urbanSTL

Does anyone know if a date has been set where the state's Development Finance Board will give final approval of this project? It's supposed to happen this month, but I haven't seen a specific day mentioned.

I have heard from a credible source that BPV will not be breaking ground until March 08. They still have not secured outside financing for the project but hope to have done so by October. I was also told that they are contemplating condos at prices around $400/sf.

I don't blame them for waiting. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've noticed that the financial system is extremely volatile.



Friends of mine that work at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are reporting that tensions are running extremely high.



Certainly Goldman and JP Morgan may not directly correlate to this particular project, but the financial markets are not exactly ripe for these types of projects.



This is true regardless of perceived demand.



I found this article from James Cramer, in the latest issue of New York, quite informative, even if he can be a bit of a blowhard:

http://nymag.com/news/businessfinance/bottomline/35813/

So I assume this puts the 2009 All Star Game in St. Louis at risk?

dweebe wrote:So I assume this puts the 2009 All Star Game in St. Louis at risk?

I was told that they are still using the All Star game as their target completition date. Whether or not that is realistic is the question.

At this point, I couldn't care less about the completion date - I'm more concerned about the start date. Get the damn thing started!

Unless they're building the thing out of legos or Lincoln logs - I highly doubt that they will have anything complete by the all star game if they're waiting until March of 08 to get started ...



i know - its a run-on sentence.

The all star game is not at risk. It will be here no matter if theyre finished or not. Sorry, if you were trying to ask if the finish date of the all star game was at risk. I couldnt really tell.

When it is stated that the first phase is to include the bases for possible towers, what exactly does that mean? Does this mean we are getting the foundation/piling work in place for future towers during the first phase? The term "bases" is pretty vague. If this does indeed include the foundation work, caissons, etc. for the towers, I would think it would be fairly safe to expect some towers fairly soon after the completion of phase 1. This is important because the foundations for buildings such as towers would run in somecases almost 1/3 of the total budget. (aka as close to a done deal on towers as you can get)

newstl2020 wrote:When it is stated that the first phase is to include the bases for possible towers, what exactly does that mean? Does this mean we are getting the foundation/piling work in place for future towers during the first phase? The term "bases" is pretty vague. If this does indeed include the foundation work, caissons, etc. for the towers, I would think it would be fairly safe to expect some towers fairly soon after the completion of phase 1. This is important because the foundations for buildings such as towers would run in somecases almost 1/3 of the total budget. (aka as close to a done deal on towers as you can get)

Aren't a couple of the parking garages around Busch Stadium bases for possible towers?

^

The Kiener Plaza garages supposedly are.

metzgda wrote:Does anyone know if a date has been set where the state's Development Finance Board will give final approval of this project? It's supposed to happen this month, but I haven't seen a specific day mentioned.

Ballpark Village still seeking $115M subsidy

The Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) has put Ballpark Village on its Aug. 21 agenda.



Last month, during MDFB's regular monthly meeting in Jefferson City, Mo., the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) recommended that the first phase of the Ballpark Village project receive $26.8 million for the first of two funding components, according to Chase Martin of Cordish Co.



...continued

Looks like we should know more on the 21st.

Jrathert -



Thanks for the relevant information! I now know the next time I need to check back on here...

^ Hopefully the state won't find another reason to stall. This crap has taken long enough already.

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ Hopefully the state won't find another reason to stall. This crap has taken long enough already.

hopefully it will be open in time for the All-Star game, but drastically scaled back.

Kansas City gets a big wet sloppy kiss from USA Today and their travel section. Cordish is the other gal in the threesome with numerous quotes about how great they are.



http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinat ... ewal_N.htm

Kansas City: Modest metropolis in midst of mighty renewal



By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Reed Cordish has watched one city center after another make a comeback over the past two decades. Indeed, his family's firm, the Cordish Co., is credited with reviving several of them, including downtown Baltimore, where it developed the now-vibrant Inner Harbor.

But he has never seen a city blossom quite like this one.



"What's remarkable is it's all happening so quickly," says Cordish, looking across a sea of construction cranes from his company's 30th-floor offices. "What you see happening this year in Kansas City is what you'd see happening in other cities over 20 years."



Early next year, the Cordish Co. will cut the ribbon on the Power & Light District, a massive redevelopment of a nine-square-block chunk of Kansas City's long-dilapidated downtown. Like Baltimore's Inner Harbor, it will feature restaurants, bars, shops and live entertainment.



But the $850 million project is only one piece of a citywide makeover that is adding to the allure of a destination already well known for jazz clubs and barbecue.



Not far from the nearly complete Power & Light District, Cordish points out a major construction site that will house the $326 million Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, scheduled for completion in 2009. Off in another direction is the $276 million Sprint Center, an 18,500-seat arena for concerts and sporting events opening in October with a concert by Elton John. And next door is the new College Basketball Experience, including the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, also opening in October.



continues...



Despite such new museums and other attractions, the city's core area has continued to struggle — at times almost appearing abandoned. But that, too, is changing, Cordish says.



"This time next year, it's going to be so active and full of life, you won't believe it," says the developer, pointing out everything from historic theaters under renovation to the site where his company is building a hipsters' bowling lane. "It's going to feel like a big city should."

Looks like all of Cordish's engergy is going into KC. I wonder if they'll be as enthusiastic about the Ballpark Village?

^of course they will be. It's KC turn. When our project is up, running and nearing completion I bet you a dime to a donut that STL will get a similar USA Today write-up! This was Cordish driven, IMO.

Did Cordish themselves write that?



Creepy!

matguy70 wrote:Did Cordish themselves write that?



Creepy!

Why creepy? Do you think Cordish gets involved in projects it thinks will flop? Lets wait a year and see what's going on there. I hope it's everything he says it will be because Cordish is our best hope for success in St. Louis, too.

You seem to be making an assumption that Cordish is overloaded. I don't think we have the insider knowledge to make that determination. Cordish isn't the risk here, completing the financing is. If anything makes the schedule slip with Cordish, it will be because of that.

innov8ion wrote:You seem to be making an assumption that Cordish is overloaded. I don't think we have the insider knowledge to make that determination. Cordish isn't the risk here, completing the financing is. If anything makes the schedule slip with Cordish, it will be because of that.

I think you're right. Not that it couldn't happen, but a business the size of Cordish must determine up front whether they have the resources to handle a project and they wouldn't knowingly get involved if they didn't think they had those resources.

Remember, Cordish is not making any money just sitting on this land with no development.

^There are also something like 837 members of the Cordish family that need to be kept busy...

innov8ion wrote:Cordish isn't the risk here, completing the financing is.

Aren't the two closely related?