urbanSTL

I'm glad they're trying to maintain height; this site fills a gaping hole in the skyline. Original render:

I agree. It will fill a nice hole. Higher ceilings are always nice too.

I know the views aren't what they want here, but I have to say that this would be a perfect fit for the unnecessary 1 story or low rise portion of the Millennium site. Hopefully something comes along for that lot.

I thought it was interesting how this project appeared on the front cover of this month's Concrete Council's newsletter. Below is the short blurb they wrote about it. They say it will be completed in late 2020, but there's no way that's correct. They may have been using old information from last year.

PROJECT SUMMARY
300 South Broadway will be a 32 Floor apartment
tower at the corner of Clark and Broadway in Downtown
St. Louis. It will have views into Busch Stadium
and of the surrounding area. The tower will top out at
337 feet tall and will be 10 feet taller than the neighboring
One Cardinal Way tower at Ballpark Village.
This building replaces a late 1800s structure that
was formerly home to St. Louis Community College.
300 South Broadway will be the third tallest Residential
Building in the City upon its completion in late
2020. HDA is the architect for the project. We have
promoted concrete construction to HDA over the
years and they have advised us that the building will
utilize concrete construction when it is built. We calculate
around 42,000 cubic yards of concrete will be
used on this project.

The Mayor wrote: ↑

Feb 07, 2019

^ That's definitely old information if what Chris said further up is true. Rumor has it that floors have been cut, but they'll maintain some height, going from 337 feet to 310 feet. Chris said we may here something by this month or next. Let's hope so!

The last time I talked to the team was a few weeks ago. They aren't sure about what to do at this point. And several buyers are supposedly stepping up for the existing building creating a competition of sorts price wise, but I haven't seen any sign of that. So we will see.

The Business Journal is reporting that the building is under contract.

I’ve contacted some people and know of some things. What I learned was that the new building was back in the picture but it was really vague. There are other details, just I'll wait.

chriss752 wrote:

chriss752 wrote:I’ve contacted some people and know of some things. What I learned was that the new building was back in the picture but it was really vague. There are other details, just I'll wait.

I can say that the buyer isn't from the new team but the tower is being tossed around as a possibility. More to come!

Even a residential rehab of this building would not be a loss. 

chriss752 wrote:

chriss752 wrote:I’ve contacted some people and know of some things. What I learned was that the new building was back in the picture but it was really vague. There are other details, just I'll wait.

I can say that the buyer isn't from the old team but the tower is being tossed around as a possibility. More to come!

So the buyer still has no idea what they plan on doing with this building/land?

While at the game yesterday I had imagined what it would’ve been like if this was being erected at the same time as OCW. I’m completely hoping they just rehab the building cause it is a nice building.


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The Mayor wrote:

John Coctostan wrote:

chriss752 wrote:
I can say that the buyer isn't from the old team but the tower is being tossed around as a possibility. More to come!

So the buyer still has no idea what they plan on doing with this building/land?

I think it's more likely that us UrbanSTLers don't have any idea what they want to do with it.  My guess is those that have the building under contract have some ideas, or they likely wouldn't have put it under contract.  Chris isn't at liberty to give too many details on what he's heard yet so until then we'll have to wait and see.

Hopefully it's another tower proposal somewhat close to the last one...

Agree.

Agree.

This block is surrounded by vacant or underutilized properties on three sides.  They can build a new tower here as long as they preserve the Clark St. and Broadway facades.  Otherwise, this is a prime opportunity for loft condos or apartments, and retail space, directly across the street from Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village, in one of the few intact historic blocks south of Market.

chaifetz10 wrote: In a vacuum, yes. But we have to keep in mind that those properties are owned by others.  Its not as easy as just partnering with those owners or purchasing that land.

I don't know who has the building under contract, do you?  It could very well be one of the owners of the surrounding properties.

In any case, that is not the point.  It doesn't matter who owns it, they have to demonstrate some unique concern, need or benefit to the city which can only be realized if this building is demolished.  They don't get to demolish a 120-year-old building downtown, in good condition, simply because they want to put up a tower near Busch, but all the other properties are owned by some mean ol' unfair speculators.  They want to build new, they have to pay the going rate for a buildable property, or they are SOL, same as any other developer.

It is not like there won't ever be another apartment or mixed-use high-rise tower built around Busch Stadium if demolition is denied.  It is a false choice.  If there is a market for it, it will be built...by some developer, on one of those many nearby underutilized properties, any of which would probably be cheaper in terms of construction cost anyway.  Then downtown will have (1) unique, freshly-rehabbed historic hotel, office and/or loft building, with awesome retail space directly across from Busch, AND (1) high-rise apartment or office building with views into the ballpark.  

If anything, preserving this historic block reduces the supply of Busch-adjacent properties, adding more incentive to build on the underutilized lots around it, and probably makes it more likely a new tower will rise on the Millennium  hotel property east of this block - with unobstructed views of the Arch and into Busch Stadium for the foreseeable future.

I have to agree. While a giant glass tower on the corner would be nice, one can't discount the value of this building. First it is one of the last historical buildings in the immediate area, built in the style that is perfectly complementary to Busch stadium. Plus the retail corridor that has been created on Clark, the retail space directly across the street is suddenly extremely valuable. I know Hard Rock Cafe has been looking for a new spot, where better than adjacent to BPV? I'm sure the roof is ripe for a rooftop bar of some sort. 

I think it would be hard to convert the existing building to Lofts or a Hotel due to the current layout of the building. There are only two sides with windows so unless a developer decides to carve out a portion of the center of the building for more windows, you’ll have limited space to do anything. So I don’t see the existing building doing well as Lofts or a Hotel, but I could be wrong.

^It isn't going to be easy to build a high-rise on this site, either, unless the developers acquire and demo one of the adjacent buildings from GlaxoSmith.

As for lofts or hotel, windows could be added on the top two floors on the entire south side, and possibly on the corners on the east side as well.  And many of the Washington Avenue loft buildings obviously only have windows on two sides.  This building is only about 115' on each side, so even if they couldn't find any way to put units on the southeast corner on a couple of floors, they could fill that space with corridor, common area, mechanical, elevators, exercise room, etc. pretty easily.

I would be willing to bet that any tower built would have a parking podium as tall as Tums

For the love of god, please convert this into lofts/ hotel instead of demolishing it. There is a massive lot just South on Broadway with equally good views into the stadium and of the arch. It would just be ridiculous to tear this piece of history down for a tower that could instead fill up an empty lot 100 meters away. All they have to do is cut holes for new windows, add street-level retail, remodel the interior, and sort out parking situation for future residents then bam you have yourself a smart, urban conscious development.

urbanitas wrote:^It isn't going to be easy to build a high-rise on this site, either, unless the developers acquire and demo one of the adjacent buildings from GlaxoSmith.

They had it worked out where it would've worked just fine without acquiring a neighboring building. As seen in the attached photos, the new building would fit onto the same site as the existing building and would make parking and other things work as well. 

I’m happy with either rehab or brand new. We need more life to this area of Downtown


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