urbanSTL

DeBaliviere wrote:Right now, I'd just be happy to see signs at the site reading "Future home of Ballpark Village" to let out-of-towners know that it (hopefully) won't remain a hole in the ground for long.

I think an intelligent person would assume that.

^Well, we were talking about Cubs fans...

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

DeBaliviere wrote:Right now, I'd just be happy to see signs at the site reading "Future home of Ballpark Village" to let out-of-towners know that it (hopefully) won't remain a hole in the ground for long.

I think an intelligent person would assume that.

Based on our city's past history with vacant lots (i.e. Southtown, etc.), that might not be most people's natural assumption.



I also wouldn't overestimate the intelligence of a lot of the people that I see at most Cardinals games.

God, this is so true. I was actually taking a smoke break during a game closer to the beginning of the season, looking out over the hole when I struck up a conversation with the woman standing next to me. After awhile, she said "what are they going to do wtih that? Anything?' I told her about BPV and she was like oh, wow. She was from St. Louis and had never heard anything about it.



They really should have a sign.

I walked by the BV site today and noticed that there were crews laying asphalt in the area where the Stan Musial Statue once stood. They're probably going to turn it into a parking area is my guess.

oh you've got to be kidding me ... parking ...

I know they'll say its tempoorary but what the hell ... why not just start the damn thing. ....





and remeber - amshack was temporary.

Without having seen the area, is it possible they are creating a staging area for construction? Maybe a level place to park trailers or workers cars?

actually ... i can see the area from my office - and I don't see any paving. I just see a bunch of pick up trucks parked in one corner

Well, if they ARE paving something on that site, there are only two reasons why they would be laying asphalt. 1) Cardinals parking, or 2) Hopefully... to create a space for a sales office trailer and the related parking.



They wouldn't pave it for a staging area, they would just grade it and put gravel down.

i drove around the area after work and again - I don't see any paving.

I was at the game today and crews were definitely paving the north-east perimeter of the site before the game. Perhaps it's a new tactic the Cardinals are using to get a TIF: they'll asphalt the hell out of the lot until the city buckles under the smell.



Long time reader and first time poster by the way. Congrats on a great forum - I check it almost every day.

It won't be for Cards parking. The Cardinals have a lot just south of the stadium, partially under the highway.



And we do need more parking. Where did you expect people to walk from, Kiener? That's like, three blocks away!

trent wrote:And we do need more parking. Where did you expect people to walk from, Kiener? That's like, three blocks away!

Maybe the Cardinals should provide first aid, water, and oxygen along the way to aid those that collapse during the journey, as well as wheelchairs for obese Cardinals fans (ok, that would be a LOT of wheelchairs, but you get the idea). It might be cheaper than building a new parking lot/garage.

How about helicopter rides directly to your seat?

Well, looks like they have parking spots outlined on the pavement. I don't think this is a good sign, but I guess we will have to wait and see. Would they outline parking spots to store construction equipment/trucks/etc. . . . I doubt it.

Whats wrong with a nice new parking lot with generous landscaping instead of the ballpark village? There would be small trees and flowers and room for anyone to park there that wanted to... A perfect suburban oasis right in the middle of downtown...

DeBaliviere wrote:I don't recall ever seeing this plan:

For those curious, the parking lot was being laid in the northeast corner where the rendering shows the book store, retail, and gourmet grocery. I'm wondering if this will serve the Hilton for their valet parking. If that's the case, then the Cards are only trying to bring in a little money before construction starts.



The Cardinals are only obligated to build one block of the Village by 2009 so this part will likely be a later phase.



Here's a partial quote from a P-D article last year.

Cardinals want village where fans can eat, drink, shop, live

By Jake Wagman

Of the Post-Dispatch

06/02/2005



Ballpark Village is also a key reason the city agreed to give the Cardinals tax incentives to stay downtown. The Cardinals are obligated to finish one block of the development by 2009. If the entire Ballpark Village isn't complete by 2011, the team could owe up to $3 million a year in penalties.



The area won't be ready by the time the new Busch opens, set for Opening Day next year. Cardinals Vice President Bill DeWitt said groundbreaking won't be until later in 2006. The team owns the 12-acre site targeted for Ballpark village; Cordish and the Cardinals will be equal partners in developing the area.

^But the NE corner of the future Village right now still has a right-turn lane going from EB Walnut to SB Broadway. If following the site plan, this turn lane follows the upper right corner of the former stadium's dashed lines. The right-turn lane forming a triangle at this corner of Walnut and Broadway, the present triangle is nothing more than concrete sidewalk and an empty planting bed of fresh wood chips, Stan the Man having long been moved from this triangle to the new stadium's main entrance on South 7th. Before the team store opened over on Clark and 7th, there was a temporary team store in a trailer on this corner of Walnut and Broadway.



Is the new asphalt behind the now vacant trailer to the west along Walnut (blue areas of site plan) or even directly behind the trailer (green space on site plan)?

A thread over at insidestl.com about Memphis and Beale Street got me thinking.



Wouldn't it be interesting (and cool) if Pat O'Briens http://www.patobriens.com/ or Flying Saucers http://www.beerknurd.com/ were to put a location either at the Ballpark Village or the Landing?

Walking by the future village yesterday, I noticed that paved parking is behind the former team store trailer, to its west and southwest. If looking at the site plan in prior posts, this parking sits along the dashed line of the old stadium, from about mid-block on the southern edge of Walnut (between 7th and Broadway) to mid-block on the western edge of Broadway (between Walnut and Clark). And if looking at the site plan, this asphalt would appear to at least partly, if not fully, cover what is shown as a future pocket park near the middle of the Ballpark Village. Finally, I noticed that the lot is striped, so it's hardly a staging area for construction, since striped for somebody's parking.

southslider wrote:Finally, I noticed that the lot is striped, so it's hardly a staging area for construction, since striped for somebody's parking.

Perhaps it's a parking lot for all the construction workers who will soon begin work on the site? Which I seriously doubt is the case.

That area was already all concrete and used for parking when construction on the stadium was underway, so I'm not really sure how much to read into this besides the cardinals making use of the land. I think you all may be overreacting.

With the recent headlines in the new york daily news about the cardinals cutting payroll (http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/madden/)



Is anyone else worried that this project might be in a little bit of jeapardy considering that the cardinals will probably only contribute the minimum amount that they are responsible for developing the land given their tight pockets.

I feel like I've applied for a job - everything went well, nice people, said they'd call me, job's still on the website - but nothin'. This never turns out well.



On the optimistic side - surely someone has a dream and the $$$ for this site! There's nothing like it in the country. Busch is going to be full 82+ times a year, downtown's coming back . . . more retial/dining and another 1,000 residents would be fantastic! Then Chouteau Lake will link downtown to FP . . . I'm starting to feel like I'm not going to get a callback!