urbanSTL

without the clock tower and the top floor-it becomes boring at best and i'll take that over the rendering...

An article in the Post today said the final design should be ready by the end of the year.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument

Hate to say it, but "I told you so."

STLgasm wrote:Every time I pass by this hole, it infuriates me. The Mills owe us an update.

I'll tell you what else infuriates me- I hate how the city wastes no time demolishing buildings for plans that are never realized. It's apparently a longstanding practice, because long before the Doctors' Building was razed, the same thing happened with the old Sears on South Grand and the old Famous-Barr at Kingshighway and Chippewa. And while the building at Washington Avenue and 14th Street was no huge loss overall, there was really no point in bringing it down since Skyhouse isn't going forward either.



Meanwhile, there are countless gas stations, car dealers, and fast food fry pits that remain standing years after they were abandoned. I'd love to be able to demolish some of those buildings and make the sites more attractive for appropriate infill, but for some reason most of them are left standing for years while other (usually historic) buildings are demolished first with questions asked later (unless you're SLU, in which case no questions are asked at all). I just don't get it.



I'd like to believe this corner is too valuable and important to sit vacant for too long. However, I thought the same about the old Southtown Famous-Barr, and it sat vacant for nearly a decade until we got a lame and half-occupied strip mall in its place, so who knows. I'll keep my fingers crossed, though, because Mills could have an easier time getting financing together for apartments than condos in this environment. Like so many other things in this economy I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Grover wrote:I've been told by a couple different people that financing is holding up this project. IMO - if and when the credit markets calm down a project like this will get built quickly. Of course there are other avenues to explore for funding as well.

Even if financing could be arranged, would this project still be given the green light in view of the units unsold at the Chase, 4545, and to a lesser extent the Park East Lofts?

I suppose, as was mentioned above, it will be easier to get credit to build rental property than condominiums.

For starters, it is rental. That alone makes it a different animal than a condo building. Second, if financing can be arranged, the only thing that could stop a project is some sort of architectural review, of which this project does not have to go through. So, if they can figure out how to do the financing, this one will go up.



In the mean time, the least they could do is pump the water out of the hole when it rains.

MattnSTL wrote:For starters, it is rental. That alone makes it a different animal than a condo building. Second, if financing can be arranged, the only thing that could stop a project is some sort of architectural review, of which this project does not have to go through. So, if they can figure out how to do the financing, this one will go up.



In the mean time, the least they could do is pump the water out of the hole when it rains.

Sorry, I didn't realize it had changed from condo/rental mix to all rentals (didn't read the STLtoday.com article until just now).



Weren't we discussing the mosquitos breeding in that water earlier? At least it's too cold for mosquitos now. Perhaps Mills considers that pit a community skate park when it freezes.

We did discuss the water, but it continues to be a problem. As of about 3:00 pm today, there is standing water from the rain earlier in the week.

that hole in the ground has been there a long time

Although the CWE is arguably the most resilient and sought after neighborhood in St. Louis City I do worry about it becoming saturated with rental property. First there was a slight over confidence in the condominium market that may have turned into a overestimation of the rental market in the area. There are plenty of institutions (i.e. Wash U, SLU, BJC, etc.) that support this market, but this project may be waiting to see how 3949 Lindell leases with their somewhat pricey rentals.

Just watch, the finished product will probably be a high-rise building for doctors' offices.

DeBaliviere wrote: Just watch, the finished product will probably be a high-rise building for doctors' offices.

Actually that wouldn't be a bad idea as long as there is street level retail that the neighborhood could enjoy. Medical facilities are much less vulnerable to economic downturns.

ikazy1 wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote: Just watch, the finished product will probably be a high-rise building for doctors' offices.

Actually that wouldn't be a bad idea as long as there is street level retail that the neighborhood could enjoy. Medical facilities are much less vulnerable to economic downturns.

I think he was drawing on the irony of the fact that they tore down a high-rise building for doctors' offices

Slightly OT: The Word's project update appeared in a new monthly column called "Property Assessment", which will cover local real estate news. I'll be looking forward to it every month.

I'm not sure what it means but there was some significant drilling done in multiple locations on the site this week. They used long, skinny drill bits. Maybe some soil samples? Regardless, it costs money and I doubt they want this site vacant much longer. They moved out all the paying tenants and demolished an income producing property, my thinking is they need to get a replacement up as soon as possible.



Sean