^ I don't think there's any concrete news yet although it does seem to be informed chatter supporting what has been reported for a while regarding the Vandeventer / FPP site.
All in all, this sounds good to me.
All in all, this sounds good to me.
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Here is another tweet from Space of interest:
@SPACEarchitects
IKEA doesn't use eminent domain, which is why the Hadley Township deal in Richmond Heights fell through. Trying again in FPSE/Midtown. #STL
Actually I don't think they could even use eminent domain if they wanted to. Missouri Supreme Court just handed down an important ruling this week that eminent domain can not be used just for economic development purposes, based on the new statute passed a few years ago.
@SPACEarchitects
IKEA doesn't use eminent domain, which is why the Hadley Township deal in Richmond Heights fell through. Trying again in FPSE/Midtown. #STL
Actually I don't think they could even use eminent domain if they wanted to. Missouri Supreme Court just handed down an important ruling this week that eminent domain can not be used just for economic development purposes, based on the new statute passed a few years ago.
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A lot of people think this is a done deal. It might be, but obviously it's not confirmed, confirmed until confirmed by IKEA.
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This comes with mixed emotions. There's a really cool building at the SouthWest corner of Vandeventer and Laclede. Will this mean this building will meet the wrecking ball? Can this be built with an urban design or does this mean the suburbanization of midtown continues?
I think the site in question is the large mostly empty lot at the SW corner of Vendeventer and FPP, which contains a crappy gas station and Laclede gas older but unremarkable service headquatersmoorlander wrote:This comes with mixed emotions. There's a really cool building at the SouthWest corner of Vandeventer and Laclede. Will this mean this building will meet the wrecking ball? Can this be built with an urban design or does this mean the suburbanization of midtown continues?
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^ I think you're right.
^^ Wrong location - at least according to our sources. Hopefully they're right. I don't know about the suburbanization part...I mean, this part of Midtown has large parcels of vacant land, bucolic, pastoral, urban prairie - and there's a lot of it. I once asked CORTEX if they planned any 6-story+ buildings and the person in charge looked at me like I spit on his mother. His response, "Do you have any idea how much space we have? We can't build it out at two stories in the next two decades." Hyperbole maybe, but there's a ton of space in Midtown. Putting retail adjacent to I-64 is smart.
^^ Wrong location - at least according to our sources. Hopefully they're right. I don't know about the suburbanization part...I mean, this part of Midtown has large parcels of vacant land, bucolic, pastoral, urban prairie - and there's a lot of it. I once asked CORTEX if they planned any 6-story+ buildings and the person in charge looked at me like I spit on his mother. His response, "Do you have any idea how much space we have? We can't build it out at two stories in the next two decades." Hyperbole maybe, but there's a ton of space in Midtown. Putting retail adjacent to I-64 is smart.
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Ok I just figured it was the lot with newly demo'd and cleared building.
"i don't know about the suburbanization part?"
Alex really? SLU and Biondi don't ring a bell?
"i don't know about the suburbanization part?"
Alex really? SLU and Biondi don't ring a bell?
Well SLU isn't involved...moorlander wrote:Ok I just figured it was the lot with newly demo'd and cleared building.
"i don't know about the suburbanization part?"
Alex really? SLU and Biondi don't ring a bell?
I'm not celebrating until confirmed/announced by Ikea themselves. Until then it's all rumors.Alex Ihnen wrote:A lot of people think this is a done deal. It might be, but obviously it's not confirmed, confirmed until confirmed by IKEA.
Smart man.dweebe wrote:I'm not celebrating until confirmed/announced by Ikea themselves. Until then it's all rumors.Alex Ihnen wrote:A lot of people think this is a done deal. It might be, but obviously it's not confirmed, confirmed until confirmed by IKEA.
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I'd love to see more density in this area as well, but given the wide swath of land that are still available in the area, I'm okay with something along the lines of IKEA along Interstate 64. I actually thought a Target in this area was a great idea as well, but that was when I thought Macy's was actually going to be in downtown for the foreseeable future. Now I hope CityTarget will look at the space they vacate instead since I'm not sure the city is ready for three Target locations.Alex Ihnen wrote:^^ Wrong location - at least according to our sources. Hopefully they're right. I don't know about the suburbanization part...I mean, this part of Midtown has large parcels of vacant land, bucolic, pastoral, urban prairie - and there's a lot of it. I once asked CORTEX if they planned any 6-story+ buildings and the person in charge looked at me like I spit on his mother. His response, "Do you have any idea how much space we have? We can't build it out at two stories in the next two decades." Hyperbole maybe, but there's a ton of space in Midtown. Putting retail adjacent to I-64 is smart.
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Meaning that I don't think retail here, whether IKEA, Target or something else would equal the suburbanization of Midtown.moorlander wrote:Ok I just figured it was the lot with newly demo'd and cleared building.
"i don't know about the suburbanization part?"
Alex really? SLU and Biondi don't ring a bell?
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Of course I know SLU isn't involved in this project but they are have suburbanized midtown (greenspace, fountains, outrageous setbacks, etc. Will IKEA have an urban design or will it be a giant big box store surrounded by a sea of parking?innov8ion wrote:Well SLU isn't involved...moorlander wrote:Ok I just figured it was the lot with newly demo'd and cleared building.
"i don't know about the suburbanization part?"
Alex really? SLU and Biondi don't ring a bell?
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For those close to the churn of the rumor mill, any idea as to the timeline for an Ikea decision/announcement? Is this likely to happen soon, or are we months/years from a decision and eventual groundbreaking?
...whose absence harms the perception of Saint Louis.Ikea is a big box store with parking
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The street grid in that part of Midtown already provides for superblocks. An IKEA at FPP/Vandeventer might necessitate the closure of a part of Duncan,which in that block is basically an industrial service drive anyway. With the big blocks and highway frontage, this is the best spot in Midtown for something like an IKEA. The added bonus is that because of the TIF, a portion of the massive sales tax dollars generated by the store can be used to fund infrastructure throughout the CORTEX district. As ironic as it seems, this one big box can help make a lot of urban development in the rest of CORTEX and greater Midtown/CWE possible.hebeter wrote:Ikea is a big box store with parking
I had heard that sometime this summer IKEA could give a preliminary approval for a site. Even if that occurs, I wouldn't expect a formal announcement until next year.Mark Groth wrote:For those close to the churn of the rumor mill, any idea as to the timeline for an Ikea decision/announcement? Is this likely to happen soon, or are we months/years from a decision and eventual groundbreaking?
Anyone familiar with IKEA knew that was exactly what we were going to get. (IF they're coming to St. Louis.)hebeter wrote:Ikea is a big box store with parking
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Of all the things that negatively affect people's perceptions of St. Louis, lack of an IKEA is pretty low on the list.onecity wrote:...whose absence harms the perception of Saint Louis.Ikea is a big box store with parking
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I'd put it more like this: IKEA's presence would change perceptions of Saint Louis. I think that is very true. Especially with all the other stuff coming on line.debaliviere wrote:Of all the things that negatively affect people's perceptions of St. Louis, lack of an IKEA is pretty low on the list.onecity wrote:...whose absence harms the perception of Saint Louis.Ikea is a big box store with parking
I agree.debaliviere wrote:Of all the things that negatively affect people's perceptions of St. Louis, lack of an IKEA is pretty low on the list.
Also, when IKEA announces its St. Louis store people in other major cities are going to yawn. They have moved on to the next big thing in those cities. I am glad that St. Louisans are lusting for IKEA, but within two or three years after its opening, St. Louisans will be moving on to the next big thing too.
It's great to have IKEA in the community - especially a store by the universities and CORTEX - but other than the jobs IKEA will create in the city and the validation it will give the Central Corridor - it really isn't that serious to me.
On another note, I hope that secret 2-million square foot warehouse whispered about for the Metro East is IKEA planning a distribution facility in metro St. Louis. I haven't heard anything in a few months so I hope the warehouse - whatever the tenant company - isn't dead.
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I won't be shopping there much myself, but I love the idea of people from all over the region driving to Midtown to visit our IKEA. A lot of people only come to the city for sports games and similar events. This will bring more people in, plus they will get to see CORTEX instead of just downtown.