urbanSTL

stlmizzoutiger wrote:

ricke002 wrote:

throatybeard wrote:I say put a little artificial lake there and see if Albert can hit balls into it.

That has now been relocated to the NE corner of Pine & Euclid. It would have to be a pretty long shot, but with a decent wind....

Are they planning on building anything there? How about Park East Lofts Version 2.0?

Yes they are. The Citywalk on Euclid

They were planning something, but the project has since stalled. Here's the link: City Walk on Euclid (Mills Properties) - Euclid @ West Pine

Law firm Polsinelli Shughart will consolidate its St. Louis offices to the Deloitte Building, on Fourth Street, in a move that’s welcome news for downtown’s office market but a loss to the city’s largest proposed development, Ballpark Village.





MORE HERE

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory4.html

^

This is great news. Their commitment to downtown is more important than their commitment to any one building.

^I agree completely. Also shows that there is space to be had downtown, although we definitely need more.

Very exciting news for the City. Good for Polsinelli Shughart!! I hope it's not the death knell for BPV. I guess we'll have to hope Stifel can fill a building by itself.

A couple of Ballpark Village office towers could have been built and filled by now #-o

This is great news. This helps to absorb a little bit of Class A office space downtown, and adds a new growing law firm downtown. They could have just as easily (but not as cheaply) consolidated in Clayton.



The scope and timeframe of new office space in BPV is anyone's guess right now. I wish there was a developer that would propose a nice new ~30 story Class A office tower in the downtown area. It sure seems like there is demand if it could be built and timed for the market correctly.

DeBaliviere wrote:^

This is great news. Their commitment to downtown is more important than their commitment to any one building.

I agree to an extent. It is great that they are consolidating into downtown, but new buildings need to be erected. It shows promise for the downtown area not only to citizens in StL, but also people and businesses looking at STL as a possible location for relocation. BPV is a prime spot that is easily viewable when entering or leaving STL on 40. An entire empty block in a highly visible area does not speak well of our city.

Zundo wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote:^

This is great news. Their commitment to downtown is more important than their commitment to any one building.

I agree to an extent. It is great that they are consolidating into downtown, but new buildings need to be erected. It shows promise for the downtown area not only to citizens in StL, but also people and businesses looking at STL as a possible location for relocation. BPV is a prime spot that is easily viewable when entering or leaving STL on 40. An entire empty block in a highly visible area does not speak well of our city.

On the plus side, it reduces the vacancy rate of downtown's existing Class A buildings, making it easier to "sell" the idea of new construction to developers and banks.

DeBaliviere wrote:

Zundo wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote:^

This is great news. Their commitment to downtown is more important than their commitment to any one building.

I agree to an extent. It is great that they are consolidating into downtown, but new buildings need to be erected. It shows promise for the downtown area not only to citizens in StL, but also people and businesses looking at STL as a possible location for relocation. BPV is a prime spot that is easily viewable when entering or leaving STL on 40. An entire empty block in a highly visible area does not speak well of our city.

On the plus side, it reduces the vacancy rate of downtown's existing Class A buildings, making it easier to "sell" the idea of new construction to developers and banks.

Another good point. However, I think my real problem is most of the job growth and development just seems to be shifting from one portion of the metro area to another. We don't seem to generate anything truly "new". Again, I love that they are moving the whole company downtown. It think it is a good thing, but we need to compete against cities in the midwest and the nation. I just don't see it yet.



Feeding off your idea, if we can continue to get companies to move from the suburbs into downtown, then people from outside St. Louis might see it as vibrant and want to come. I do feel that the school system will have to be addressed before that happens though.

We might not be able attract a new firm to the area immediately. But, we do have a very successful and expanding firm that has faith in St. Louis and downtown from what I can tell. Find an article today about Stifel in todays Stl Biz journals news update.



http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stor ... aily3.html



Stifel Financial Corp. said Monday that, per its previously announced agreement, it expects its principal operating subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc., will acquire 55 branches from the UBS Wealth Management Americas network.





I think it is paramount for Slay and Gov. Nixon to make some Class A office space happen soon. Gov. Nixon should be asking Missouir High Finance board to quit delaying their vote on BPV. If not BPV, what resources can throw at Kevin McGowan to build a mixed use tower as a signature infill in the Cupples Warehouse development

Well, there is certainly demand for high-rise Class A office space in St. Louis. Currently Centene Corp., Brown Shoe, Montgomery Bank, Apex Oil, and Koman Properties all are in the process of proposing/building high-rise office space. Of course, this is all in Clayton.



What a shame that the city can't attract even some of this development downtown. These companies could provide for 3-4 new 20+ story Class-A office buildings in the downtown area.



I would love to get the owners of all these companies together and ask them what the primary reasons are for not building downtown and rather in Clayton.

^While I agree that Clayton strengthens the metro as a whole, I think it's exactly this type of thinking that results in new buildings in Clayton instead of downtown.

^^ People chose to build/locate in Clayton because it's clean, safe, and convenient to west county and the St. Louis county seat/courts. Downtown St. Louis has come a long way in the last decade, but there is still work to be done. You can't blame Clayton for the runaway meatball that WAS downtown st. louis from 1950-1998.

^ and ^^ Sucks when your points are proved completely invalid (as mine usually are).

I think location is very valid point particular to this region. Being a two state region with weak central planning has made Clayton advantageous just on infrastructure reasons alone. Heck, the time to get to the airport on I-170 is a ridiculus 10-15 minutes door to door tops.



As far as BPV, their is good reason why downtown is favorable. A large block of coninuous space with the area's number one attraction next door. That is not possible in Clayton. Second, the new MRB will right the ship in my mind for roadway and bridge infrastructure. Third, any expansion of metrolink in either MO or IL favors this development.

Looks like the Ball Park Village softball field is taking shape. I noticed dugouts, bleachers and a backstop today.



Not that I expected Heine Meine or anything, but the field is horribly underwhelming. The dugouts and bleachers seem particularly small and cheap.



Not impressed....