urbanSTL

I'm a little underwhelmed with the current design as well. I think great things are happening in town, and really regardless of how this thing ends up looking, it will hopefully serve a vital function as a regional transportation hub, but for a little more perspective, here's Schenectady, NY's multi-modal proposal.



http://www.cdtcmpo.org/revest/gateway1.jpg



Pretty nice design if you ask me. And that's Schenectady.



And finally I'll ask this question that has been bugging me for quite a while. I'm really glad we're finally straightening out this transportation issue, but If one looks due west from the proposed site for this, there is a pretty nice looking terminal already sitting there. UNION STATION!! Why in the world aren't we just reusing Union Station to its original purpose? I know that there has been significant modification to the actual train shed, but there are still tracks that run into the station, and they are still in use, by Rail Cruise America. Instead of spending 30 Million dollars on a totally new station that by most accounts is funtional at best, why don't we take that money and put it towards Updating Union Station to make it a transportion hub again?

AMTRAK does not want to have to back a train into Union Station, which is what they would have to do. Union Station was built as a terminal, where trains originate and terminate, AMTRAK only passes through now. Only very large cities can pull that off, unless the trains can pass through like in KC or Kirkwood.

LaSalle has it right. One can only hope the plan is modifyed because the current building looks ugly. The city had a chance to build something really spectacular that could eventauly fit in with developments such as the Lake District. Instead, the project will wind its way around and under the highway. Gotta wonder about why, because the current design leaves little room for the expansion or intigration with projects such as the lake district. If anyone has ever been to edinburgh, the station in downtown should start with this station for a basis, offering a great way to position the station in between Chouteau and the highway, just as the edinburgh station is between the old city and the new city.

I totally agree with Codascoram's argument that St. Louis probably has the most pathetic train station in North America, for a city it's size. It's painful to look at. BUT, the picture of the Illinois station screams 1990 to me. I'm all about traditional/ historic structures, ie ones built 80 + years ago. But can we ALL get away from the neotraditionalism?! That thing looks like it's the Walgreen's of train stations. Cheap fake bricks and the fabricated fake stucco siding. The more modern one below, albeit smaller, looks far more impressive. That train station looks like the redone Hampton Inn on Washington, St. Louis' biggest arcitectural mistake done within the last 20 years- could have been updated ultra modern style, think South Beach, but no, we have a rural highway hotel right downtown. I can't believe Chiodini was the architect. What the F?! Look at the buildings HOK designs in China right now vs. the ones in the United States. They push the boundaries far more in other countries. We need to drop the neotraditionalist crap. Sorry to turn this into an architectural critque page.

Anyone know the status on this project?

The bids have been opened(for some time now). I think they are waiting on the seismic retrofit work to be complete under I-64 before work can begin.



http://www.stl-bps.org/detail_construct ... asp?x=8270

Is there anyplace to see a rendering of this structure and what is the status?

The rendering UrbanSTL showed is the one. The earthquake retrofit hasn't been completed yet so I anticipate that is holding up construction.

Man. If you add a pair of giraffe, a pair of elephants, etc... put them all on top and you have Noah's Ark. And when Chouteau Lake is finished the effect will be complete.



Perhaps they can just move that restaurant from St. Charles over and get construction done sooner.

It's better than a trailer.

It's definitely an improvement.

I think a 5-10 story campanile in the modernist style would be a nice addition. Kinda a historical link to the old train station and a landmark to help find the place inside the interstate forest.

From the Downtown Partnership's Jan. 27 update:



Construction on the Multimodal Terminal is expected to begin in early March. Located near the Savvis Center and the Sheraton City Center Hotel, and adjacent to the Civic Center MetroLink station, it will accommodate transit riders using MetroBus, MetroLink, Greyhound and Amtrak and will include a full service Amtrak station. Construction should take about 18 months.



>>Latest Update Found Here

From the Post Dispatch today 02/16/2006



GOOD NEWS



By Martin Van Der Werf

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

02/16/2006



...However, construction is to begin as soon as next week on the long-awaited (we're talking more than 20 years) multi-modal transportation center near Savvis Center to serve Metro buses, MetroLink and Amtrak.

The MetroLink component of the "multi-modal center" opened over ten years ago as the Civic Center (fka Kiel) station. The MetroBus component opened within the last couple years as the Civic Center Bus Transfer Center at South 14th and Spruce. Now, the Amtrak and Greyhound components are finally breaking ground.



For over twenty years, Amtrak has had to settle for a "temporary" structure, at the southern end of South 15th Street in Mill Creek Valley. In that same time period, Greyhound was first displaced by the Dome at America's Center to its current location up at Cass and North 13th.



In addition to a terminal, a new pedestrian concourse will link the Civic Center station and transfer center with the terminal. Original plans also called for the extension of Spruce Street west of 14th over MetroLink, plus a Bike Station, but I haven't heard of any changed status for these components.

There are indeed plans for the Spruce Street Extension. It will run from 15th to 18th(Last I heard was 16th to 18th). Plans call for it to start construction soon, once a few details are worked out. It will be built by MoDOT and then turned over to the City once it is completed.



From MoDOT...

I-64 Outer Roadway at 15th Street and 18th Streets



MoDOT will be constructing a new outer road along I-64 between 15th Street and 18th Streets to address the traffic needs in this area. There will be no traffic delays or closures to I-64. This $3 million project will begin construction in August 2006 and will be complete in Summer 2007.



Timeline:



May 2006 ? Bid Letting

August 2006 ? Construction Begins

Summer 2007 ? Construction Complete

We need to return downtown to its status as business and transportation hub of the region. If travelers can't figure out how to walk to the amtrak from their hotels, that means there's a big infrastructure problem that needs to be fixed.

Another thing that could help improve such navigation would be downton maps posted on City streets. That topic has been discussed elsewhere on this forum, but I think this is the perfect example of why they are so important. The potential benefits are well worth the costs involved. Even if each map station cost $2000, you could put 50 of them downtown for only $100,000. Nobody would ever get lost!

I like this project and I like this building (rendering) look. Very modern and the location is right on. The area that this is going up is ideal and extremely crutial for Downtown. You have all forms of transportation now linked into Downtown St. Louis is a new "Union Station Terminal" which also connects Lambert International Airport and Mid America Airport flights via METRO. The location is also crutial for Union Station as well. Union Station's proximity to this new terminal is perfect. One block and well appointed.



KUDOS - very very excited about the construction start of this very important transportation center for Downtown. One more advancement putting St. Louis on the right "track" for the future.



Article from CMT:



Multi-Modal Station Groundbreaking set for March 30(updated (2/10/06)

The official Multi-Modal Station Ground Breaking is set for March 30 at 3 p.m. at the site west of the Civic Center MetroLink Station.



Mayor Slay, CMT, Amtrak and Greyhound officials, Missouri and Illinois legislators and others will be on hand for the event. Thomas Shrout, executive director of CMT, credited the administration of Mayor Slay with moving the project along.



?The Mayor has been committed to getting this done since the time he was elected. The project had languished for a number of years and he deserves credit for getting John Roach involved in the project. John makes things happen,? Shrout said.



The idea for this project was conceived more than 15 years ago and has been a special project for CMT since that time. Now, all the contracts with Greyhound, Amtrak, Metro and the City of St. Louis have been signed and completed. The contract for construction has been let. The project should take about 18 months to build from the start of construction according to John Roach.



The Multi-Modal Station will provide a central hub in downtown St. Louis for transportation for residents as well as tourists. There will be the ability to transfer from Amtrak to MetroLink or MetroBus or vice versa. Also, there will be a good connection with Greyhound through MetroLink and MetroBus. The location is across the street from the Sheraton City Centre Hotel & Suites, and the Hyatt Regency at Union Station one stop away.

No kidding! This is indeed putting St. Louis on the "right track". The pieces are coming together.

Hey Gang, First post here. Been lurking a while and decided to join in.



Anyway, just wondering if anyone has a web link to any current renderings of what the project is supposed to look like. I believe the project has changed a bit since it was originally proposed.

Yeah, I'd like to see some up-to-date renderings too. I'm sure the project has changed a LOT since those earlier concepts.

With the re-establishment of downtown as the transportation hub the design, mass, and building in general of the multi-modal transportation center should reflect this importance as a "gateway" to the St. Louis region just like the magnificent Union Stations of the United States. However, all out lavishness need not fully apply so not to become bankrupt. We can do better than that first rendering!



No more Amshack and no future Amconcrete trailer!