I don't know what Nestle Purina's long-term plans are, but they recently signed a sizeable lease in the Bank of America Tower on Broadway.dredger wrote:I also thought, maybe speculation on part, that Nestle/Purina was looking for more space. Thought Cupples infill would be a good candidate and Koman was someone who could deliver.
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Really? That's great news. I heard Ralcorp leased more space in Bank of America Plaza on Market Street. But I hadn't heard that Nestle-Purina had leased space in the Bank of America Tower on Broadway. I didn't know Nestle-Purina had any office space outside of their campus down on Chouteau. It'd be great to see tham expand into downtown office space.
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Just checked - their lease is for 86,000 sf.wabash wrote:Really? That's great news. I heard Ralcorp leased more space in Bank of America Plaza on Market Street. But I hadn't heard that Nestle-Purina had leased space in the Bank of America Tower on Broadway. I didn't know Nestle-Purina had any office space outside of their campus down on Chouteau. It'd be great to see tham expand into downtown office space.
Great to hear. Think it is some good news for downtown considering that they pretty much had their pick of property in the region.debaliviere wrote:I don't know what Nestle Purina's long-term plans are, but they recently signed a sizeable lease in the Bank of America Tower on Broadway.dredger wrote:I also thought, maybe speculation on part, that Nestle/Purina was looking for more space. Thought Cupples infill would be a good candidate and Koman was someone who could deliver.
As for more speculation, wouldn't it be great to see the second of BofA tower go up!! Maybe another financial or securities firm.
State approves bonds, ground breaking this fall,
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt ... 0f31a.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt ... 0f31a.html
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Statement in the PD article:
More parking? Really? My gut tells me this will always be surface parking.The work also will include streets and sewers to prepare the surrounding ground for future phases, which DeWitt said had been among the prior hang-ups. But the Cardinals don't have any office or residential users lined up for those phases, and for now, that land will be used for parking.
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Mark Groth wrote:Statement in the PD article:More parking? Really? My gut tells me this will always be surface parking.The work also will include streets and sewers to prepare the surrounding ground for future phases, which DeWitt said had been among the prior hang-ups. But the Cardinals don't have any office or residential users lined up for those phases, and for now, that land will be used for parking.
Would be nice if they city made the Cardinals give all proceeds from parking on these lots to SLPS (or something else of a good cause) until something is actually built. Gives extra money to something that needs it & gives and incentive to the Cardinals to actually do something with the land and gain a legitimate revenue source.
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^^Meh. I know what you are saying and believe me I have nothing but disdain for Cordish.
However, I do believe they will be rewarded (unjustly, IMO, because they have made an absolute debacle of this) when the economy turns and lending (residential lending) begins to loosen again. This lot is just too prime in this region. My guess is that (in 5-10 years) there is at least one condo building up and functioning. Additionally, I would say that when the first major company in the region looks to update their situation from their suburban crap office campus, this will be the #1 location of choice. The visibility is just too appealing.
When these things happen, it will be good for the city due to the increased visibility of the developments, but I will never give Cordish/DeWitt any credit for this. Anything that gets done will fall into their lap.
However, I do believe they will be rewarded (unjustly, IMO, because they have made an absolute debacle of this) when the economy turns and lending (residential lending) begins to loosen again. This lot is just too prime in this region. My guess is that (in 5-10 years) there is at least one condo building up and functioning. Additionally, I would say that when the first major company in the region looks to update their situation from their suburban crap office campus, this will be the #1 location of choice. The visibility is just too appealing.
When these things happen, it will be good for the city due to the increased visibility of the developments, but I will never give Cordish/DeWitt any credit for this. Anything that gets done will fall into their lap.
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I think that the amount of prep work to make the site suitable for future construction is the total lack of infrastructure underneath what will be BPV. Back before the economy crashed under the weight of real estate, I remember how the TIF talk centered on the need to make the site able to host basic utilities, such as electricity and plumbing, that were well enough for Busch II but inadequate for a series of high rise buildings.Mark Groth wrote:Statement in the PD article:More parking? Really? My gut tells me this will always be surface parking.The work also will include streets and sewers to prepare the surrounding ground for future phases, which DeWitt said had been among the prior hang-ups. But the Cardinals don't have any office or residential users lined up for those phases, and for now, that land will be used for parking.
Going forward, I see them creating the infrastructure underground to support the construction of high rise buildings, making the site more attractive to potential developers once this need is fulfilled. Any time spent as parking should only be short-term as I anticipate DeWitt, Cordish, et.al. marketing the living hell out of this site once they're actually started building.
Addendum: Cordish, and DeWitt & Co., still have a very long way to go to win back their credibility...
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I'm curious as to whether actual progress on the site will help to spur tenant interest. I wonder if there's any possibility of additional floors being added to either of the phase I buildings.
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^my take is that there's a lot of space there...so adding floors won't happen - anyone interested could be included in future development. The more I think about BPV, the happier I am that what was first proposed did not get built. We have to have patience - a more organic, slower build out of these city blocks can become a real positive.
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I searched and found a article about a speech by Mark Lamping where he was talking about Ballpark Village way back in 2000. They had a lot of chances to get Ballpark Village going before the crash in 2008. They couldn't get it going during the boom times -- so now I think its funny that they are blaming the crash of the economy as the reason it hasn't been built yet.gone corporate wrote:I think that the amount of prep work to make the site suitable for future construction is the total lack of infrastructure underneath what will be BPV. Back before the economy crashed under the weight of real estate, I remember how the TIF talk centered on the need to make the site able to host basic utilities, such as electricity and plumbing, that were well enough for Busch II but inadequate for a series of high rise buildings.Mark Groth wrote:Statement in the PD article:More parking? Really? My gut tells me this will always be surface parking.The work also will include streets and sewers to prepare the surrounding ground for future phases, which DeWitt said had been among the prior hang-ups. But the Cardinals don't have any office or residential users lined up for those phases, and for now, that land will be used for parking.
Going forward, I see them creating the infrastructure underground to support the construction of high rise buildings, making the site more attractive to potential developers once this need is fulfilled. Any time spent as parking should only be short-term as I anticipate DeWitt, Cordish, et.al. marketing the living hell out of this site once they're actually started building.
Addendum: Cordish, and DeWitt & Co., still have a very long way to go to win back their credibility...
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Viewing the Centene garage and the windscreen, the Cardinals had better seriously look at working with the owner of the Kiener garages to liven up their exteriors. They really are a blight on the whole area and almost certainly have to be hurting the BPV project.
^Not sure I would go that dramatic, but they are such an easy area for improvement. And would have dramatic impact compared to cost.
Alex Ihnen wrote:^my take is that there's a lot of space there...so adding floors won't happen - anyone interested could be included in future development. The more I think about BPV, the happier I am that what was first proposed did not get built. We have to have patience - a more organic, slower build out of these city blocks can become a real positive.
I don't know. The original late '90s plans of a multi-block extension of the Cupples buildings would have been great for downtown both in terms of timing and form. An early 2000's development would ensure a healthy residential component while also boosting the souther side of downtown as an attractive site for businesses, particularly the numerous law firms that fled to Clayton in the last decade. A series of full block low rises would add lots of good small firm office space and might not have resulted in quite the same push for complementary parking garages.
All the same, real progress is a positive. A real magnet that can bring new jobs downtown would be a success.
A friend of mine said he can see some workers removing the outfield fence and some of the chainlink fence in BPV. Sounds like prep work might be starting? Anyone know if construction is starting soon?
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^ I wouldn't doubt it; when the state board approved the financial incentives in September the news was that work was to begin this fall with an expected opening of Spring 2014.
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^Yeah the Business Journal reported in Sept. that they were going to ground break in mid-November. So they're actually on schedule for once, believe it or not!
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... l?page=all
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... l?page=all
Will Minneapolis get its Ballpark Village before St. Louis?
______________________________________
Ballpark Village: An Outside-the-Park Home Run?
Ten years post-Twinsville, a Target Field ballpark village may finally be rising.
by Gene Rebeck
December 19, 2012
![]()
Artist's rendering of the 350 N. Fifth office tower.
A decade ago, developers Bruce Lambrecht and Rich Pogin conceived of “Twinsville,” a complex of offices, apartments, and retail space that would rise on nearly seven acres of parking lots, extending from the left-field corner of a new ballpark north to Washington Avenue. Target Field was built, of course, and Twinsville fell under the control of Texas-based developer Hines. But development was a casualty of the recession.
Now the Twinsville site is back for another at-bat. In September Hines broke ground on the Dock Street Apartments, a 185-unit complex on the Washington Avenue side of the site. In early November, Hines announced plans for a 20-story office tower on the opposite end of the site directly across from the ballpark, tentatively called 350 North Fifth, but it is dependent on securing tenants.
Source
______________________________________
Ballpark Village: An Outside-the-Park Home Run?
Ten years post-Twinsville, a Target Field ballpark village may finally be rising.
by Gene Rebeck
December 19, 2012
Artist's rendering of the 350 N. Fifth office tower.
A decade ago, developers Bruce Lambrecht and Rich Pogin conceived of “Twinsville,” a complex of offices, apartments, and retail space that would rise on nearly seven acres of parking lots, extending from the left-field corner of a new ballpark north to Washington Avenue. Target Field was built, of course, and Twinsville fell under the control of Texas-based developer Hines. But development was a casualty of the recession.
Now the Twinsville site is back for another at-bat. In September Hines broke ground on the Dock Street Apartments, a 185-unit complex on the Washington Avenue side of the site. In early November, Hines announced plans for a 20-story office tower on the opposite end of the site directly across from the ballpark, tentatively called 350 North Fifth, but it is dependent on securing tenants.
Source
That sounds like a good bet considering they were also breaking ground in early 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, & 2011.moorlander wrote:Breaking ground this month?
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Seeing as how Minneapolis appears to be a city where businesses are actually willing to lease downtown office space, I'm guessing yes.arch city wrote:Will Minneapolis get its Ballpark Village before St. Louis?
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Furthermore, why is Detroit's downtown area surrounding their athletic venues leaping ahead of us? this is getting ridiculous:
Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:DFRH) ("DRH" or the "Company"), the owner, operator, and franchisor of the unique, full-service, ultra-casual restaurant and bar Bagger Dave's Legendary Burgers Tavern ("Bagger Dave's") and one of the largest franchisees for Buffalo Wild Wings ("BWW"), announced it opened the nation's largest BWW, based on square footage, in downtown Detroit at 1218 Randolph Street on Sunday, December 23, 2012.
T. Michael Ansley, President and CEO of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, commented, "There has been so much energy and positivity surrounding the revitalization and rebuilding of downtown Detroit. We are in the process of constructing a Bagger Dave's adjacent to this BWW, further demonstrating our continued commitment to the community and our belief in the City's revitalization efforts. We believe both restaurants will be successful given their desirable location as the gateway to the Greektown Historic District and within walking distance to the Greektown Casino, Comerica Park, Ford Field and Joe Louis Arena."
Mr. Ansley continued, "This latest opening highlights DRH's successful achievement of increasing our combined number of restaurants from 28 to 45 in 2012. While this is a significant milestone for us, we are looking forward to continuing our expansion strategy throughout the Midwest in 2013."
Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:DFRH) ("DRH" or the "Company"), the owner, operator, and franchisor of the unique, full-service, ultra-casual restaurant and bar Bagger Dave's Legendary Burgers Tavern ("Bagger Dave's") and one of the largest franchisees for Buffalo Wild Wings ("BWW"), announced it opened the nation's largest BWW, based on square footage, in downtown Detroit at 1218 Randolph Street on Sunday, December 23, 2012.
T. Michael Ansley, President and CEO of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, commented, "There has been so much energy and positivity surrounding the revitalization and rebuilding of downtown Detroit. We are in the process of constructing a Bagger Dave's adjacent to this BWW, further demonstrating our continued commitment to the community and our belief in the City's revitalization efforts. We believe both restaurants will be successful given their desirable location as the gateway to the Greektown Historic District and within walking distance to the Greektown Casino, Comerica Park, Ford Field and Joe Louis Arena."
Mr. Ansley continued, "This latest opening highlights DRH's successful achievement of increasing our combined number of restaurants from 28 to 45 in 2012. While this is a significant milestone for us, we are looking forward to continuing our expansion strategy throughout the Midwest in 2013."