It honestly makes me want to puke that so many on here are so PRO union. Don't you see that this holds St. Louis back? Are people really that blind? Construction costs go up at least 20% with unions.. HMMMM..... No new buildings downtown in HOW many years?
^So is there anybody who actually can produce numbers on this? Can anybody tell me what it costs per square foot on average to build in St. Louis as opposed to Non Union cities. Did you get that 20% from somewhere or did you just make it up. Otherwise, I would assume it's lack of demand that's been holding St. Louis back. I don't think that if we kill the Unions, we'll become Dubai.
This thread is about the Alexa. General discussion of unions, for or against, don't belong here. Start a thread in Urban Living if it is important to anyone. And JCity, no need to puke, I don't take a hard line for or against unions, just against implying they are guilty of a serious crime without evidence.
Did you get that 20% from somewhere or did you just make it up.
Let's just say I got that figure from one of St. Louis' biggest developers. But, sure, we can continue to pretend that labor costs don't have a negative effect on new building construction. whistle......
Anyway, I noticed a construction fence in front of the Alexa, man I still like the name Chemical though. This has to be one of the best looking buildings downtown.
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Something from today's P-D:
The link: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument
Condos, offices, retail space will cohabit historic Chemical Building
By Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/10/2007
A Los Angeles-based company drawn to St. Louis in search of quality revitalization projects is about to unveil its second project in the area. Civitas Development is developing the 17-story Alexa, formerly known as the Chemical Building, into condominiums and office and retail space.
Civitas bought the building in January 2006 for about $6 million.
Designed in 1896, the 180,000-square-foot building at 777 Olive Street was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Plans call for 7,000 square feet of retail and 13,000 square feet of office space on the first three floors of the Alexa and condominiums on the remaining 14 floors.
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Before the Alexa project, Civitas redeveloped the Meridian Building, formerly the A.D. Brown building, at 1136 Washington Avenue, into a $30 million condo and retail project. The company bought the building in December 2004, and of the 95 for-sale units in the 190,000-square-foot project, Fundoukos said, four are left.
The link: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument
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Did anyone else go to the grand opening last night?
They had a pretty good crowd there. The demo unit was nice, definitely a condo not a loft.
They had a pretty good crowd there. The demo unit was nice, definitely a condo not a loft.
i was there with my wife and a couple friends. definitely very nice. some great views and lots of character.
By far one of the most beautiful buildings in St. Louis.
What are your thoughts on the building being half apartments??
What are your thoughts on the building being half apartments??
Where does it state that half of the building consists of apartments?fireman wrote:By far one of the most beautiful buildings in St. Louis.
What are your thoughts on the building being half apartments??
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DeBaliviere wrote:Update from the P-D:
DOWNTOWN REHAB: Chemical Building gets $1 million in credits
03/02/2007
The Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded $1 million in brownfield redevelopment credits for the Chemical Building, a 17-story building at 721 Olive Street in downtown St. Louis. Civitas Development, the Los Angeles-based owner of the building, is planning a $22 million rehabilitation for mixed use, including retail on the first floor and apartments and condos above it.
The building, which will be renamed The Alexa, needs massive environmental cleanup, officials said. The owner also is seeking between $5 million and $6 million in state and federal historic tax credits for the renovation.
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Has anyone had an opportunity to check out the display unit? The wife and I were down there Sunday and were blown away. Not only is it my favorite building downtown, the display was BY FAR the best I've seen. The shocking part was that almost everything in the unit was standard. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time.
Someone buy my house so I can move downtown!!
Someone buy my house so I can move downtown!!
Blues16 wrote:Has anyone had an opportunity to check out the display unit? The wife and I were down there Sunday and were blown away. Not only is it my favorite building downtown, the display was BY FAR the best I've seen. The shocking part was that almost everything in the unit was standard. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time.
I was not impressed with it.
Compared with all the other lofts/condos, it has by far the lowest ceilings. (standard 9/10 feet?) When you see the others with 11-14 feet you get blown away.
Also that models "2 bedroom", well the 2nd bedroom is VERY small.
Overall.. just compared with everything it doesn't stand out especially with price in mind.
I do like all the closets they put in there, the windows are awesome, and the building is definitely cool/historic.
The syndicate looks very promising.
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I'm anxious to check this building out on the upcoming loft tour, as the Chemical Building has always been one of my favorite downtown buildings.
I'm still not crazy about the new name (see also The Laurel), and I hope the developers will accommodate Dooley's Ltd. They serve a great burger, and they've been in the same spot for nearly 40 years, sticking it out in downtown when few other business owners would or could make that kind of commitment.
I'm still not crazy about the new name (see also The Laurel), and I hope the developers will accommodate Dooley's Ltd. They serve a great burger, and they've been in the same spot for nearly 40 years, sticking it out in downtown when few other business owners would or could make that kind of commitment.
ThreeOneFour wrote:...I'm still not crazy about the new name (see also The Laurel)...
At least "The Laurel" honors the history of downtown as Laurel is a previous name of Washington Avenue. "Alexa" is just made up.
I like the name "The Laurel" and as 314 indicated it has some history...on subject this building Alexa has to be one of my favorites with regard to detail
I was much more impressed with the Alexa than the Syndicate.
According to the realtor who showed us the display, Dooley's will be vacating the Chemical.
According to the realtor who showed us the display, Dooley's will be vacating the Chemical.
ThreeOneFour wrote:I'm anxious to check this building out on the upcoming loft tour, as the Chemical Building has always been one of my favorite downtown buildings.
I'm still not crazy about the new name (see also The Laurel), and I hope the developers will accommodate Dooley's Ltd. They serve a great burger, and they've been in the same spot for nearly 40 years, sticking it out in downtown when few other business owners would or could make that kind of commitment.
Really, the bottom line is profit margin...commitment has little to do with it... anyone will have commitment as long as they are making a profit...if not... they're out of there. Not to dis dooley's, I'm glad they could stay...more power to them.
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Had a chance to see the display and building this weekend. Agree that the display looks very nice. Love the bay windows! And loved having windows in the bathrooms. The southwest side of the building is definitely the side of choice as views suffer a bit on the other sides.
What I did not like was that there is no additional storage, laundry rooms are barely big enough to fit a stacked unit in and looks like no potential to purchase a second parking spot inside the building.
This will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. They are saying late 2008 or early 2009 for delivery.
What I did not like was that there is no additional storage, laundry rooms are barely big enough to fit a stacked unit in and looks like no potential to purchase a second parking spot inside the building.
This will be a nice addition to the neighborhood. They are saying late 2008 or early 2009 for delivery.
We're seriously considering reserving a unit in the Alexa within the next couple of weeks, and would welcome any feedback or experiences anyone else has had.
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Blues16 wrote:According to the realtor who showed us the display, Dooley's will be vacating the Chemical.
Did the realtor say whether or not Dooley's will remain downtown?
Blues16 wrote:We're seriously considering reserving a unit in the Alexa within the next couple of weeks, and would welcome any feedback or experiences anyone else has had.
The Laurel opens on Thursday the 27th - from what I've seen in the windows of their sales center, it seems like it would be worth looking at before going to contract on anything.
Vacating when? Just curious.Blues16 wrote:According to the realtor who showed us the display, Dooley's will be vacating the Chemical.
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Blues16 wrote:Has anyone had an opportunity to check out the display unit? The wife and I were down there Sunday and were blown away. Not only is it my favorite building downtown, the display was BY FAR the best I've seen. The shocking part was that almost everything in the unit was standard. I highly recommend checking it out if you have the time.
Someone buy my house so I can move downtown!!
I was blown away as well- The Alexa was my favorite building on the tour with The Laurel as a very close second.
This building has so much character outside, and fortunately, that's made it to the inside as well. There are killer views from those bay windows, which add much character to the space. The moldings and built-ins were also impressive, and there was a remarkable amount of storage space inside the unit.
The standard features are impressive as are the many concierge services offered. I especially like the car wash/detailing service. My ride doesn't have a fancy badge, but it's new and I like to keep it clean!
Someone buy my house (and give me another substantial loan) so I can move downtown!
(Since I have a four year-old, I need as much room as possible! I'll probably need that 4BR unit, which is way too much for me but still a reasonable deal for someone looking to move downtown that needs or wants copius amounts of space!)