Hotel Indigo (Inn at the Park on Lindell)

cwemd1 · PostFeb 03, 2007#12007-02-03T01:30+00:00

The Roberts Brothers are the new owners of the Inn at the Park at 4630 Lindell Blvd. The Roberts picked up the hotel, formerly a Best Western, after making the high bid at public auction earlier this week. The price was reportedly a cool $100 per square foot for the land.

No word yet on the Roberts' plans for the building, which sits on prime CWE real estate just east of the intersection of Lindell and Euclid.

suburban lou · PostFeb 03, 2007#22007-02-03T01:34+00:00

Doesn’t Jive work there?

framer · PostFeb 03, 2007#32007-02-03T05:38+00:00

Interesting. I can't see this building as a tear-down, but you never know.

jivecitystl · PostFeb 04, 2007#42007-02-04T03:33+00:00

I worked there until about a year ago, but I still live directly next door to it. IT WILL NOT BE TORN DOWN. The building was closed today (Sat), and from what I hear extensive renovations are to begin as early as Monday. I don't have details, but rumor has it that the Roberts Bros. are going to make it a "much nicer" hotel. Well anything will be an improvement because the previous owners ran that thing into the ground. Such a shame too, because it has a really neat history. Check out these old postcards from better days:

cwender · PostFeb 04, 2007#52007-02-04T22:17+00:00

A friend and I used to fantasize about transforming this into St. Louis' first design hotel. The modern facade (all glass) could glow in different colors at night (think The Sanderson in London). The restaurant and pool area could be the best lounge in the city, with guest DJ's, plush poolside lounge furniture, and top-notch cocktail service (think The Standard in LA or The Delano in Miami). Parking wouldn't be a problem since there's an on-site garage. Unfortunately, I don't think the Robert's Brothers have the taste level to pull this off. Maybe they should hire a hot-shot designer to pimp the place out (is Marc Newson available?).

A guy can dream, right?

jivecitystl · PostFeb 05, 2007#62007-02-05T13:23+00:00

^It's so funny you say that, because when I worked there, all the employees used to fantasize about buying the place and turning it into a retrofabulous hotel, like it once was. I always thought it would be so cool to call it the Bel-Air Retrotel, replete with '50s furniture and uniforms for employees. The CWE could really use a funky out-of-the-box kind of place like that.

debaliviere · PostFeb 05, 2007#72007-02-05T14:41+00:00

CWEnder wrote:A friend and I used to fantasize about transforming this into St. Louis' first design hotel. The modern facade (all glass) could glow in different colors at night (think The Sanderson in London). The restaurant and pool area could be the best lounge in the city, with guest DJ's, plush poolside lounge furniture, and top-notch cocktail service (think The Standard in LA or The Delano in Miami). Parking wouldn't be a problem since there's an on-site garage. Unfortunately, I don't think the Robert's Brothers have the taste level to pull this off. Maybe they should hire a hot-shot designer to pimp the place out (is Marc Newson available?).

A guy can dream, right?

That is a fantastic idea!

lukethedrifter · PostFeb 05, 2007#82007-02-05T16:16+00:00

I'm curious what the consensus is on the Roberts' and their rehab jobs. My experience, very limited that it is, with the Mayfair and the Orpheum/American is that they do a real half-assed job. Am I wrong?

debaliviere · PostFeb 05, 2007#92007-02-05T16:37+00:00

lukethedrifter wrote:I'm curious what the consensus is on the Roberts' and their rehab jobs. My experience, very limited that it is, with the Mayfair and the Orpheum/American is that they do a real half-assed job. Am I wrong?

That's been the general concensus around here. The BOE lofts turned out to be very nice, IMO, but the Orpheum is a disaster, and we've heard some not-so-flattering things about the Mayfair.

jivecitystl · PostFeb 15, 2007#102007-02-15T14:09+00:00

I read in the Business section of the P-D that the Roberts Bros. are sinking $5-6 million into the Inn at the Park and are considering adding a "tower on top of it" and/or maybe a spa. We'll see what happens.

Alex Ihnen · PostFeb 15, 2007#112007-02-15T15:27+00:00

^ The Roberts Brothers may have had some not completely successful ventures, but you gotta say this: they're p-i-m-p. A 60's hotel, spa and maybe a tower! OK, maybe just their ideas are pimp. I'm guessing the project doesn't get done.

dweebe · PostFeb 15, 2007#122007-02-15T15:34+00:00

The Roberts sure are some classy guys.

Business Man Out Of Business

Last Edited: Tuesday, 06 Feb 2007, 10:15 PM CST

Created: Tuesday, 06 Feb 2007, 10:15 PM CST

Sean Conroy

(KTVI -- MyFOXstl.com) --

Imagine renting an apartment and one day finding the locks changed and all of your stuff still inside. That's what one bar and grill owner says he feels like after his landlord went bankrupt and he suddenly couldn't open his doors because the locks have been changed.

"I had no notice they locked me out of the place and put seven employees out of business," says Keith Grassi who owns the Lindell Coffee and Kitchen.

He banked his savings on the steady influx of guests and the prime location at Euclid and Lindell two years ago.

He said he was informed foreclosure was coming for his landlord less than two weeks before the doors closed, but he figured he would at least have some notice ot get out.

Last Friday he went to open up for a big night of business and said he was met with a locked door and armed guard inside. Despite his lease the new owners the Roberts Brothers denied him access to his bar and grill.

"I had to bang the door to even get in the lobby when I did get in I was told that I was no longer allowed into my own establishment even though I had a lease and that I had to leave."

Grassi also had to unexpectedly lay off his seven employees including Misty Voegtlin, a single mother of a six-year-old.

"Sixty days, two weeks or even a week would have been nice but to walk in and to be told go home now," Voegtlin says it was not a professional business practice at all. She is suddenly forced into a job search.

Steve Roberts says Grassi's gripe is with his former landlord and they are completely within their legal bounds to not honor the lease. They will allow Grassi to get his things out sometime soon, but he is already mourning his damaged business.

"Me as an individual I will never go into business unless I own the building," says Grassi, "so that's the lesson I learned."

Alex Ihnen · PostFeb 15, 2007#132007-02-15T15:37+00:00

^ Where does this stand? This was a week-and-a-half ago.

jivecitystl · PostFeb 15, 2007#142007-02-15T15:44+00:00

dweebe wrote:The Roberts sure are some classy guys.

Business Man Out Of Business

Last Edited: Tuesday, 06 Feb 2007, 10:15 PM CST

Created: Tuesday, 06 Feb 2007, 10:15 PM CST

Sean Conroy

(KTVI -- MyFOXstl.com) --

Imagine renting an apartment and one day finding the locks changed and all of your stuff still inside. That's what one bar and grill owner says he feels like after his landlord went bankrupt and he suddenly couldn't open his doors because the locks have been changed.

"I had no notice they locked me out of the place and put seven employees out of business," says Keith Grassi who owns the Lindell Coffee and Kitchen.

He banked his savings on the steady influx of guests and the prime location at Euclid and Lindell two years ago.

He said he was informed foreclosure was coming for his landlord less than two weeks before the doors closed, but he figured he would at least have some notice ot get out.

Last Friday he went to open up for a big night of business and said he was met with a locked door and armed guard inside. Despite his lease the new owners the Roberts Brothers denied him access to his bar and grill.

"I had to bang the door to even get in the lobby when I did get in I was told that I was no longer allowed into my own establishment even though I had a lease and that I had to leave."

Grassi also had to unexpectedly lay off his seven employees including Misty Voegtlin, a single mother of a six-year-old.

"Sixty days, two weeks or even a week would have been nice but to walk in and to be told go home now," Voegtlin says it was not a professional business practice at all. She is suddenly forced into a job search.

Steve Roberts says Grassi's gripe is with his former landlord and they are completely within their legal bounds to not honor the lease. They will allow Grassi to get his things out sometime soon, but he is already mourning his damaged business.

"Me as an individual I will never go into business unless I own the building," says Grassi, "so that's the lesson I learned."

Hey, don't jump to conclusions. This guy (Keith Grassi) is a real a$$hole, and he never held his end of any bargain either. There is WAY more to this story than this news coverage would lead you to believe.

PostFeb 15, 2007#152007-02-15T15:51+00:00

For the record, the Lindell Coffee & Kitchen SUCKED anyway, and I'm glad to see it go. Every Friday and Saturday night there would be some bouncer there who was too cool for school and a big, intimidating security guard next to him charging a cover of $5.00 for all the guys (girls were free). A cover for what? There was no live music. There were no naked girls. It was just so pretentious, like we should feel lucky to be there or something. The place had no atmosphere whatsoever and whatever "music" they were playing there was bad enough to cause a brain tumor. I'm hoping something worthwhile takes over that space.

threeonefour · PostFeb 15, 2007#162007-02-15T17:00+00:00

JivecitySTL wrote:^It's so funny you say that, because when I worked there, all the employees used to fantasize about buying the place and turning it into a retrofabulous hotel, like it once was. I always thought it would be so cool to call it the Bel-Air Retrotel, replete with '50s furniture and uniforms for employees. The CWE could really use a funky out-of-the-box kind of place like that.

Retrofabulous! I love it!

I wish we weren't in such a rush in this country to eliminate all traces of Mid-Century architecture and style.

framer · PostFeb 17, 2007#172007-02-17T05:17+00:00

^Exactly! A couple of decades from now we're all going to be bending over backwards to save what 50's and 60's architecture we have left. So why not start now?

Alex Ihnen · PostApr 04, 2007#182007-04-04T07:24+00:00

Well, this may be an interesting choice: I've heard that the Roberts Bros. are interested in the building at the corner of Euclid/Lindell next to the Inn. It's a limestone home - that is now a dentist's office (I think). So where do people stand? Keep the 1890? limestone mansion or allow the corner to be used for a revamped hotel (assuming that Roberts Bros. submit a real plan for what to do with the corner that does not include a) an urban garden, b) a parking lot or c) rediculous gold gates.)? I think that a creative mind with $$ could find a way to use the building as part of the hotel complex - a restaurant, luxury B&B, ??? I don't know that the building would definitely be demolished - that's a guess on my part.

debaliviere · PostApr 04, 2007#192007-04-04T13:45+00:00

^

I'd want to see that building saved. There are plenty of other lots for new construction in the CWE. Just like I don't see any reason for the Roberts Bros. to tear down the buildings they own on Locust when there are vacant lots all over downtown.

drdrew · PostApr 04, 2007#202007-04-04T22:08+00:00

While the historic house that houses the dental office is nice, I wouldn't mind at all if it was sacrificed for the greater good. How cool would it be if you could build high-rise residential there and combine it with a renovated Inn at the Park to create a mixed-use complex?

stlgasm · PostApr 04, 2007#212007-04-04T22:19+00:00

Build on the lot across the street from the mansion. That's a bright idea!

framer · PostApr 05, 2007#222007-04-05T04:23+00:00

^Well, yeah, but it's across the street. Obviously, the hotel would want all of it's facilities consolidated as much as possible.

This is actually a good question, and quite a conundrum for any fan of historic buildings and urban development. Can we have our cake and eat it too?

swuss · PostApr 05, 2007#232007-04-05T05:50+00:00

i don't trust the roberts brothers to come up with something to justify getting rid of the dentist's office. not that i'm particularly attached to the mansion. it's fine but there are plenty of far more attractive ones in the cwe.

and, i know this might be crazy, but why not just move the mansion? it's not too wide that it might be hauled down euclid or pine that or up taylor or newstead. goodness knows there are plenty of large, empty lots in some of the less-barricaded private places. just drop it off and fill in one of the holes.

it has been done numerous times all over the country, so if the roberts want the corner lot bad enough (and who wouldn't? corner=twice the street frontage=twice the retail) it might be a possibility.

i know that was kind of out there, but a relatively small building like this shouldn't always be in a save-or-demolish situation when a developer comes around.

markofucity · PostApr 05, 2007#242007-04-05T19:43+00:00

I'm really surprised you guys are so willing to let that building go. The "urban mansions" are what make the CWE so unique. I would never support demolishing this building. ... for the love of god. How many vacant lots do we still have sitting around.

now if they want to keep the building and rehab it or add it to a bigger complex - I'm all for it.

southslider · PostApr 05, 2007#252007-04-05T20:10+00:00

IMHO, I'd rather see the Inn itself demolished, if replaced with denser development.