Chemical Building - 777 Olive Street

blues16 · PostAug 10, 2008#1762008-08-10T19:49+00:00

aj2cb2000 wrote:Does anyone have an update on this project? How's it moving along? It is a pretty crutial project with The Arcade not being rehabbed for the time being.

Stopped by the office this week, and the bank is being very deliberate about releasing funds to begin construction. The Alexa rep said that the city has been pushing the bank hard for this project to begin.

zink · PostDec 15, 2008#1772008-12-15T22:56+00:00

Just spied that there has been a Mechanics Lien issued against the Alexa @ 777 Olive St. for $197,555 dated 11/5/2008.

I guess the good news is that there was work being done to it. Bad news is that they forgot to pay for it

jlblues · PostDec 15, 2008#1782008-12-15T23:27+00:00

^Yeah, I heard that might happen, but I'm not sure what it means yet. It doesn't look good, but just because a contractor is anxious about getting paid in the current financial environment doesn't necessarily mean the project is dead.

jcity · PostDec 16, 2008#1792008-12-16T06:42+00:00

i REALLY hope this one happens! :hyper:

sshoe · PostDec 16, 2008#1802008-12-16T14:40+00:00

The sales office was open the other day, which was the first time I'd seen it open in maybe six months, so that may be a good indicator that they're still trying to make it work.

threeonefour · PostDec 16, 2008#1812008-12-16T15:27+00:00

I really want to see this one get done. When we went on the loft tour in the spring, it was our favorite development by far. The floorplans and amenities are great, the views are spectacular, and with the Arcade on hold, it would be nice to get some life in this area a bit sooner.

moorlander · PostDec 16, 2008#1822008-12-16T16:00+00:00

Quite possibly the most beautiful building in the CBD and and the location is excellent.

blues16 · PostDec 16, 2008#1832008-12-16T20:26+00:00

Wishful thinking...

This project is dead in the water. We got our earnest money back a couple of months ago.

brickandmortar · PostDec 16, 2008#1842008-12-16T20:36+00:00

that stinks...so we lost Dooley's for nothing

jlblues · PostDec 16, 2008#1852008-12-16T22:00+00:00

Apartments maybe?

stlcardsblues1989 · PostDec 16, 2008#1862008-12-16T23:01+00:00

Hopefully any repairs that were made will help stable the building for a couple more years while it sits empty.

bprop · PostDec 16, 2008#1872008-12-16T23:29+00:00

That would be a good spot for additional Post Office Plaza parking, maybe a surface lot?

urbanpioneer · PostDec 17, 2008#1882008-12-17T00:55+00:00

bprop wrote:That would be a good spot for additional Post Office Plaza parking, maybe a surface lot?

Now, now. Don't give anyone any misguided ideas! They may just take you up on it.

vollum · PostDec 17, 2008#1892008-12-17T22:38+00:00

blues16, Did you request your earnest money back, or did the developer, just terminate your reservation/contract and give you and others their money back? If it was the former, the project may not be quite dead in the water. If it was the latter, than for sure it is dead for now.

blues16 · PostDec 18, 2008#1902008-12-18T15:17+00:00

We requested our money back, and thankfully they consented. I do know for a fact, that 3 other units under contract also requested back their deposits. I was looking forward to living downtown, I just couldn't wait an indefiinite amount of time for them to move forward with the project. So, we bought in Soulard instead...what a buyers market!!

MattnSTL · PostDec 18, 2008#1912008-12-18T15:55+00:00

Blues16 wrote:We requested our money back, and thankfully they consented. I do know for a fact, that 3 other units under contract also requested back their deposits. I was looking forward to living downtown, I just couldn't wait an indefiinite amount of time for them to move forward with the project. So, we bought in Soulard instead...what a buyers market!!

Than you really should have worded your post differently. You gave the idea that everyone got their money back and the project is officially dead. We know that it is not officially dead because people have been in the sales office and you had to request your money back. I'm not saying that the project will happen, but it is officially still on.

My personal bet is that this ends up as some form of combination of apartments and condos, if not all apartments. But maybe they will be able to sell enough condos to make a go of it. It certainly is a nice product, but it may be too much at the wrong price.

debaliviere · PostDec 18, 2008#1922008-12-18T16:28+00:00

MattnSTL wrote:My personal bet is that this ends up as some form of combination of apartments and condos, if not all apartments. But maybe they will be able to sell enough condos to make a go of it. It certainly is a nice product, but it may be too much at the wrong price.

They might want to consider expanding the office component as well.

MattnSTL · PostDec 18, 2008#1932008-12-18T16:37+00:00

^That would be a good idea.

gone corporate · PostJan 24, 2009#1942009-01-24T20:16+00:00

Post-Dispatch has an article this weekend comparing & contrasting the Arcade & Alexa/Chemical Building, and how both have had to deal with the destruction of the credit markets.

Quote from Rob McRitchie, a partner in Civitas Development:

I can say for 100 percent certain the project is not dead... I work on it every day. That baby is going.

Source: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument

innov8ion · PostJan 25, 2009#1952009-01-25T17:21+00:00

^ I talked with Rob the other day. They just need to get financing.

goat314 · PostJan 25, 2009#1962009-01-25T18:18+00:00

^ Well hopefully when they banks start lending again, like they were supposed to after getting hundreds of billions. We will see a lot of these stalled projects get off the ground.

steve · PostSep 16, 2009#1972009-09-16T17:40+00:00

Is this back on? I've noticed workers--women in pant-suits and and men in helmets and jeans--going in and out of this place (albeit sporadically). Anyone have any news?

Alex Ihnen · PostSep 16, 2009#1982009-09-16T23:59+00:00

^ yep - somethings happening.

brody · PostSep 17, 2009#1992009-09-17T02:53+00:00

Awesome! Love this building.

debaliviere · PostSep 17, 2009#2002009-09-17T12:56+00:00

Grover wrote:^ yep - somethings happening.

Pantsuits mean business.

Chemical Building - 777 Olive Street

Choose Display Mode