The parking garage rooftop plaza than runs behind the complex is really cool. There's a building back there behind the Radisson that has been unopen for years but would make a great conference center/special event venue. The Peabody Coal building is also back there.
STLgasm wrote:I like the Mansion House towers. They were built simultaneously with the Arch and Busch Stadium, and represent the misguided era of urban renewal. With the renewed interest in downtown living, balconies and killer views, the Mansion House towers are poised to become a highly sought-after address.
I agree with STLgasm. They may have been misguided back in those days, but they had bravado. You have to admire that. Mansion House Towers , Pet Building, Millenium Hotel, Busch Stadium, etc. They had a vision and let nothing stop them. And I like the balconies, views, transit at the door, parking, swimming pools, etc. And for many years, they were just about the only alternative for downtown living. I wouldn't give up my life to save the Mansion House complex, but unless they come up with something mind boggling to replace them, they have a place.
- 4
I live in Gentry's Landing. There's absolutely no reason to tear down the buildings. Yes, they need updating. But they're structurally sound with no reason for demolition.
People have been living in the Mansion House Center long before developers starting rehabbing and making downtown trendy. I've got a great view of the Arch that I wouldn't want to give up. We live here because we enjoy it. And right now the rents are more reasonable than any of the "new" lofts being developed.
I remember when the Mansion House Center was first built and thought how cool it would be to live downtown. And that was when downtown was "the" place to be. I'm looking forward to when it's that way again.
People have been living in the Mansion House Center long before developers starting rehabbing and making downtown trendy. I've got a great view of the Arch that I wouldn't want to give up. We live here because we enjoy it. And right now the rents are more reasonable than any of the "new" lofts being developed.
I remember when the Mansion House Center was first built and thought how cool it would be to live downtown. And that was when downtown was "the" place to be. I'm looking forward to when it's that way again.
oldcitygirl, thanks for chiming in! I always thought it would be a cool place to live. Nobody else in St. Louis or anywhere in the world has a view of the arch that you and your neighbors have.
- 1,054
So since we (that especially includes me) do not like the dark colors on the mansion house, what should the buildings be reclad with and what color?
No Brick or stone.
No Brick or stone.
I've said all of this before, but I like the dark tones. They create a nice, randomly contrasting pattern with the window treatments in each unit. The only thing I'd change is the integration of the complex into the streetscape.
- 1,768
All glass baby. Even dark glass would be cool, because it would be reflective, and defract light, not absorb like those brown panels...I think that is the way to go...Or we could go for orange perforated paneling with that overused greenish reflective glass! 
I'm just joking, c'mon...
I'm just joking, c'mon...We could call it 'Little Miami' and paint one pink, another lime green, and the other orange...or just a combo of all three. Then have little retail shops along 4th street all serving cuban sandwiches. Who wouldn't want a pork, ham, swiss and pickle sandwich finished off with a touch of mustard and pressed on a grill?
That was a joke, btw. I like the idea of glass, but I think there needs to be a framing of sorts, I don't think the residential buildings should look like the Bank of America building. Maybe a cool blue could give it a more ethereal effect or something.
I'm starting to think, the more I look at the buildings, that they just need a different color, cuz the black and brown just looks bad. Everything around them is some sort of red (brick) or off-white (stone)...I think something that would stand out a bit from those would be cool.
That was a joke, btw. I like the idea of glass, but I think there needs to be a framing of sorts, I don't think the residential buildings should look like the Bank of America building. Maybe a cool blue could give it a more ethereal effect or something.
I'm starting to think, the more I look at the buildings, that they just need a different color, cuz the black and brown just looks bad. Everything around them is some sort of red (brick) or off-white (stone)...I think something that would stand out a bit from those would be cool.
- 1,768
Actually, that was what I was thinking about, Miami, when i said that, too. And yes I agree, some deep Blue glass(I wasn't thinking black) and some lighter, maybe military gray, or white-gray paneling. Could be sweet. Blue Glass, and paint the balconies something to add depth and texture...
- 1,649
The property, at 300 North Fourth Street, is scheduled for a trustee's sale on July 25 at the St. Louis Civil Courts building.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 3">Mansion House sale has been rescheduled</A>
By Tavia Evans
Of the Post-Dispatch
07/25/2005
A trustee of the Mansion House apartments in downtown St. Louis postponed the foreclosure sale of the building at the Civil Courts on Monday because of confusion about the site of the sale.
The sale has been rescheduled for Aug. 17 at the Civil Courts, and a notice will be published in the St. Louis Daily Record, a legal newspaper, said John Snyder, a real-estate attorney with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, which is overseeing the sale.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 4A000F04D3">>>> read more</A>
- 1,282
Mansion House sale is delayed - again
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/17/2005
For the second time in less than a month, a foreclosure sale of Mansion House Apartments, this time scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed.
The sale was rescheduled for a week later to give the out-of-town owners and lenders more time to resolve a debt of about $17 million on the property at 300 North Fourth Street.
Last month, the sale was rescheduled after confusion over where it was to be held. An attorney representing the lenders was on the steps outside the Civil Courts building downtown, while a half-dozen or so potential bidders waited inside the lobby.
Read More
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/17/2005
For the second time in less than a month, a foreclosure sale of Mansion House Apartments, this time scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed.
The sale was rescheduled for a week later to give the out-of-town owners and lenders more time to resolve a debt of about $17 million on the property at 300 North Fourth Street.
Last month, the sale was rescheduled after confusion over where it was to be held. An attorney representing the lenders was on the steps outside the Civil Courts building downtown, while a half-dozen or so potential bidders waited inside the lobby.
Read More
- 1,649
Not sure if anyone read through the entire article, but Julie Hauser, a spokeswoman in St. Louis for the owners, said "Mansion House is a casualty of an oversupply." From what I have seen and heard, the downtown residential market is far from being saturated. The article states that the owners are optimistic an auction won't be needed and that they want to spend about $25 million renovating Mansion House. The Mansion House owners spent about $7 million for renovations in the 1990s.
With so many exciting new apartments and condos available, they may find they have an "oversupply" of dated apartments. If they do some creative updating they might find their apartments in demand.
- 1,649
urbanstlouis wrote:The article states that the owners are optimistic an auction won't be needed and that they want to spend about $25 million renovating Mansion House. The Mansion House owners spent about $7 million for renovations in the 1990s.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 1">Mansion House is spared sale after debt deal is worked out</A>
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/24/2005
For the third time in less than a month, a foreclosure sale of Mansion House Apartments was called off Tuesday after the owners and lenders reached a general agreement that resolves a debt of about $17 million.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 6700056291">>>> read more</A>
- 1,610
Maybe the current owners truly hoped for confusion at the past Civil Courts sale, thereby postponing it. The cancellation certainly bought them some time to resolve their debts.
- 1,649
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 54">Owners would pump pizazz into yesteryear's apartments</A>
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/25/2005
In St. Louis, separate owners of the Mansion House Center's three towers have ambitious renovation plans.
At this stage, no one is proposing condo conversions. But Gentry's Landing owner Peter McCann, of Columbus, Ohio, wants to build a 14-story condo tower next door as part of a $114 million renovation.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 6900167954">>>> read more</A>
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/25/2005
In St. Louis, separate owners of the Mansion House Center's three towers have ambitious renovation plans.
At this stage, no one is proposing condo conversions. But Gentry's Landing owner Peter McCann, of Columbus, Ohio, wants to build a 14-story condo tower next door as part of a $114 million renovation.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 6900167954">>>> read more</A>
- 2,005
I wonder if they'll replace the short retail building in front(with Blimpies/convenient store) with the new building. I wish something could replace the short Peabody Coal building, but I'd like to see the new tower put as close to the street as possible.
Maybe there will be such huge demand to live in the new tower they'll need to add a couple floors to it..
Maybe there will be such huge demand to live in the new tower they'll need to add a couple floors to it..
- 10K
That tower will be a nice addition to the skyline, albeit not a very prominent addition. I don't think the building that would be replaced is the one that houses Blimpie's, I think it's the one right at the corner of 4th and Washington. Or maybe that IS the one that has Blimpie's. 
If the St. Louis Centre skybridge ever comes down, I think it will do a lot to help connect the eastern edge of Washington with all the good stuff that's happening further west, and this project will be part of that.
If the St. Louis Centre skybridge ever comes down, I think it will do a lot to help connect the eastern edge of Washington with all the good stuff that's happening further west, and this project will be part of that.
- 1,649
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... C">Mansion House gets new lease on life</A>
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/07/2005
After weeks of negotiations and rescheduled foreclosure sales, owners of the Mansion House Apartments and their lenders signed a deal Tuesday that resolves a $17 million debt.
Details of the agreement between the out-of-town lenders and owners in New York were not disclosed.
But Julie Hauser, a spokeswoman in St. Louis for the owners, said they will re-work a $25 million renovation plan that they submitted earlier to the city. She said a revised plan should be finished and resubmitted within a few weeks.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 760012B4BC">>>> read more</A>
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/07/2005
After weeks of negotiations and rescheduled foreclosure sales, owners of the Mansion House Apartments and their lenders signed a deal Tuesday that resolves a $17 million debt.
Details of the agreement between the out-of-town lenders and owners in New York were not disclosed.
But Julie Hauser, a spokeswoman in St. Louis for the owners, said they will re-work a $25 million renovation plan that they submitted earlier to the city. She said a revised plan should be finished and resubmitted within a few weeks.
<A HREF="http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... 760012B4BC">>>> read more</A>
- 1,282
Gentry's Landing owners want to give it a different look
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/08/2005
Since opening in 1966, three matching, 28-story, glass-and-concrete towers at Mansion House Center have been landmarks overlooking the St. Louis riverfront.
But that could change dramatically under a $114 million renovation plan. Owners of the northern-most apartment tower, Gentry's Landing, want to add a 14-story condo building alongside it, replacing a three-story commercial building.
The new building - and Gentry's Landing itself - would have a look all their own, one that no longer would match the other two towers.
Architects at Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets Inc., PGAV, designed the condo building with a brick- and stone-clad exterior and other features to make it blend visually with older buildings nearby, along Washington Avenue and in Laclede's Landing. They also designed a new "skin" for Gentry's Landing.
Read More
By Charlene Prost
Of the Post-Dispatch
09/08/2005
Since opening in 1966, three matching, 28-story, glass-and-concrete towers at Mansion House Center have been landmarks overlooking the St. Louis riverfront.
But that could change dramatically under a $114 million renovation plan. Owners of the northern-most apartment tower, Gentry's Landing, want to add a 14-story condo building alongside it, replacing a three-story commercial building.
The new building - and Gentry's Landing itself - would have a look all their own, one that no longer would match the other two towers.
Architects at Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets Inc., PGAV, designed the condo building with a brick- and stone-clad exterior and other features to make it blend visually with older buildings nearby, along Washington Avenue and in Laclede's Landing. They also designed a new "skin" for Gentry's Landing.
Read More
WAIT A MINUTE...
"The architects considered staying with a modern design, Cross said, but in the end "we felt this better achieved our goals."
"He added: "This is about starting over, making things feel fresh and attracting people. ... Part of our thinking was that the site is at a crossroads of the loft district and Laclede's Landing, and we wanted to strengthen the connection."
Uhh, what?
Who are these bozos? They want to make it "feel fresh" yet they opted to re-clad the building to look 100 years old? They want to "strengthen the connection between the loft district and the Landing, but what about the connection between THE OTHER TWO TOWERS IN THE COMPLEX? This idea is so flawed I can't even comprehend it.
This idea is just completely stupid and will look awful. Those three towers were built to stand in harmony. Obviously the owners of Gentry's Landing don't get it. Get rid of those idiots.
Luckily, the re-cladding won't take place for "maybe five, seven or eight years." In other words, the winds of common sense have plenty of time to blow in their direction.
"The architects considered staying with a modern design, Cross said, but in the end "we felt this better achieved our goals."
"He added: "This is about starting over, making things feel fresh and attracting people. ... Part of our thinking was that the site is at a crossroads of the loft district and Laclede's Landing, and we wanted to strengthen the connection."
Uhh, what?
Who are these bozos? They want to make it "feel fresh" yet they opted to re-clad the building to look 100 years old? They want to "strengthen the connection between the loft district and the Landing, but what about the connection between THE OTHER TWO TOWERS IN THE COMPLEX? This idea is so flawed I can't even comprehend it.
This idea is just completely stupid and will look awful. Those three towers were built to stand in harmony. Obviously the owners of Gentry's Landing don't get it. Get rid of those idiots.
Luckily, the re-cladding won't take place for "maybe five, seven or eight years." In other words, the winds of common sense have plenty of time to blow in their direction.
I thought exactly the same thing! It is a good thing they have a few years to think about. And, I would like to see the renderings before giving my final criticism. At the same time, I am excited to see so much talk about investing in DT STL.
One more thing, does anyone have examples of reclad high-rise apartment buildings - either successful or failure? I have seen examples of reclad 1960's high-rise apts in Maryland that were hideously done. In about ten years people will be saying "What were they thinking?". But, maybe there are successful examples, too.
One more thing, does anyone have examples of reclad high-rise apartment buildings - either successful or failure? I have seen examples of reclad 1960's high-rise apts in Maryland that were hideously done. In about ten years people will be saying "What were they thinking?". But, maybe there are successful examples, too.
- 10K
There's a rendering in the P-D, and it looks pretty cool, although it's in black & white, so it's a little hard to see. It's a definite improvement over what's currently there (the three-story office building), and as long as they use quality materials and design (unlike the Hampton Inn across the street), it could be okay.
Darn it! That is the trouble of not being able to get a hard copy of the STLPD easily. I don't see a rendering online.
- 1,610
Likewise, I think the addition on the corner of 4th and Washington should be a Modernist style complimenting the existing towers. It's the siting, massing and streetscape features of the addition that will ultimately respect the streetwalls of the mostly brick Washington corridor. Designers should know that brick does not automatically equal good design.
Ironically, many late 1800s and early 1900s brick buildings were re-clad with fake skins in the mid-20th century to look modern. Not losing that earned hindsight, it would now seem equally short-sighted or even foolish to skin mid-century Modernist buildings in brick veneer.
Ironically, many late 1800s and early 1900s brick buildings were re-clad with fake skins in the mid-20th century to look modern. Not losing that earned hindsight, it would now seem equally short-sighted or even foolish to skin mid-century Modernist buildings in brick veneer.