CORTEX: St. Louis' Life Sciences and Technology District

gone corporate · PostOct 31, 2012#2512012-10-31T20:41+00:00

Alex Ihnen wrote:You can see what looks like residential here (west side of Boyle and south of Clayton & perhaps between CORTEX I and Solae?):

Pretty sure that the building shown between Cortex I and Solae HQ, on the Cortex I parking lot, is the envisioned Cortex II.

Focus: TIF Hearing for Cortex is pushed back to December
Source: http://countondowntown.com/2012/10/coll ... ashington/

I think the goal here is to do this legislation once, and to do it the right way. I appreciate that they're taking their time to do this rather than to rush in with a bad plan, especially when politicos are OK with delaying this project (to do it the right way) until after an election takes place. Could be a feather in a candidate's hat, so real glad it's not just fodder for votes.

Same time, that the TIF is being delayed may or may not delay the start of construction.

roger wyoming II · PostNov 30, 2012#2522012-11-30T01:49+00:00

Alex Ihnen wrote:^IMO there's a bit of irony (perhaps just a massive missed opportunity) that STIX is immediately across I-64 from an empty and destined to be underutilized park (which the neighborhood didn't ask for). IF there were great pedestrian connections along Tower Grove (or even Newstead), STIX could use this park daily.

Seeing as this park seems destined for mediocrity at best (I didn't even know the neighborhood wasn't pushing for it... was this part of the BJC land swap controversy), the land may have been better served with more residential along Choteau.

As for Stix, it does have some pretty good playgrounds (1 for the pre-schoolers and 1 for the big kids (K-2)), so the kids' outdoor physical activity needs are pretty well taken care of. Also of good news, Stix was one of a handful (maybe 3?) SLPS schools that are getting "outdoor classrooms" that will help the kids learn about plants and nature. There were some pretty decent renderings on display, but the firm behind it wasn't listed.

Alex Ihnen · PostNov 30, 2012#2532012-11-30T04:10+00:00

roger wyoming II wrote:was this part of the BJC land swap controversy

Yes.

dredger · PostDec 01, 2012#2542012-12-01T01:47+00:00

Alex, do you know if they are still on for the TIF review in December? or is there rumblings that it will be kept off the agenda again as it was in November. Hate to see this stall over who gets the construction dollars before the dollars are even spent.

On a different note, How about dividing Boyle with wide sidewalks and a linear park between the divide and a roundabout intersection or two.

Alex Ihnen · PostDec 03, 2012#2552012-12-03T05:14+00:00

^ Putting traffic on either side of a median park? Can't say that I love the idea, but we don't need more park space anyway, so make it a nice boulevard and perhaps Boyle will feel more like an extension of FP Ave than an alley. Though I think I like the plan they're going with.

We should anticipate that the TIF review will happen this month.

rbeedee · PostDec 05, 2012#2562012-12-05T01:21+00:00

dredger wrote:Alex, do you know if they are still on for the TIF review in December? or is there rumblings that it will be kept off the agenda again as it was in November. Hate to see this stall over who gets the construction dollars before the dollars are even spent.

I don't have any inside information, but the TIF may have been postponed to prepare a more detailed propsal. The major question in the Northside trial before the MO Supreme Court is how specific plans need to be in order to authorize a TIF. CORTEX may be preparing a more detailed proposal explaining what exactly the TIF money will go to: what goes where, when, by whom, and for how much in case the court rules in favor of more specificity to avoid being caught unprepared. Or they may be waiting to see how the court rules. Or I could be off-base and the Northside trial and the CORTEX TIF could be entirely unrelated...

Alex Ihnen · PostDec 05, 2012#2572012-12-05T03:49+00:00

My take is that they're unrelated, as CORTEX has been a decade in planning and with BJC, WU and others managing the project, you can be sure that phases are very specific.

insomniacafe · PostDec 05, 2012#2582012-12-05T14:19+00:00

dredger wrote:Alex, do you know if they are still on for the TIF review in December? or is there rumblings that it will be kept off the agenda again as it was in November. Hate to see this stall over who gets the construction dollars before the dollars are even spent.

On a different note, How about dividing Boyle with wide sidewalks and a linear park between the divide and a roundabout intersection or two.

Kansas City has quite a few of these median parks as part of their Parks and Boulevard system -- Ward Parkway is an example many St. Louisans might be familiar with if they've spent time in the area -- and from all I've seen they're completely underused. You can say plenty of good things about George Kessler's "City Beautiful" work at the end of the 19th century in KC, but I don't really get the parks in the middle of the road thing. It might be pretty to drive down, but no one wants to cross 3-4 lanes of traffic to get to a park with thousands of cars flying down its flanks.

gone corporate · PostDec 05, 2012#2592012-12-05T21:51+00:00

On the TIF: I would think that the Cortex TIF is independent of how the MO Supremes rule for NorthSide Regeneration's. Yes, the issues are the same, whether existing case law is thrown out for a very specific listing of new construction activities & line item-style allocations. However, the Cortex District TIF would probably be grandfathered into any new standards; ditto the Grand Center District TIF.

PostDec 12, 2012#2602012-12-12T22:09+00:00

Cortex TIF Approved
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... roval.html

What was the hold-up? Issues surrounding minority workforce participation. To fix this, Mayor Slay issued Executive Order 46, which mandates new standards for workforce inclusion on City TIF projects over $1M. This starts with Cortex.

Standards under Executive Order 46:

The new workforce goals under Executive Order 46 will require CORTEX to ensure that construction work is performed by a workforce made up of 25 percent minorities, 5 percent women, 20 percent city residents and 15 percent apprentices.

Project underway. Good times.

Alex Ihnen · PostDec 12, 2012#2612012-12-12T22:15+00:00

Would appear to be a good (better) deal all around.

leeharveyawesome · PostDec 12, 2012#2622012-12-12T22:42+00:00

gone corporate wrote:Cortex TIF Approved
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... roval.html

What was the hold-up? Issues surrounding minority workforce participation. To fix this, Mayor Slay issued Executive Order 46, which mandates new standards for workforce inclusion on City TIF projects over $1M. This starts with Cortex.

Standards under Executive Order 46:
The new workforce goals under Executive Order 46 will require CORTEX to ensure that construction work is performed by a workforce made up of 25 percent minorities, 5 percent women, 20 percent city residents and 15 percent apprentices.
Project underway. Good times.

^that.

No wonder nobody builds anything anymore. It's a bureaucratic nightmare and this mess was probably the easy part. By the way, would it have killed them to have at least 1% gay workforce? We are very gay-friendly here and just think about the possibilities with a construction outfit. This project needs to be shelved. Outrage!

goat314 · PostDec 13, 2012#2632012-12-13T02:19+00:00

^ If they are using public money, the workforce should reasonably reflect the demographics of the taxpayer. The construction trade has a reputation of being notoriously discriminatory. I think this is a step in the right direction. You want to hire all white males then use your own damn money, don't ask for public money.

leeharveyawesome · PostDec 13, 2012#2642012-12-13T02:56+00:00

^ There are gay taxpayers and plenty work construction.

goat314 · PostDec 13, 2012#2652012-12-13T03:08+00:00

I never mentioned gays. What is your point?
By the way....how would someone prove they are gay?

leeharveyawesome · PostDec 13, 2012#2662012-12-13T03:46+00:00

And I never mentioned white males. Hey I was just pointing out the slippery slope and the bureaucracy. Forget about it, this is dumb. I'm sure whoever the construction people are they will busting their ass at 40/hr on taxpayer money.

gone corporate · PostDec 13, 2012#2672012-12-13T18:53+00:00

This is just getting silly. And yes, it's fair to assume there are gay guys who are in construction. That all said, the idea that there must be an outed Gay Pride statutory component in PRIDE of St. Louis is, minimally, distracting here. I don't care if the site is made up strictly of legless lesbian American Indian Buddhists, so long as they get the job done on-time and under budget.

Focus: This is the end result of a political fight between Mayor Slay and Mayoral Candidate Reed, and the allies of each. At its core, it's been a fight to say who will represent the interests of Black city voters, more to the point whether Slay does a good enough job to promote employment opportunities for Black city voters. Positioning like this can be expected to continue throughout the Mayoral Democratic Primaries, as Reed already is on record saying that Executive Order 46 is (a) just a political ploy to placate interests & win Black voters, and at the same time (b) doesn't go far enough to promote the interests of Black voters. Ah, politics...

mill204 · PostDec 20, 2012#2682012-12-20T16:11+00:00

Clayton Ave is currently closed as the walls for the building at the northeast corner of Boyle and Clayton are tilted up. When I passed by this morning, two of the walls were already up, though heavily supported. I'd post the picture I took, but I don't think I could have a done a better job obscuring the building with my car's A pillar in the way.

beer city · PostDec 26, 2012#2692012-12-26T20:02+00:00

Closing on deal -

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... llion.html

kmurph42 · PostJan 16, 2013#2702013-01-16T20:06+00:00

Alex Ihnen wrote:You can see what looks like residential here (west side of Boyle and south of Clayton & perhaps between CORTEX I and Solae?):

Are those supposed to be residential buildings at Newstead and Duncan? North side of Duncan that is...

Alex Ihnen · PostJan 16, 2013#2712013-01-16T20:11+00:00

I think they look like it, but who knows. Have been meaning to reach out to CORTEX director sometime...

goat314 · PostJan 16, 2013#2722013-01-16T23:28+00:00

New residential and commercial in the CORTEX district will be key to its future success in attracting new start-ups and retaining existing businesses. CORTEX as a true mixed use district equals success, in my humble opinion.

framer · PostJan 17, 2013#2732013-01-17T05:07+00:00

Great to see BJC's building going up so quickly. This area's going to be hot in the very near future!

beer city · PostFeb 19, 2013#2742013-02-19T19:27+00:00

baby steps, Tansna to move to St. Louis

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... ansna.html

flipz · PostFeb 19, 2013#2752013-02-19T20:36+00:00

Took these a couple of weeks ago @ Boyle and Clayton.

I drove by there again since then and it looked like they've made more progress.

CORTEX: St. Louis' Life Sciences and Technology District

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