical.

With the freedom allowed by not having to comply with complex tax credit requirements, we set out to design an amazing, stunning space. With an amazing team of architects, we came up with a plan that was absolutely stunning. It honored the history of the building while being full of character and meeting all the needs of a modern homeowner.

The History

I always like to dig in and learn as much as I can about a house we are reahabbing. Sometimes there's a lot of really interesting stuff to be discovered, sometimes there isn't much. There is nothing exciting or particularly historically interesting about this home, but it is neat to get a bit of a glimpse into what may have been happening in and around it in days long past.

Back in 1897, Albert Smith lived there. Sadly, in August of that year, his dog contracted rabies and bit him. This lead to the dog running off and Albert and the police chasing the dog down to euthanize it. They finally found it all the way over at Wyoming and 13th, just south of the Anheuser-Bush Brewery, an intersection that is now right on the other side of the I-55. Today, no dog would make it past the busy interstate. Mr. Smith resided at 3714 Texas avenue until his death in 1948.

In approximately 2017, the building, then a two-family flat, was destroyed by a fire. It sat vacant until we began this transformation.

We didn't have much to start with -- really just four brick walls. And they weren't even in the best shape. They had considerable work done to them. Demolition was so extensive that it took weeks and at least six 40 yard dumpsters. Then right around the time we were ordering the lumber to start building it back, lumber prices shot through the roof. But we made it work. Challenge after challenge, roadblock after roadblock, we persevered and made it happen.

Before and After

The Newest Addition to Gravois Park

I am proud to unveil 3714 Texas Avenue. This is probably the hardest and most extensive rehab we have done to date. And it definitely won't be the last. Below are some photos of the finished product as well as tons of before and after pics so you can see the very dramatic transformation that this building underwent.

This expertly-designed 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home has the flexible and functional layout that the home-buyer of 2022 is looking for. If you need an office, the first floor bedroom offers plenty of space and privacy. Enter into your modern, functional kitchen and spacious open floor plan. Then head up the breath-taking stair tower to your massive owner's suite with double sinks and a separate water closet right next to your huge walk-in closet. You also get zoned heating and cooling and two-car covered parking.

Owner/occupants, come see your new, hip and fun pad in the the beautiful Gravois Park neighborhood. Investors, keep looking.