2008 12 People You Need to Know: Kevin McGowan

McGowan, 49, was the oldest of 10 children in a nomadic family that stayed longest in Connecticut, where, as a teen, he told his parents he wanted to buy and rehabilitate a dilapidated apartment building.

“I had my mom convinced, but I couldn’t convince my dad,” he recalls. “I knew that we could fix this (property) up, and we could rent it out and make some money on it. I drive by it today, and it is fixed up. I’m still sore at my dad for saying no.”

McGowan’s been getting back at his old man ever since.

McGowan is the proud new owner of the derelict Heer’s building on Park Central Square. Expect the finished product – 41 for-sale condos above a Mike Shannon’s Steaks and Seafood Restaurant – to mirror his historic renovation work along Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis. Once lined with bombed-out buildings, the street is now home to upscale lofts, posh cafés and boutique clothing shops.

Despite a lifelong interest in rejuvenating old buildings, McGowan coached swimming after graduating from high school. He coached teams at YMCAs, high schools and Yale University, where he was the youngest swim coach in Yale history.

As a sophomore at Catholic seminary St. Meinrad College in Indiana, McGowan started buying and refurbishing single-family homes and apartment buildings in the Midwest.

McGowan’s quest for old properties with historic appeal took him to Kansas City, Houston and eventually St. Louis in the late 1990s. He bought his first building there in 1998 – the same year U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond schooled him on the benefits of Missouri’s historic preservation tax credits.

The following year, McGowan formed McGowan Brothers Development Corp. with four of his six brothers. The company renovated about 500,000 square feet before McGowan shifted gears in 2004 and partnered with title insurance veteran Nat Walsh to form McGowan|Walsh. In their three years together, they redeveloped roughly 3 million square feet of space in Kansas City and St. Louis for a total investment of about $300 million.

McGowan’s newest venture, Blue Urban LLC, is overseeing the $26 million Heer’s project. Construction is set to begin in June 2008.

“That building – once fixed up – is going to make a significant difference in many people’s lives in Springfield,” he says. “If Heer’s goes like I imagine it’s going to go, then I think what happens in downtown Springfield is an explosion of renovation work in some of these buildings.”

Kevin McGowan

Position: President and CEO, Blue Urban LLC

Age: 49

Education: Bachelor’s degree in English, St. Meinrad College, Indiana

Career: Swimming coach, including stint at Yale University; started McGowan Brothers Development and McGowan|Walsh

Q&A Date: June 10

Information accurate at the time of the recognition.