urbanSTL

joefrank wrote:Meanwhile, the corner of California and Wyoming is looking better! One corner building is being rehabbed by Millennium, the other by a company I cannot recall (Blue Brick, maybe?). It's not Beachfront, that I know.

It is Blue Brick. That building at California and Wyoming is going to be their offices with apartments upstairs. I think they'll have finish materials and things there so that you can get a custom rehab done and pick out materials similar to loft buildings. I'm not sure if Millenium has plans for their building yet.

joefrank wrote:And whoever did the mid-block house on Wyoming between Cal. and Oregon did a nice job, too. I think that was Blue Brick.

It was Blue Brick and it's a fine rehab. It even won a neighborhood award. Those kinds of quality rehabs make long term improvement possible as opposed to quick flips which bring the neighborhood up a little bit in the short term and prove detrimental in the long term.

I don't see how they are going to be able to sell this package for $375,000. I'm am quite familiar with how much architectural plans and surveys cost, but that is just ridiculous. They acquired these lots through LRA. How can they even get away that? I thought that if you bought land from them, you have to either go through with the proposed project or return it. I guess I would be wrong.

^I think it depends on how much you pay. If you get one of the $1 properties, you definitely have to sign the contract. If they paid market rate, maybe not.

^So does that mean that the City owns the site now?

^ Well, if the city owns the site, I wish the city would take Millenium's plans and shop them around to developers.



I'd prefer to be an optimist and assume that city ownership could be a good thing, but I get the feeling that in a few years we'll still be looking at a vacant lot, or maybe worse, a drive-through fast food restaurant and/or bank on this parcel.

ThreeOneFour wrote:^ Well, if the city owns the site, I wish the city would take Millenium's plans and shop them around to developers.



I'd prefer to be an optimist and assume that city ownership could be a good thing, but I get the feeling that in a few years we'll still be looking at a vacant lot, or maybe worse, a drive-through fast food restaurant and/or bank on this parcel.

Don't know if the City has yet perfected title to the properties, but it's working on it.



If the property still sits as vacant lots in a few years, it will likely be due to lagging market conditions, rather than City government largesse, although the real estate market will probably/hopefully have cycled out of its doldrums by then.



9th Ward Alderman Ken Ortmann won't go for drive-through fast food at this site. He's proactive and interested in pushing for an appropriate & complimentary reuse.



Don't know why a "bank" is suggested as a probable alternative. When/where/how many infill banks have popped up in the last 10 years? Millennium's/Killeen's plans for mixed use are still a good solution and should have legs with a successor developer.



Too bad two historic houses on Arsenal, just east of Texas, were demoed in anticipation of this project. Now the project is dead, BPW has become a National Register District and those two contributing buildings are gone forever. Bad stewardship for the thousandth time.

The neighborhood Association of Benton Park West agrees with Alderman Ken Ortmann concerning the activity at the corner of Arsenal and Jefferson.



The residents do not want a drive thru restaurant or any type of business that will not grow and sustain Benton Park West. As this corner is also across the street from the Benton Park Neighborhood, the leadership from BP also finds the activity at this corner to be of great interest.



The initial idea of a mixed use building is a great plan...I personally feel this project would have been built and be probably in the last 25% of construction now if the real estate market hadn't basically died.



However, I have gotten stats from one of our neighborhood realtors that indicate the residential sales in 2006 and 2007 are pretty much the same, with a few variances. True that in 2007 the sales/average price did fluctuate to be on the lower side with days on the market higher, but in looking across the board the dip in sales stats for BPW is well above what the stats that media is talking about.



Bill.

President - BPWNA

FFGump wrote:Bad stewardship for the thousandth time.

I agree. And that's why I seek forgiveness for my cynicism.



The reason I suggested the city might be okay with a bank or a fast food restaurant is because there is a pattern in place where low expectations are the norm, resulting in compromised projects that do little if anything to add to the unique charm and character of city neighborhoods.



The scale of these projects is much larger than Fleur de Lis, but I'm reminded of Southtown Centre and Loughborough Commons, both of which could have been planned much better. Instead, we got typical strip malls in both locations with no respect for the surrounding built environment.



The result at Southtown is particularly bad, because like those houses on Texas Avenue, the old Famous-Barr was senselessly demolished for a home improvement store (and later a K-Mart) that never materalized. The Southtown Coalition proposed a sensible, attractive, and dense development that made the most of that site, not unlike what Fleur de Lis would've done for the corner of Arsenal and Jefferson. And in the end, the people of the community wound up with a strip mall that was no better than the home improvement store and Kmart that were previously proposed.



Like you, I think Ald. Ortmann will seek a higher standard here, and I think a developer could make the Fleur de Lis concept (or something similar in size and scope) work at this site. Economic conditions right now make the idea somewhat less favorable, but if the city assumes control and shops the site around to qualified developers, you never know. Despite a rather bleak national economic outlook, a lot of projects are still going forward, which is an encouraging sign in our "neither boom nor bust" community. Since no one knows for sure, we'll have to take a wait and see attitude, but at least it seems like people in the community are committed to ensuring that a future proposal for this land embraces the best and highest use concept.

regarding the probability of the of completion:



what was the project sales price of units in the new construction?



what is the median sale price in bpw?

Conurbation wrote:^I might be a little too optimistic about the Jefferson Avenue corridor, but I really think something will have broken ground at the site within three years. When I see so many new businesses popping up on the surrounding blocks, I just can't help but feel that way.



In addition to the already existing businesses along Jefferson, there will soon be new massage parlor (legit not erotic), an art gallery and a new restaurant. And I am still holding out hope that the donut shop is going to get up and running again. With the high prices the existing buildings along that stretch are going for right now, I'd be shocked if someone couldn't find a way to make a large infill project work within the next three years.

The owners of the California Donut Building are rehabbing it with the intentions of opening it as a, get this, donut shop. They also own the adjacent liquor store building located immediately north which they'd like to rehab into a restaurant (phase II). Newcomers Luvy Duvy's has great food and Park West Restaurant is handsomely swanky. Craig Heller was snooping around the neighborhood recently, interested in the Klasek Letter Building @ 2850 S. Jefferson (for a possible loft redevelopment ?), but word is that it was bought out from under him - dunno by whom or for what reuse. Kenrick Design redid the Mariam Feed Building for their own use. The Pockels building @ Gravois is under construction. Jeff Lockheed of the Venice Cafe has something going on in the building just south of the Rally's @ Lynch. There's also been a little talk at high levels about putting a MetroLink extension down S. Jefferson. That of course would be years away, if at all, but it's a cool idea. So I'm with you - S. Jefferson is clear for take off.

and metrolink is supposed to run right down the street .....

FFGump wrote:The owners of the California Donut Building are rehabbing it with the intentions of opening it as a, get this, donut shop. They also own the adjacent liquor store building located immediately north which they'd like to rehab into a restaurant (phase II). Newcomers Luvy Duvy's has great food and Park West Restaurant is handsomely swanky. Craig Heller was snooping around the neighborhood recently, interested in the Klasek Letter Building @ 2850 S. Jefferson (for a possible loft redevelopment ?), but word is that it was bought out from under him - dunno by whom or for what reuse. Kenrick Design redid the Mariam Feed Building for their own use. The Pockels building @ Gravois is under construction. Jeff Lockheed of the Venice Cafe has something going on in the building just south of the Rally's @ Lynch. There's also been a little talk at high levels about putting a MetroLink extension down S. Jefferson. That of course would be years away, if at all, but it's a cool idea. So I'm with you - S. Jefferson is clear for take off.

That is fantastic news all around! I hope that someone will take the old Burger King at Sidney/Gravois and knock it down.

Conurbation wrote:^I might be a little too optimistic about the Jefferson Avenue corridor, but I really think something will have broken ground at the site within three years. When I see so many new businesses popping up on the surrounding blocks, I just can't help but feel that way.



In addition to the already existing businesses along Jefferson, there will soon be new massage parlor (legit not erotic), an art gallery and a new restaurant. And I am still holding out hope that the donut shop is going to get up and running again. With the high prices the existing buildings along that stretch are going for right now, I'd be shocked if someone couldn't find a way to make a large infill project work within the next three years.

I'm not saying that you are right or wrong, I'm just musing here.



But I will say that I'm befuddled at seeming lack of prgress along Jefferson lo these past 20 years. With Lafayette Square on the North end going up in the stratesphere, McKinley-Heights and Fox Park making progress along the interior, and Benton Park on South end going up also in the stratesphere, yet Jefferson Ave struggles.

^There are still a lot of poorly-maintained "affordable" rental properties in the area. That is the only thing holding it back.

As a 25 year resident of the area I am in shock when I look at Jeff Ave. If that street truly turns the corner then anything in this town can be saved. I just paid a visit to the taylor shop last week, great service at a great price. As for CA Donut, I'd recommend the glazed devil's food. That place was a stitch. It was like walking back to 1950. Can't reopen soon enough. Lets hope its not too yuppie d up though.

alphalfa wrote:As a 25 year resident of the area I am in shock when I look at Jeff Ave. If that street truly turns the corner then anything in this town can be saved. I just paid a visit to the taylor shop last week, great service at a great price. As for CA Donut, I'd recommend the glazed devil's food. That place was a stitch. It was like walking back to 1950. Can't reopen soon enough. Lets hope its not too yuppie d up though.

CA Donut is being rehabbed on an as-funds-are-available-basis by a couple of brothers. It's no yup job, but charmingly authentic South Side. Recently, a speeding northbound S. Jefferson driver got clipped in the rear by a westbound Crittenden motorist, lost control and drove his car completely through the storefront and into the kitchen area, destroying a lot of the work which had been done. I don't think anyone got hurt. The boys are rebuilding as they can.

Sorry to hear about the brothers's set back. Don't worry about fixing the neon sign. It never completely lit up.



Now maybe somebody can think about resurrecting St Louis's other pretzel shop, it was called Gigerich or something to that effect. On Jefferson around Pestolottzi. Gus's is getting a little fancy pants for me.

The Beautification Team of Benton Park West Neighborhood Association (BPWNA) has plans for the corner of Arsenal and Jefferson.



With permission from Millennium Restoration and Development Corporation, a planter will be built and maintained by BPWNA in the area next to the sidewalk into the corner right at the intersection.



Watch for more interesting changes in and around Benton Park West as the weather accommodates.