^thats encouraging. Good that were getting international attention. Where is the office going to open?
Framer that building does have a good look i hope mire buildings of that nature and design are built. I cant find anything more on that specific building online.
Its office, which will open this spring at the CIC@CET in the Central West End, will initially have one employee and ultimately grow to about six employees, said Paul Chomet, NRGene’s strategic consultant.
debaliviere wrote:There's some demolition work underway on Sarpy, right by Highway 40. Ugly little building with a faux mansard roof.
St. Louis Metallizing closed last fall and auctioned off their equipment. Not sure whether it's just the one story building going down. They might be demolishing the whole complex. Land in CORTEX is worth a lot. Those buildings are not. Earliest one dates to late 1940s, the rest to 1960s and 1980.
Pres, I guess Nextstl answered the question. Which bags the question that the demo is because they can or is it because something is coming along sooner then later. A formal release on phase IV would be nice as the falls into the lets create more surface lots for now mentality
It obviously is dated but interesting nonetheless. Hopefully they can bring some density on that west side of Boyle, etc. but of course that expanse of surface parking behind it is kind of creepy.
Cortex is begging for some high-rise and mid-rise construction. As sleek as the new construction thus far has been, most of the buildings would look right at home along Highway 40 in Chesterfield. We need some height to define the skyline and to distinguish the Cortex district from suburban office buildings.
On another note, how the hell does it take half a decade to plan/build a freakin' MetroLink station??? 2018? WHAT?? The TIGER grant was awarded TWO years ago already.
^ I thought it was supposed to be operational this year. But as with all things related to Metro & Cortex, you see/hear 50 different things and it's up to you to guess what actually happens.
And you're right. Cortex is a suburban office park that happens to be in the city and happens to be getting a light rail station. Cortex leadership has done nothing to demonstrate otherwise.
Randy wrote:^ What is the transit/bike/ped mode share in Cortex? How many bike parking areas has Cortex installed? How many bike lanes have been built?
Hmmm...
Already, about a quarter of the people arriving in that area use “alternative modes” of transportation, with transit accounting for 14 percent of that. A long-term goal is for transit riders to increase to 22 percent, according to a presentation by Johnson.
I would like to know the status of GRG's bike plan for the area... part of that funding also was coming from the TIGER grant; I'll ask them.
Anyone think that the old-St. Louis Metallizing site could have changed land uses from office to retail in the master plan? I'm thinking that good highway visibility, proximity to IKEA, and the large land assemblage could make this a prime spot for a big-box retailer like Target. Maybe this time they're being extra careful to keep the plan under wraps. Thoughts?
^ I wouldn't put too much stock in prior site plans, esp. on these outer edges in the district, so I wouldn't be surprised by something else besides office. But I think bog box retail would be unlikely as it's not located along an arterial road that could handle high volume capacity retailers would want.
Halfway between the Grove and FPA and near Metrolink, it is a great location and a well designed project would really boost the idea of having Sarah serve as a denser, more lively street. I'd kind of like to see it as a mixed-use site with maybe some smaller scale neighborhood retail on first floor fronting Sarah and Clayton.
The more than 7,000 passengers who use the Civic Center Transit Center in downtown St. Louis every day will need to adjust their routes as Metro begins an 18-month-long expansion project that’s part of a larger renaissance in improving public transportation to cultivate St. Louis economic development.
On April 18, all 18 MetroBus routes serving the transit center will move to 18th Street and Clark Avenue, near the Union Station MetroLink Station, to accommodate crews that will begin construction later this month. When the project is completed, the Civic Center Transit Center will be large enough for 18 MetroBus bays, two Metro Call-A-Ride bays and space for 60-foot articulated buses, and will feature a new indoor waiting area, public restrooms, concessions and a security sub-station.
The project is intended to make downtown St. Louis more accessible and to increase ridership, MetroLink Executive Director Ray Friem said. More importantly, the Civic Center Transit Center expansion will foster economic development, he said.
That project and the plans to build a MetroLink station adjacent to the Cortex Innovation District are part of the objective of Bi-State Development Agency, Metro’s umbrella organization, to grow economic development in the region. Bi-State oversees Metro, the Gateway Arch, the St. Louis Downtown Airport and the Regional Freight District.
Bi-State Development CEO John Nations said the economic development goal led to the funding model — a public-private partnership — that will be used to build the Boyle Avenue and Sarah Street MetroLink Station adjacent to the Cortex Innovation District.
The $15.4 million Boyle Avenue Station project received $10.3 million from the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program (TIGER) and the remainder from a partnership of Cortex, BJC HealthCare, Washington University, Great Rivers Greenway and the St. Louis Development Corp. No Metro funds will be used for the project, and construction will begin in summer 2017 with the station open later that year or in 2018.
When the TIGER grant was awarded in 2014, Cortex President and CEO Dennis Lower told the Business Journal that the funding was a “game changer.”
“This allows us to add a very important magnetic amenity to the district and continue to appeal to the workforce that prefers an urban environment,” he said. “It also advances our recruitment activity for future businesses.”
Nations said investment in the public sector provides a return to the private sector, and more are beginning to understand this. Private sector investment is increasingly important due to competition in securing federal funding and the lack of funding from the state, he said. The public-private partnership will be a model for future projects, Nations said.
“I think people are seeing public transportation for what it is — an essential strategy for economic growth.”
The Civic Center MetroLink Station will stay open during the construction, though Metro officials warned that temporary closures may occur. Arcturis Inc. is the designer on the $7.1 million project.
Cortex actually looks kind of cool at night with the streets, buildings, and sun shade thing lit up. However, it is really kind of creepy to see all of that infrastructure and investment and zero human activity. But check it out at night... definitely needs some residential and hotel aspects to make it less creepy.
Geoff over at Nextstl stating that Pfizer is beginning its search for new digs in the St Louis area, 250-300k square feet for 500 or so employees. Time for CORTEX/Wexford to get its game on.
Dunno if this would work in Cortex if the production facility is of any size.... looking at what Pfizer is doing in the Boston area, it has R&D in MIT's Kendall Square area, but its large office + production facility is out in Andover and really isn't conducive to a walkable, urban innovation district.
If it is manageable, maybe a good location would be on the periphery of the Cortex district in that area over by Clayton and Sharpy that was just demolished and where you might be able to have the manufacturing portion bumped up against the interstate.
^ I think we're envisioning the same area.... and looking at the present Chesterfield site, it look like the production facility there isn't as large/formidable as the one in Andover/Boston so perhaps it could be manageable in Cortex. They might even be able to infill the Research/Lab space say on the BJC parking lot at Clayton & Sarah and build the production facility across the street to the south on Clayton where the buildings were cleared or across the street to the east on Sarah where that old railroad building is.
Anyway, the research part seems tailor-made for Cortex but the production may be a bit of a hurdle.... hope they can get it done.
Just as food for thought... IHG is opening its first of its "EVEN Hotels" outside of the east coast in downtown Omaha, NB later this year. This new brand is meant to cater to health-conscious travelers and may be a good match for the CORTEX distract as a center of medicine.
And here is one planned for downtown Seattle:
IHG currently has a property in the CWE (Holiday Inn Express). Hilton has the a property in Forest Park Southeast (Home2Suites) and Cheltenham (Hampton Inn). Marriott, Starwood, and Hyatt are currently missing from the area.
Could 400 residential units (a 250 unit tower) a 150 unit hotel and more be coming to Cortex? hmmm...I guess we figured out one of the other big 2 announcements. Wexford is coming baby!
