Do I think that something like this would ever happen here...not with the current pessimism that abounds. I do think it is nice to see what is happening in other places around the nation and dream. We could be a great city if we really wanted to.
- 466
Grover wrote:Yes indeed. I'll be talking about this to anyone and everyone who will listen until it's either torn down or converted.
Talk about a true Transportation Oriented Development (TOD). A Sarah METRO stop would be at your front door and if retail finds its way to FPP/Spring, even better. It's very close to the Ford Motor Lofts on FPP and there is a lot of space for new development. Looking at a map the site is isolated from other residential, but the views and transportation would be fantastic. I doubt anything of more than six stories will be build within CORTEX due to the land area involved.
All I need is someone who can secure a loan for $200M, someone with experience bringing an historic renovation and new construction of this size to fruition, someone with the vision to make sure it lives up to its promise, let's see . . . a receptionist, a realtor - what am I leaving out? (Oh, a couple barrista's to serve up tasty treats in my new cafe in THIS building across the street! (Please PM all CV's.)
i'll be your architect.
TonyArnold, CEO of Solae will be guest speaker at Church Key (new bar), 4127 Manchester, Friday March 30th, 5-7:00 pm. He should have rendering of the Solae buildings and talk about his plans for the relocation. All are welcome and the first drink is on us.
Pictures of what once was (why, oh why did I not take a picture of the front?)
4300 Forest Park looking northeast
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239 S Boyle? looking south across Duncan
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4300 Forest Park looking northeast
239 S Boyle? looking south across Duncan
I'm all about historic preservation, but in this case, the new building is far more impressive to the three story warehouses that used to stand there. If this whole area becomes this modern, high-tec, research corridor, i'm all for it.
- 1,768
Trippo.
Except that awesome building with the lion heads...its so cool...I drool when I go out of the way to see it 3 times a week after work...
Except that awesome building with the lion heads...its so cool...I drool when I go out of the way to see it 3 times a week after work...
- 3,762
um...that three-story warehouse had some pretty impressive lion heads as well, in addition to an intricate cornice AND two large, lovely, inlaid, stone-carved signs above the two duncan-facing entrances (which had been covered with sheet metal and uncovered during the demo ... i have pictures somewhere ...) a little rehab and some new windows would have made it a beautiful historic office building or condos with street-level retail. sadly, solae needs state-of-the-art facilities.
sure... but the bold, gleaming white buildings look like something out of Berlin. A "tech" campus. I'm all for historic rehabs, but in THIS case, what is being proposed is SUPERIOR to what was once there.
- 1,768
urban_dilettante wrote:um...that three-story warehouse had some pretty impressive lion heads as well, in addition to an intricate cornice AND two large, lovely, inlaid, stone-carved signs above the two duncan-facing entrances (which had been covered with sheet metal and uncovered during the demo ... i have pictures somewhere ...) a little rehab and some new windows would have made it a beautiful historic office building or condos with street-level retail. sadly, solae needs state-of-the-art facilities.
Are you talking about the building razed foe the new HQ?
I remember a white fairly small and not too intricate cornice along the top, but nothing like lion heads, gargoyle or relief sculpture. I also thought it was only 2 stories.
I drove by it several times after the plan came out during some weekend drives and always got a ho-hum vibe.
- 3,762
yep, that's the one. corner of duncan and boyle. right, it was only two stories. it had lion-head medallions facing both duncan and boyle near the top just under the cornice. personally i thought the cornice was pretty intricate. i'll post some images of the cornice/lions/signs either tonight or tomorrow. as a footnote i saw demo guys "carefully" removing the cornice and lions with chisels and hammers before they started knocking the place down. hopefully that means they were preserved somewhere. city museum?
i think the ho-hum vibe may have been partially induced by the ugly sheet-metal covering the large windows.
- 1,768
^Could have been that.
There is one guy around here...I's spacing his name, and its embarrassing because its a name one interested in these things shouldn't forget...But he has collected a MASSIVE amount of architectural remnants and artifacts, all the way up to entire facades from here and other places. He and Steve Trampe, I believe, are pioneering a movement for a National Museum of Architecture on the east bank of the Mississippi.
I wouldn't be shocked if he had hoarded the cornice, or at least significant parts of it.
There is one guy around here...I's spacing his name, and its embarrassing because its a name one interested in these things shouldn't forget...But he has collected a MASSIVE amount of architectural remnants and artifacts, all the way up to entire facades from here and other places. He and Steve Trampe, I believe, are pioneering a movement for a National Museum of Architecture on the east bank of the Mississippi.
I wouldn't be shocked if he had hoarded the cornice, or at least significant parts of it.
- 3,762
ahhh ... sorry i haven't gotten the solae-site photos up yet. i was uploading my pics on flickr but now you have to have a yahoo account to post. i already can't keep track of my various accounts so i'd rather not create another one. anyway i'm working on it. i may be able to set something up through the server at school. if anyone has suggestions or knows of a good photo-sharing site with few to no strings let me know.
in any case, after looking at the photos again it hurts me that this building was not saved. if not for solae then for something else. the outer structure was in perfect condition and with new windows it really would have been a majestic addition to the street-scape. FYI one of the two signs i mentioned in my previous post read "City Department" and the other read "N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co." looks like it used to serve a dual purpose. tears...
in any case, after looking at the photos again it hurts me that this building was not saved. if not for solae then for something else. the outer structure was in perfect condition and with new windows it really would have been a majestic addition to the street-scape. FYI one of the two signs i mentioned in my previous post read "City Department" and the other read "N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co." looks like it used to serve a dual purpose. tears...
urban_dilettante wrote:ahhh ... sorry i haven't gotten the solae-site photos up yet. i was uploading my pics on flickr but now you have to have a yahoo account to post. i already can't keep track of my various accounts so i'd rather not create another one. anyway i'm working on it. i may be able to set something up through the server at school. if anyone has suggestions or knows of a good photo-sharing site with few to no strings let me know.
in any case, after looking at the photos again it hurts me that this building was not saved. if not for solae then for something else. the outer structure was in perfect condition and with new windows it really would have been a majestic addition to the street-scape. FYI one of the two signs i mentioned in my previous post read "City Department" and the other read "N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Co." looks like it used to serve a dual purpose. tears...
Solae took a hard look at saving and renovating the building. It simply wasn't feasible.
The new Solae building is really taking shape. Looks great. It's much larger looking than I expected.
(Is there a separate Solae thread?)
(Is there a separate Solae thread?)
Without looking to see whether it's been posted before, here's the Solae webcam:
http://www.claycorp.com/web_cams/getcam.php?t=cam_solae
Also, I hadn't seen this rendering on Clayco's site before, though it's been a while since I checked:
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-RBB
http://www.claycorp.com/web_cams/getcam.php?t=cam_solae
Also, I hadn't seen this rendering on Clayco's site before, though it's been a while since I checked:
-RBB