Now all Lawrence and Cortex need to do announce some tenants.
I think the bike way plan being discussed. Put that together with a new at grade Grand & Forest Park Ave intersection as an expanded Midtown/Central Corridor infrastructure improvement project. As far as metrolink not serving CWE, I would consider the # of jobs and new developments from Mills, to Koman, to Opus within walkable distance to and surrounding Euclid and the future Boyle station to be huge.
From comments over at nextstl it looks like we have a pretty decent fix on parking...
- parking would be located under the plaza... you can see a couple ped crossings over the trestle line into the Foundry
- surface parking for the market area would be on the east side of the site
- that surface parking behind the Vandeventer offices most likely would be meant for that (and maybe the residential) instead of the market along with any structured parking in the tower.
Really? Nothing can be done about the corner, but otherwise there's a good street wall, the appearance of well maintained buildings, tall placemaking tower things, and weird urban stuff inside. Semi-covered open air market with bike trestle? That's an instant landmark even if the edge isn't super dense and up to the sidewalk. This is a win, and the adaptive reuse is a bonus.
However, it is weird that there appears to be no sidewalk on Forest Park Avenue.
I expect a 30%+ increase in rent at 'The Standard'. You'll be across the street from a regional destination, pay up.
The Standard's management and ownership:
downtown2007 wrote:I'm unimpressed how this development relates to Vandeventer and Forest Park.
tough crowd! Any particular disappointments?
Ideally Crescent Electric will get bought out as well -- boy, are they ever sitting on a gold mine! -- which could help a lot both with the relationship to the streets but also add even more overall density. I also think the City is going to have to do something with calming FPP & probably Vandeventer.
I went. Some new renderings but mostly just different view points. How it looks from the highway, how it looks from the Vandeventer/Forest Park intersection, how it looks on the inside.
Couple notes...
-They expect to start doing site clean up this summer which will likely take 6 months.
-The buildings on forest park are only doable if they get folks to fill them.
-Rail trestle is key for the site. They will "lay down in the tracks" if anyone tries to tear it down. The hope is to connect it through Cortex to forest park.
-The area in front of the foundry is a plaza, may become more green as design progress
-This is not a car centric project. Don't expect a ton of parking
-The foundry area is desired to be like an idea market and centered around "foodie" culture, local restaurants, organic, no chains.
Thanks Pat, sounds like CORTEX part along Vande wasn't discussed too much or if CORTEX even had someone there. Would that be correct?
My assumption is if CORTEX/area continues to add jobs that their will be a demand for the housing along FPP. Sounds like Lawrence just being cautious on timeline and market.
I also went to the presentation yesterday. Overall I think it's a very impressive project. It's clear that Steve Smith has a true passion for the city beyond the nuts and bolts of making deals-- he really wants the city to achieve its potential and to help improve visitors' and suburbanites' perceptions of the city. Pat outlined many of the points made.
Here are a few other takeaways:
--Spring Avenue from SLU's campus to the foundry has been identified as a main pedestrian corridor, so hopefully lighting and landscaping will be a part of the overall plan.
--Pedestrian enhancements from both the new Cortex MetroLink station and the Grand station are desired. Ideally, there will be a seamless pedestrian connection from SLU's campus to the Grand MetroLink station, cutting through the Foundry.
--The Armory is not part of this project, but Steve Smith is confident that something really special will happen with that building.
--The smattering of smaller commercial buildings south of Hwy 40 between the foundry and the Grand MetroLink station are not included in the project, but ideally those would be replaced with more appropriate, urban-scaled development in due time.
--Financing is not yet in place, but remediation crews could begin cleaning out the buildings in the early summer, with projected opening in 2018 if everything comes together as planned.
--All the new construction buildings depicted in the renderings will be market-driven. If/when tenants are signed, construction could begin very soon (potentially even sooner than the rehab of existing buildings), because the new construction will not require remediation. The height of the building(s) could be even higher-- Steve Smith would love to add more height to the Midtown/Cortex skyline.
Overall a very exciting project that would really be transformative for the entire city when it's all done.
stlgasm wrote:...Ideally, there will be a seamless pedestrian connection from SLU's campus to the Grand MetroLink station, cutting through the Foundry.
I assume he meant the Boyle metrolink station via the trestle? Seamless connection to the Grand Link station would require a rebuilt Spring Avenue viaduct, wouldn't it?
Could imagine EW Gateway looking at building another link station at Vandeventer in 5 to 10 years depending on traffic at the other Boyle station, and Grand Station.
stlgasm wrote:...Ideally, there will be a seamless pedestrian connection from SLU's campus to the Grand MetroLink station, cutting through the Foundry.
I assume he meant the Boyle metrolink station via the trestle? Seamless connection to the Grand Link station would require a rebuilt Spring Avenue viaduct, wouldn't it?
Both.
Steve Smith said the trestle will be designed as a key pedestrian thoroughfare for the district. However, he also said one day a rebuilt Spring Ave. viaduct/ped. bridge is a possibility..
Carex idea of pushing a strong bike corridor along Forest Park Parkway & Market Street that ties in the trestle to the new Boyle Station, Spring Ave access to Armory & Grand Ave metrolink station along with an at grade Forest Parkway & Grand Ave intersection makes a lot of sense in the near term instead of hoping one day that Choteau Greenway is built out. In essence, make FPP & Market into a multimodal corridor for cars and bikes that will provide one more transportation alternative along the corridor
Not a big fan of another metrolink station in the city. You simply get a diluted light rail system with longer trip times and something that is not quite a streetcar. In other words, more stops, more time and more likely one more person will simply just go back to their car. The rebuilt trestle and a future Spring Ave connection even if it is a pedestrian or bike only crossing will give you good access to metrolink imo.
dredger wrote:Not a big fan of another metrolink station in the city. You simply get a diluted light rail system with longer trip times and something that is not quite a streetcar. In other words, more stops, more time and more likely one more person will simply just go back to their car. The rebuilt trestle and a future Spring Ave connection even if it is a pedestrian or bike only crossing will give you good access to metrolink imo.
Its a balancing act for sure, but you need to go where people want to be. If everyone is trying to get to IKEA, SLU, Idea Market, and the East Grove, the real question is why is there a stop at the ghost town that is Union Station.
^ Good question, if anything it is the equivalent of overflow parking for Scottrade and Peabody events so Civic Station doesn't get too overcrowded. However, you could easily move the station to the west side of the shed as part of a broader 22nd interchange/west downtown development push and still accomplish walkable distances to a Blues game or a concert.
if the greater "east of cortex" area develops into a real density node then of course there should be a stop at Vandeventer. If it rises to the level of an active place but not quite deserving of its own stop to justify the cost in terms of $$ and addtl. travel time, hopefully strong connections can be made from Boyle and Grand stops.
dredger wrote:Carex idea of pushing a strong bike corridor along Forest Park Parkway & Market Street that ties in the trestle to the new Boyle Station, Spring Ave access to Armory & Grand Ave metrolink station along with an at grade Forest Parkway & Grand Ave intersection makes a lot of sense in the near term instead of hoping one day that Choteau Greenway is built out. In essence, make FPP & Market into a multimodal corridor for cars and bikes that will provide one more transportation alternative along the corridor
Not a big fan of another metrolink station in the city. You simply get a diluted light rail system with longer trip times and something that is not quite a streetcar. In other words, more stops, more time and more likely one more person will simply just go back to their car. The rebuilt trestle and a future Spring Ave connection even if it is a pedestrian or bike only crossing will give you good access to metrolink imo.
I said Spring.
Roger Wyoming said Olive.
Dredger said Forest Park.
Probably all three could be done faster and cheaper than the Chouteau Greenway.
Hooray for the Boyle station. It's a great thing and will help tie the Grove and the Central West End together even better. The benefits surely outweigh whatever slight delays might be caused.
On the pedestrian route to the grand station at Spring, why would anyone assume a restored viaduct would be necessary? Please let me walk at grade down the hill to the station. No stairs and elevators necessary. Likewise, I'd like to see an at grade path south. There's actually a great walking experience there across those vacant fields to an old street car line between some parking lots then to 39th and on south. The only horrible part is that you have to go up and walk on that awful bridge to get there.
my fingers are crossed for a Fair St. Louis (Veiled Prophet) move into the Old Armory. Their current location next to the Foundry can become a future phase of Ideatown Station (I'm going to keep calling it this until Lawrence picks a name)
