urbanSTL

Parking garages aren't going away any time soon; they're a necessary part of modern American life. I just wish someone in this town could figure out how to make them look nice.

Framer wrote:Parking garages aren't going away any time soon; they're a necessary part of modern American life. I just wish someone in this town could figure out how to make them look nice.

I don't think the parking garage is a necessity at all in the city. For someone in the suburbs who is visiting west county mall, the parking garage is necessary because driving is virtually the only mode of transportation.



But in a high rise in the city? There are so many other ways to get around. So many ways that are more environmentally "friendly" and more efficient and take up so much less space. (Walking? Taxi? Bus? Metro? Bike?) I know parking garages aren't going away any time soon, but I'm just wondering how long we're going to keep building them when it seems, to me, that the very fact that we are building them is contributing to the need to build more.

^ That idea is not practical in the least when public transit is poor.

I don't think the parking garage is a necessity at all in the city. For someone in the suburbs who is visiting west county mall, the parking garage is necessary because driving is virtually the only mode of transportation.

I think this is a bit unrealistic. Even in the largest cities there are parking garages for commuters. Some people just won't take public transportation and whether I like it or not, someone is going to accommodate them with parking.



And, unfortunately, the parking garage is a necessity in STL. The city is looking more like the suburbs with each demolition, so....I mean even a lot/most city residents drive to work even if they work in the city. Maybe they didn't when STL had trolley's etc., but we know how that turned out.

So many ways that are more environmentally "friendly" and more efficient and take up so much less space. (Walking? Taxi? Bus? Metro? Bike?

While I agree with you, this is a perfect world scenario where people think about the bigger picture and not just about themselves....or where these options are readily available to them and it makes sense to use them.

Moorlander wrote:For some people autos are a mode of transportation. For others they are a hobby and/or form of entertainment and for others they are an extention of their ego. I know many people who have cars for work and cars for play.

And that's why I'm not surprised when some people living downtown want two, even three parking spaces. My cars get me from Point A to Point B just fine, but they're also a form of entertainment. And someday I want to have a car just for weekend drives and whatnot, so if I lived downtown I would want two spaces. I know it's counter to my urban sensibilities in the eyes of some, but I've always loved cars, and I always will.



I think Framer is right. We really cannot (and probably shouldn't) prevent new garages from being built, but developers could certainly do more to improve upon the aesthetics of most garages. I think my least favorite new garage, aside from the hideous Plain Jane concrete structure behind Cupples Station facing the highway is the one at Seventh and Olive streets. The street level looks fine, but why did someone think it was necessary to put wheels in the open areas on the second level?

ntbpo wrote:Would be nice if we could finish these garages and then put a freeze on parking developments-atleast until some new residential and/or office space is constructed. I'm fearing the day that a new garage is going to be proposed at the corner of Wash and Tucker.

That, to me, is a reasonable suggestion. It's been years since I've seen a study of parking in downtown St. Louis, but it's never been anything but abundant as long as I can remember. Furthermore, it's quite inexpensive when compared to other major cities to park in our downtown. I think a moratorium would be great as long as no new major structures are built. It would at least provide time to develop a comprehensive parking plan and address aesthetic issues.



That said, I don't hold out much hope for this project based on the rendering, although I'll reserve final judgment until we know whether the updated rendering is close to the final product we'll see. I just expect it won't look nearly as good as the building that combined parking with the Cityside condos, and I know the city will do nothing to address any aesthetic concerns people may have.

innov8ion wrote:^ That idea is not practical in the least when public transit is poor.

"olvidarte"]this is a perfect world scenario where people think about the bigger picture and not just about themselves....or where these options are readily available to them and it makes sense to use them.

True, but as long as parking garages continue to go up and we continue to dedicate massive space to car storage, there won't be any big push to improve other modes of transport. People will simply continue to do what they do because they can.



I don't want every parking garage to disappear, of course. We have to have parking structures for tourists driving in from other cities, and we have to have parking structures for commuters coming in from the suburbs. But otherwise, I just see them as sucking vitality from the downtown, in that they often have no street-level relation to pedestrians (this garage in this development does, thankfully) and they encourage people not to use modes of transport that would otherwise be beneficial for our downtown and the city.

An update on this project is included in an article about the apartment market in the Post today:



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

innov8ion wrote:^ That idea is not practical in the least when public transit is poor.

Is it really "poor" in downtown St. Louis?



Downtown has the best transit service of any city neighborhood, including several MetroLink stations that connect directly to the CWE, Loop amd Trader Joe's.

ecoabsence wrote:

innov8ion wrote:^ That idea is not practical in the least when public transit is poor.

Is it really "poor" in downtown St. Louis?



Downtown has the best transit service of any city neighborhood, including several MetroLink stations that connect directly to the CWE, Loop amd Trader Joe's.

I could have been more descriptive. I didn't intend to describe downtown mass transit as poor. But I'm of the belief that the region's mass transit as a whole has much room for improvement. Of course, I haven't really studied this in detail especially as compared with other cities so take it with a grain of salt. I leave that up to more knowledgeable people. That's it in a nutshell.

“It’s the only game in town now,” said Steve Smith, principal of development and architectural firm The Lawrence Group. Smith is pursuing a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan for his $120 million redevelopment of the Park Pacific building downtown.



HUD loans have not been widely used for financing new construction or rehab of commercial properties in St. Louis, as developers opted for conventional financing, which requires less up front money and less detailed information in the loan application. “There have been so many options for developers to consider before, from banks to thrifts, everyone was lending money” said Gershman Mortgage Senior Vice President Mark Unangst. Clayton-based Gershman Mortgage is The Lawrence Group’s lender on the HUD insured loan for Park Pacific and Connecticut-based Spinnaker Cos.’ lender on its $150 million redevelopment of the former Dillard’s building at 601 Washington Ave.



http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory7.html

Moorlander wrote:“It’s the only game in town now,” said Steve Smith, principal of development and architectural firm The Lawrence Group. Smith is pursuing a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan for his $120 million redevelopment of the Park Pacific building downtown.



HUD loans have not been widely used for financing new construction or rehab of commercial properties in St. Louis, as developers opted for conventional financing, which requires less up front money and less detailed information in the loan application. “There have been so many options for developers to consider before, from banks to thrifts, everyone was lending money” said Gershman Mortgage Senior Vice President Mark Unangst. Clayton-based Gershman Mortgage is The Lawrence Group’s lender on the HUD insured loan for Park Pacific and Connecticut-based Spinnaker Cos.’ lender on its $150 million redevelopment of the former Dillard’s building at 601 Washington Ave.



http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory7.html

This is encouraging. I wonder if the Alexa developers are looking into HUD loans as well. Per DeBaliviere's blog, which cited the Post-Dispatch, that project is alive and well despite rumors to the contrary (and it looks like it will feature rentals instead of condominiums).



I don't know about Kevin McGowan's properties in St. Louis, but as it's been noted elsewhere on these forums, he is looking into HUD loans for the conversion of the former Heer's department store in downtown Springfield, Mo. into rental units and two levels of retail space.



Anything that gets all of the above developments moving forward in this economy is a step in the right direction.

Park Pacific parked, for now



Financing problems have, for now, tripped up another downtown St. Louis project.



This time it’s the Lawrence Group’s housing-and-office rehab of the former Missouri Pacific Railroad headquarters at 13th and Olive streets.



Brownfield credits paid for interior demolition work and asbestos abatement at its Park Pacific project. But until construction financing is wrapped up, work on the $120 million project is stalled. The delay is the work of the usual culprit: turmoil in the credit markets. David Ohlemeyer, a Lawrence Group principal, says the company hopes to complete in the next month or so a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.





MORE

Gone Corporate, I would disagree that PD screams the word Fail. They are simply stating facts true to this project. Driving past the Park Pacific with the chain link fence, construction trailers and absolutely no activity screams the word fail at the moment. Put up a few signs and banners. Put a full size advertisement in the PD. The Developer need to scream out what their going to build.



I'm actually fearful of the comment that HUD is the only game in town. That is very telling sign of how tough the finance/bond market is right now.

Dredger wrote:I'm actually fearful of the comment that HUD is the only game in town.

Going back to Kevin McGowan's comments about his aforementioned project in Springfield, that's the impression I get.



He says he literally searched the world for financing before coming to that conclusion. It's scary that HUD may actually be the only option for developers to move forward with some of these projects in times like these.

so what types of restrictions are on a HUD loan vs more traditional financing options?

I would think that this project would be a good one for HUD to step in on based on what has been accomplished to date as well as the use of tax credits. It even has an office tenant ready to lease space. I would also hope that HUD could expediate their process in lieu of the lending/credit crisis. I think one of the comments concerning HUD loans was the time period to process, accept and close out a loan.



Other projects, like Ballpark Lofts with a very strong sales record, also seem like a good candidate for HUD. Throw in the Laural and you truly got some great downtown projects that HUD can help make happen.

LarsonAllen LLP, the 11th largest accounting firm in the area with 45 local CPAs, announced plans a year ago to move from Town & Country to Lawrence Group’s Park Pacific development. However, Lawrence Group has not yet secured financing for its $120 million plan to redevelop the former Union Pacific Railroad headquarters building at 13th and Olive streets into apartments and office space.



LarsonAllen Principal Scott Engelbrecht said he still plans to move the firm downtown in June 2010. “Right now we’re somewhat up in the air because Park Pacific hasn’t gotten their financing secured,” Engelbrecht said. “We’re going downtown. Downtown continues to be the primary epicenter for the community. It’s more central to all of our clients, and from a hiring perspective, we think it will help us because it will open us up to the Illinois employee market.”

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory7.html

Good to know they plan to move downtown no matter what the status of the Park Pacific may be.

Anyone have any updates about the construction loan for this place? It's been idle for over a month now.

funding in place!



Park Pacific gets $56 million HUD loan

St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown



The Lawrence Group’s stalled redevelopment of the Park Pacific building downtown failed to get traction as a condo development but now has financing in place for a $109 million conversion to apartments, offices and retail space.

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory6.html

Moorlander wrote:funding in place!



Park Pacific gets $56 million HUD loan

St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown



The Lawrence Group’s stalled redevelopment of the Park Pacific building downtown failed to get traction as a condo development but now has financing in place for a $109 million conversion to apartments, offices and retail space.

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory6.html

For us without paying accounts, does it provide any details as of a timeline for construction to restart and what the Tucker side of the development will look like?

metzgda wrote:For us without paying accounts, does it provide any details as of a timeline for construction to restart and what the Tucker side of the development will look like?

Lawrence Group CEO Steve Smith said in the article that he plans on closing on financing in January, starting construction in February, and completing the project by Summer 2011. Bids will go out to five pre-qualified contractors the first week of December.