urbanSTL

Ballpark Village is a strange deal. Personally I am not attracted to this sort of development at all (I travel to KC every month for work and P&L is the last place on my list of things to do there). However, if you follow this development the general public is very excited. While the majority of the people on this blog, myself included, would prefer to spend our time and money in STL's unique neighborhoods and original establishments, suburbanites love this type of thing. For them it is a "safe" comfortable urban experience. I truly believe it fits a niche and will serve its purpose of having a segment of the population spend time and money downtown that they otherwise wouldn't have.

This development does need more though. A lot more. The only way it can separate itself from the inevitable flop of a Union Station or St Louis Centre is to add a residential and office component. This needs to happen quickly. A decade later would be to late. If and when the residential component is added the real win will be if they can leverage the Cardinals brand and attract residents that would have never considered living in the city without this development.

The business journal has a several page write up on CarPark Village. The front page headline is:

"Game Changer
Will Ballpark Village Make Downtown Fun?"

Why is the BJ slamming the current downtown by claiming it isn't fun?

For Ted Drewes, I think the proof will be in the execution. Will this just be a generic "window" serving Ted Drewes concretes or will they try to recreate the look and feel of the other two locations with the white exterior, red lettering, icicles and neon sign. It they do it well it could be really cool.

Has anyone tried contacting Ted Drewes?

Seems like a big missed opportunity for everyone involved if they didn't go full service. Maybe some pressure would help.

moorlander wrote:"Game Changer
Will Ballpark Village Make Downtown Fun?"

Why is the BJ slamming the current downtown by claiming it isn't fun?

Good point. That's weird for the BJ. Usually they're big DT boosters, especially considering their offices are in the OPO. What it should have read is:"Game Changer: Will Ballpark Village Make Downtown Suck?"

I knew this was going to be a success. Companies are clamoring to be apart of this project, because they know tens of thousands of potential customers will be across the street about a quarter of the year, any investor has got to like those odds. We are also not talking about just any customer. We are talking about thousands of well off beamer driving, yoga class attending, latte loving suburban soccer moms and dads with 401ks and more than enough disposable income to keep these establishments a float, even for only 80 days a year, because on those 80 days this will be the busiest place in St. Louis. We might not like tenants or the development approach, but this thing is gonna make big money. Expect phase II announcements sooner than later. I also wouldn't be surprise of there is a hotel component before there is a residential component, this will instantly be a convention destination with the ballpark and soon to be renovated archgrounds in close proximity.

I think BPV will be a huge success. I also think this is very good for the ecosystem of downtown. People will come downtown to visit the Hall of Fame before games, they will stay for Ted Drewes after games. Out of town visitors of which there are many will visit many of the venues over their 2 or 3 days stay. Tax revenue will grow from this and I hope that the Cardinals very soon realize that their is many people clamoring for a high-end condo that looks directly into the stadium and they will begin to build units to support these interests. It has taken too long to get going but I think the next 5 years we will see that BPV will meet the goals many of us had hoped for with a multi-use entertainment, business, and housing project.

It looks good to me. I actually like that they are paying homage to the red brick construction of the Cupples Warehouses. I hope the bases of any modern towers will do the same.





Courtesty of Pasa47's Flickr

goat314 wrote:It looks good to me. I actually like that they are paying homage to the red brick construction of the Cupples Warehouses. I hope the bases of any modern towers will do the same.





Courtesty of Pasa47's Flickr

Sorry, but I think this is an embarrassing homage to Cupples Station. The building materials and design look like they are straight out of a west county Schnucks shopping center. They could've at least sprung for brick that matched Busch.

goat314 wrote:Expect phase II announcements sooner than later.

I'm surprised to see there's still any optimism around this project considering the endless delays and downsizings. That an interesting rendering of the envisioned BPV. Where'd it come from?

^ That's the final TOD plan for the stadium metrolink station.

I don't mean to be rude or confrontational, but the cynicism that's so prevalent on this thread makes me sick. This is going to be a great development downtown. The current phase of it will be good. But before long, it will be great.

GET OVER THE PARKING! It won't be there for long. It won't be. I promise. Heaven forbid they utilize the space in the meantime, though.

The Cardinals and everyone involved DO realize the upside of that land. It's why the initial plans were so promising. It's why the TOD plans look strong. This will be nice.

And in the meantime, Phase 1 should be pretty cool.

^ Unless I'm missing it, the renderings of a office/room balcony overlooking Busch Stadium for phase II seems pretty generic. Was hoping for something that offered at least what their vision was going to be.

Here are the "renderings" for Phase 2, which I'm not really sure count as renderings as they are just the views from generic interior and balcony spaces (as dredger noted). Really it's just renderings of Busch Stadium with windows placed in front of it.
Residential:

Office:

Balcony:


This is a funny one because they've ignored the fact that Phase 1 would be smack in the middle of this view, blocking the sidewalk, street and much of center field:

My fault. I didn't mean to oversell it.

I just meant it's promising that residential and office space is clearly still a priority for phase 2.

Really?

Stl BJ - Ballpark Village promises to be game changer

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/prin ... -game.html

Did anyone notice that Pujols is on the TV in the living room? I have a feeling these were from their archives, and needed to dust something off to show to the public. Hopefully someone will take interest in this though and actually follow through.

quincunx wrote:Really?

Stl BJ - Ballpark Village promises to be game changer

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/prin ... -game.html

That is actually Waino closing out the 2006 World Series.

I stand corrected, I took a closer look and you are right. Still a disappointment that no news accompanied the Phase 2 renderings, fingers crossed that we will get some big news before opening day.

jstriebel wrote:FWIW,

I just noticed that on the Ballpark Village website (stlballparkvillage.com), which has been updated recently despite still being done in flash for some reason, there actually are renderings from Phase 2, and they include office space and residential.

They must not want readers to view their plans on mobile devices. For shame.

wabash wrote:Here are the "renderings" for Phase 2, which I'm not really sure count as renderings as they are just the views from generic interior and balcony spaces (as dredger noted). Really it's just renderings of Busch Stadium with windows placed in front of it.
Residential:

Oh my God. How is that furniture standing still? That's a steep angle.