^ I don't think it will fundamentally change anything for Foundry. At this point, I think it would be better in long term if phase II secured financing and break ground then trying rush opening of food Hall and or fill some commercial retail space with anyone willing to sign a lease. Foundry success at the end of day to me is about continued growth of CORTEX and its immediate surroundings than attracting drive in shoppers.
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I emailed their leasing agent a while back looking for some information for a business concept I am considering. Nobody got back to me.
FOOD MALL SHOES RESTROOMS
...at least that's how my subconscious reads that sign for some reason, every time I look at this photo. Maybe they should have left more space between MALL and SHOES, er..HALL and SHOPS.
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The painting got an update (looks much better) and the site is looking pretty amazing so far.
http://www.stlouiscitytalk.com/posts/20 ... mpressions
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http://www.stlouiscitytalk.com/posts/20 ... mpressions
Some photos from today. I walked into the site a little bit. I will repeat myself in saying that I think this area needs some color. Planters with trees, bushes, flowers and painted murals will go a long way to brighten this up. The Forest Park Avenue sidewalk area definitely would benefit from trees, shrubs and flowers instead of black rocks.
I really hope this ends up being successful since it was such a huge undertaking by the Lawrence Group,
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I really hope this ends up being successful since it was such a huge undertaking by the Lawrence Group,
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The interior looks really nice. And I don't dislike the hazard stripes. But yeah, landscaping would do wonders to that gravel lawn.
The gravel lawn in front of the garage is just a place holder until GRG can get the trail from the Cortex metro stop through the site and over to SLU. I believe this would be the first extension of their project. Especially since it will bring the trail and connect it directly to their new office space in the Foundry.
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Thanks for the reminder - ...and GRG is kicking off the design portion of the greenway first, so any landscaping would most likely a waste of money until they finish up that phase.
It doesn't seem as though GRG itself has even determined how the Brickline is going to get from Metro right-of-way south of IKEA to Spring Street north of Forest Park Ave., so they may not even use that gravel lawn unless/until they do another trail down FPA:pattimagee wrote: ↑Sep 02, 2020Thanks for the reminder - ...and GRG is kicking off the design portion of the greenway first, so any landscaping would most likely a waste of money until they finish up that phase.
The easiest and cheapest connection would seem to be straight up Sarah to FPA and over to Spring. Not sure why that's not even an option...
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You sure about that? The trestle looks to be pretty set as the route in the images they provided. And I doubt City Foundry would have done what they did to that gravel path (especially with GRG moving their offices into the Foundry) if that wasn't the planned route.
Their maps also show green space all along the Metro ROW to Grand, a pedestrian bridge/trail over I-64 at Spring St., and greenway all along Forest Park Ave. to IKEA, so...which is it?Laife Fulk wrote: ↑Sep 03, 2020You sure about that? The trestle looks to be pretty set as the route in the images they provided. And I doubt City Foundry would have done what they did to that gravel path (especially with GRG moving their offices into the Foundry) if that wasn't the planned route.
I don't think that wide sidewalk/gravel lawn along FPA is indicative of anything. I thought it was to be part of the Brickline connection as well, but seeing it all complete, I realize that wide space was necessary regardless. They needed the buffer and curb bumpouts for the garage entrances and curbside pickup lane at the grocery store, as well as for pedestrians, obviously. And FPA really needed a road diet anyway.
I don't see a gravel lawn and a couple of curb bumpouts as a huge expense anyway, if in fact City Foundry even paid for it.
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My understanding is that they want to have multiple north / south connections, so this isn't a matter of picking one as much as it is hopefully all are eventually built as depicted.
And it would be awesome if their wish list is realized eventually, no doubt. But renovating and rebuilding the rail trestle and building a new pedestrian bridge over I-64 is going to be tens of millions of dollars, when there are far cheaper options to connect the "2 corridors".Laife Fulk wrote: ↑Sep 03, 2020My understanding is that they want to have multiple north / south connections, so this isn't a matter of picking one as much as it is hopefully all are eventually built as depicted.
So, are they going to proceed with one of the cheaper options now, or wait until they find funding for the fancy ones? My point was that I still don't see any indication that they have decided.
^And just my opinion, and somewhat off-topic: given that the Chouteau Greenway concept has been studied and discussed to death for two decades now, they really need to get something done, however they can at this point, and worry about the bells and whistles on their wish list later.
Walked through the site a little bit today. A security guy came out and wanted to know what I was doing. I told him that I was just taking pictures and checking the project out and he said, "that's fine, just don't go into the under construction part. They have an alarm there that goes off and it went off twice today".
This is the first time since January 20th that I actually went deep into the site. I started on Spring Street and walked on the second floor to the Western end of the second floor. It sure looks like the access to Alamo Movie Theater will be up here. the walkway to Forest Park Avenue will have lights strung across it. The first light string is up near Forest Park. You can't see it in my pictures though. There is also a staircase that takes you down to the ground level.
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The ground level at the bottom of the stairs is a little bit interesting as it's right next to the parking garage access for pedestrians. They put stringed lights up here too. Across from this, you have the landscaped area and next to this is the first floor of the Alamo building.
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As you walk out into Foundry Way, you have some retail spaces that are framed in a reddish color. The second floor of the Great Rivers Greenway office. There were people in there when I walked by.
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Continuing down, the Food Hall has a painted sign up. There are also strung lights over the area where most visitors will exit the parking garage from.
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Going up to the second floor on the opposite side, the scene is a little bit different. You get a different view of the new buildings as well as an up close view of the upstairs commercial space doors. The sidewalk up here is quite large, so I could imagine a restaurant patio up here.
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And on my way out, I took another photo down Foundry Way.
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If they add in those string lights across Foundry Way and introduce some of those murals, some planters, and some colorful chairs and tables, this area would look very nice. It's already nice and has a industrial vibe to it, but, as I have said many times before, some color would really help it pop more.
Also, Foundry Way is open to cars right now. I'm not sure why but it is. When the Foundry fully opens, Foundry Way will be closed off.
This is the first time since January 20th that I actually went deep into the site. I started on Spring Street and walked on the second floor to the Western end of the second floor. It sure looks like the access to Alamo Movie Theater will be up here. the walkway to Forest Park Avenue will have lights strung across it. The first light string is up near Forest Park. You can't see it in my pictures though. There is also a staircase that takes you down to the ground level.
The ground level at the bottom of the stairs is a little bit interesting as it's right next to the parking garage access for pedestrians. They put stringed lights up here too. Across from this, you have the landscaped area and next to this is the first floor of the Alamo building.
As you walk out into Foundry Way, you have some retail spaces that are framed in a reddish color. The second floor of the Great Rivers Greenway office. There were people in there when I walked by.
Continuing down, the Food Hall has a painted sign up. There are also strung lights over the area where most visitors will exit the parking garage from.
Going up to the second floor on the opposite side, the scene is a little bit different. You get a different view of the new buildings as well as an up close view of the upstairs commercial space doors. The sidewalk up here is quite large, so I could imagine a restaurant patio up here.
And on my way out, I took another photo down Foundry Way.
If they add in those string lights across Foundry Way and introduce some of those murals, some planters, and some colorful chairs and tables, this area would look very nice. It's already nice and has a industrial vibe to it, but, as I have said many times before, some color would really help it pop more.
Also, Foundry Way is open to cars right now. I'm not sure why but it is. When the Foundry fully opens, Foundry Way will be closed off.
I believe it has been said that Spring 2021 is the latest opening. Could be sooner though. Main reason is that they don’t want a lot of people congregating with corona going on.chris fuller wrote:when will it fully open?
When they get some tenants...chris fuller wrote: ↑Sep 09, 2020when will it fully open?
Did you happen to notice if anything is happening inside any of the retail spaces besides Alamo? Any work at all inside Fresh Thyme, Fassler Hall, Punch Bowl...?chriss752 wrote: ↑Sep 09, 2020I believe it has been said that Spring 2021 is the latest opening. Could be sooner though. Main reason is that they don’t want a lot of people congregating with corona going on.chris fuller wrote:when will it fully open?
And BTW, from the earlier renderings, it looked like the entire ground floor of the Alamo Drafthouse building is parking, with an elevator lobby facing Foundry Way. Didn't see any sign of any other use there.
1. Punchbowl Social’s place is hard to see into it since they have tarps up in there. So I don’t know if any work is going on there.urbanitas wrote:Did you happen to notice if anything is happening inside any of the retail spaces besides Alamo? Any work at all inside Fresh Thyme, Fassler Hall, Punch Bowl...?chriss752 wrote: ↑Sep 09, 2020I believe it has been said that Spring 2021 is the latest opening. Could be sooner though. Main reason is that they don’t want a lot of people congregating with corona going on.chris fuller wrote:when will it fully open?
And BTW, from the earlier renderings, it looked like the entire ground floor of the Alamo Drafthouse building is parking, with an elevator lobby facing Foundry Way. Didn't see any sign of any other use there.
2. Same can be said about Fassler Hall, only that’s within the main Food Hall portion itself and upstairs. With the window tint, it’s hard to see.
3. Some of the retail spaces had equipment in them and some blueprints but I don’t see any building permits issued right now. That could just be left over stuff though.
4. Yea. The renderings showed parking at the base of Alamo but looks like retail space is going to be there instead. There is a parking garage entrance on the first floor of Alamo. It connects to the main garage.
Would it have killed them to plant some trees along Foundry Way? Talk about a bleak and sterile environment. Even if it needs to be some hornbeams to stay narrow. The cladding on the new buildings is so boring, likely thanks to NPS requiring it look like no particular time period being a new building, so it really needs something to soften things up.
I presume this is all private property, so I'm wondering if all these outdoor spaces will be completely open to the public, or will they be restricted with rules and regulations like the inside of a shopping mall. Will buskers be allowed? Girl Scout Cookie sellers? Political activities?
I'm sure there will be exceptions. Girl Scouts could sell their cookies here if they ask. Political stuff, like handing out literature, will probably be forbidden just because I don't think people want to me bombarded with that all the time. Street performers could be allowed as well, just like Girl Scouts. But we will see thoughframer wrote: ↑Sep 10, 2020I presume this is all private property, so I'm wondering if all these outdoor spaces will be completely open to the public, or will they be restricted with rules and regulations like the inside of a shopping mall. Will buskers be allowed? Girl Scout Cookie sellers? Political activities?
Looking at the final renderings of the project, they're pretty close. We will get the murals/art work soon enough since CFSTL had that whole process. Further, the renderings show planters throughout the Foundry way portion. I know they're just renderings and show yellow on the office buildings among other things, but I could see the planters and murals still happening to add color.
The one thing we may not see, unless they do it before opening, is seeing a brick paved Foundry Way. If not real brick, we have numerous examples around town of concrete being pressed to look like brick (see the SLU crosswalks over Grand). These renderings are pretty cartoony so the finished product is what it is. Just looking back at these, and knowing what we know now, the development came out pretty close.
Compare this rendering to the similar view in my earlier post. The similarities are there, just without the people and orange boxes at the Food Hall entrance.
This view I don't have a real life picture of, but the rendering software used could produce the rough concrete wall on that side.
The one thing we may not see, unless they do it before opening, is seeing a brick paved Foundry Way. If not real brick, we have numerous examples around town of concrete being pressed to look like brick (see the SLU crosswalks over Grand). These renderings are pretty cartoony so the finished product is what it is. Just looking back at these, and knowing what we know now, the development came out pretty close.
Compare this rendering to the similar view in my earlier post. The similarities are there, just without the people and orange boxes at the Food Hall entrance.
This view I don't have a real life picture of, but the rendering software used could produce the rough concrete wall on that side.
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I'm betting they are going to have a lot of mobile-container planting done, and if it isn't open to the public there's no reason to bring those down and pay someone to upkeep, water, weed them until its open.