urbanSTL

I was informed construction on the 2nd building has stopped and the development fell through due to a lack of financing.

^

Two new tenants are eyeing space in the development. St. Louis-based financial services firm Stifel Financial Corp. is seeking to occupy 175,000 square feet of space and Kansas City-based Polsinelli is seeking to occupy 100,000 square feet of space in 2011. Martin said the first phase of Ballpark Village is between 80 and 85 percent pre-leased.



Different article, same vague info.

note in that article that there was no mention of residential.



Maybe we should start lobbying for the demolition and conversion of the parking garages...or at least the garage that looks into the stadium.

Doesn't Stifel already have a space Downtown? Are they moving out of that?

St. Louis, Cordish, Ballpark Village all lose out due to delay. St. Louis should really push for a new spec. class a office tower!



Friday, January 23, 2009

Downtown update: Cordish up, Husch out

St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown



As Ballpark Village moves forward, downtown is taking a hit in the office market with the loss of law firm Husch Blackwell Sanders, which is consolidating offices to its base in Clayton.

Having office space ready at Ballpark Village three years from now isn’t soon enough for tenants looking to move in the short term, including Husch Blackwell Sanders. The law firm is vacating 80,000 square feet of space in the Laclede Gas Building to consolidate into an existing office in Clayton.



Husch Blackwell Sanders executive board member Bob Tomaso said the lack of Class A office space downtown for the firm’s 634 attorneys propelled its move to St. Louis County. Downtown has the largest supply of contiguous blocks of space in the region, with five buildings able to accommodate tenants looking for more than 100,000 square feet of space. But none of the office space downtown is new construction. The newest high-rise office tower, Metropolitan Square at 211 N. Broadway, was built two decades ago.Husch Blackwell Sanders is moving its downtown office to The Plaza in Clayton, which was built in 2001.



St. Louis Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman said the city presented Husch Blackwell Sanders several sites downtown where the law firm could build an office tower. “We are working on a couple of new office building sites that, start to finish under the best circumstances, would take two years,” Geisman said. “They felt compelled to move before then.”



http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory1.html

Sheesh. After hearing about the fiasco regarding Cordish's Power and Light District in KC and the forever delay in breaking ground for BPV, the City needs to at least break out a parcel for a separate Class A tower if the demand is there(apparently it is or was). Let the Cardinals and Cordish hash out 10 more plans for BPV, but please allow some development to occur.



The best site IMO to split out would be across the street from the Ballpark Hilton at Broadway and Walnut. There'd be access to Stadium East next door so no large garage would be needed.

Well, looks like the same vague ballpark village info. On the Channel 5 news last night they briefly flashed some "new" renderings of the village and I just remember that what appeared to be the new office space was fairly low-rise and bland. Hopefully we get something closer to the original renderings but I wouldn't count on it. Best case this project will break ground in the fall due to the rediculously slow process of state approval.



I did find this interesting in the article however...

St. Louis Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman said the city presented Husch Blackwell Sanders several sites downtown where the law firm could build an office tower. “We are working on a couple of new office building sites that, start to finish under the best circumstances, would take two years,” Geisman said. “They felt compelled to move before then.”

It's frustrating that most law firms must be in "new" Class-A office space as opposed to renovated Class-A office space. It is amazing though that no new Class-A office space has been built downtown in 20 years. Looks like the city owns some lots they would like to have developed.



I would much rather the city have one of these other lots developed into a high-rise office building and save space in Ballpark Village for it's best use - condo development.

^ Wow a blocky, short, uninspired tower. That is just what this development needs. At least we know what to expect for the rest of the development. JUST LEAVE CORDISH!



Can You even see inside the development with that thing.

There are a lot of beautiful buildings downtown this company could move into.



I'm guessing there are other reasons they're moving to Clayton.

metzgda wrote:Well, looks like the same vague ballpark village info. On the Channel 5 news last night they briefly flashed some "new" renderings of the village and I just remember that what appeared to be the new office space was fairly low-rise and bland. Hopefully we get something closer to the original renderings but I wouldn't count on it. Best case this project will break ground in the fall due to the rediculously slow process of state approval.



I did find this interesting in the article however...

St. Louis Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman said the city presented Husch Blackwell Sanders several sites downtown where the law firm could build an office tower. “We are working on a couple of new office building sites that, start to finish under the best circumstances, would take two years,” Geisman said. “They felt compelled to move before then.”

It's frustrating that most law firms must be in "new" Class-A office space as opposed to renovated Class-A office space. It is amazing though that no new Class-A office space has been built downtown in 20 years. Looks like the city owns some lots they would like to have developed.



I would much rather the city have one of these other lots developed into a high-rise office building and save space in Ballpark Village for it's best use - condo development.

"The city dropped its requirement that Ballpark Village have a residential component in the face of the sluggish housing market."

JMedwick wrote:

metzgda wrote:Hopefully we get something closer to the original renderings but I wouldn't count on it.

It is interesting to hear people talking about the old renderings. I think it is useful to think about the initial visions put out in the late 1990's, when the BPV would have included and aquarium. Remember none of those original images included any buildings over 10 stories. Rather the BPV was to be like a six block expansion of the Cupples district eastward. The idea that it could be a site for high-rise office or residential didn't start till the second round of vision plans, which included on high-rise building in the middle of the site.



That said, it is amazing how far Cordish/ the Cardinals have gone from the original concept. Cordish seems unable or unwilling to do anything other than the most basic bar-mall concept with a concert venue in the middle. What a waste.

Yeah, I guess I should have been more clear as I was referring to the second round of renderings. I always think of those as the originals b/c the very first round you're talking about is before the ballpark was built and Cordish was involved.

metzgda wrote:Here is the office building I spoke about in my above post...





Here is a link to the KSDK Channel 5 video...

KDSK 5 Video

City Place !



If this is all the market can bear, then I guess that's what we'll get. Maybe, MAYBE, it will mean more demand for phase 2 or other developments dt. I'm fine with several block of 8-10 story buildings, but it would be nice to have one signature tower. And I aint talking a 1000 footer.

If this is all the market can bear

Obviously not since they said 90% of the office space is pre-leased and we have other firms moving out of downtown since there is no new Class-A office space.



Cordish should be doubling the size of this building to ~ 600,000 sq. ft.

Matt Drops The H wrote:I'm sorry, but the city needs to pull a Grand-'n'-Lindell with this one.



Let it sit until the market is right for true, mixed use development. Blocky, glassy office towers are too plentiful as it is.



I will repeat this for the umpteenth time:



Scrap the idea that Ballpark Village is just that grassy lot.



Further scrap the idea that this site needs immediate, wholesale development.



Do a zoning overlay. Invite citizens into a master plan process. Divide up the land. Put streets through it. Sell off some of the parcels to smaller developers who would put taverns, condos, offices, architecture/law/etc. firms...



THEN, and perhaps most importantly, use whatever money is available for the project to route some of the parking underground. Tear down the Busch stadium garages as part of the next phase if the first works out. Then develop the east side of the stadium as BPV Phase Two.



If that works, look south of I-64/40. The city should work to move along the Chouteau Lake and Greenway and Chouteau's Landing projects, which would then make it possible to redevelop the parking lot to the south of the stadium as well.



ALL of this area should be known as the Ballpark Village project.



I mean, a village needs villagers. Right?

Great idea. Well said. And the sentence in bold made me laugh. Too true.

Matt Drops The H wrote:I mean, a village needs villagers. Right?

And IMHO, the Cardinals owners and Cordish are the village idiots.

I hate to say it, but we are the village idiots. DeWitt and Cordish profits will be secured the day that the state signs off on the final round of incentives.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/letter ... /#comments



More uneducated comments with 1 or two voices of reason chiming in.

If Cordish and the Cardinals want to do something, they need to at least show some kind of construction there.



I'm all for Ballpark Village, but it is very frustrating and slow.



Still, some of the comments there are just idiotic.

here’s little nightlife, meager city life, and the city itself is a dump, save for the zoo, Forest Park, and a few other treasures from leadership that is long since gone.

Exhibit A

A short update in the Post a couple of days ago indicated that the office tower would be 20 stories.



(I'm not going to even attempt to find the link on their website)

Framer wrote:(I'm not going to even attempt to find the link on their website)

What? You mean you don't have a week to spare?



STLtoday.com may be the worst website ever in the history of the Internets.

This?

Officials said the Cardinals have agreements from tenants for about 80 percent of the project's first phase of shops, restaurants, bars and an approximately 20-story office building around a glass-roofed plaza. Construction would take about two years. A requirement to build residences in the first phase was dropped earlier.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument



I searched "Ballpark Village 20 stories" and it took about 5 seconds.



Unless you were looking for something else.