urbanSTL

Update from earlier this month:

http://nextstl.com/central-corridor/cor ... ther-moves

Property acquisition continues. Smaller businesses there relocating. Laclede Gas property under contract.

Is the website down? I can'r access it. Gosh people are excited.

Thanks to Alex for all the reporting on this development. As he pointed out in the nextstl story, this is huge in luring other retail and hopefully residential in the area. The jobs and tax dollars are very important. This is a great time for the central corridor!

No doubt this is exciting news, but let's keep in mind that St. Louis and Cleveland are the only 2 million + metros that don't already have an Ikea, so it's not like we're on the cutting edge or anything. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have all had an Ikea for years. However, the fact that ours will be in the heart of the city is pretty cool. Now we just have to hope that the development capitalizes on its urban context rather than screwing it up.

It's awesome to see this level of investment in midtown, especially from retail. I'm still so happy to hear about this.

I am glad that Ikea was announced now in THE CITY instead of three years ago in the burbs!

I am thinking this will be STL's "Atlantic Station" (Atlanta's Ikea development near downtown).

This is going to spur so much more retail development (as well as residential etc...) in midtown.

In addition, I love the fact that suburbanites now have to drive into the city to shop! Woo Hoo! This retail boom will only
continue in the city.

sirshankalot wrote:

stlgasm wrote:No doubt this is exciting news, but let's keep in mind that St. Louis and Cleveland are the only 2 million + metros that don't already have an Ikea, so it's not like we're on the cutting edge or anything. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have all had an Ikea for years. However, the fact that ours will be in the heart of the city is pretty cool. Now we just have to hope that the development capitalizes on its urban context rather than screwing it up.

This is so misinformed. Cincy got an IKEA because Dayton is 50 miles away and Louisville is 80 miles away. Baltimore is part of the DC megapolis and Pittsburgh draws people from Akron, Youngstown, Morgantown and even Cleveland....

In my opinion, that entire discussion is completely irrelevant. As mentioned in the nextSTL piece that broke this story, the exciting part of all of this has nothing to do with the identity of the retailer, specifically. Rather, the exciting things are that it's a massive international retailer (indeed, as the article points out, "perhaps the most sought-after retailer") that will attract people from 50+ miles out to come to the Midtown neighborhood of the City of St. Louis. The foot traffic generated by a place like this will be so significant that other major retailers will likely want a piece of that action (might we actually get a Target in St. Louis along the central corridor?). Above all, the City desperately needed some positive news on the retail front. Between this and the mixed-use Whole Foods breaking ground in the CWE, this is a great week for the City.

Sirshankalot- how was my comment misinformed? Every Ikea is going to draw customers from outside the immediate metro, as will ours. Fact of the matter is, St Louis is behind most other peer cities in finally landing one, but ours being in the city will be a big one up for us.

On another note, the comments on STLtoday regarding this story are sad and embarrassing, but I guess that's nothing new.

Yes, St. Louis is behind peer cities and that's unfortunate. For some reason—and I can't cite a source—but I was under the impression that IKEA had been wanting to build in STL for some time (hence the years of rumors) but were very specific on a location and willing to wait. They wanted to be in the urban core and passed on opportunities to build in St. Ann, St. Peters and Fenton. Again, not sure, where I got that impression. (Maybe I fabricated that to make myself feel better.)

stlgasm wrote:Sirshankalot- how was my comment misinformed? Every Ikea is going to draw customers from outside the immediate metro, as will ours. Fact of the matter is, St Louis is behind most other peer cities in finally landing one, but ours being in the city will be a big one up for us.

Let me just say that I have shopped at only two IKEA locations (Houston and Austin). Trust me, while it is great St. Louis is finally getting one, St. Louis hasn't been missing out on much but the residual economic activity IKEAs bring.

Although they are coveted stores, if you've been to one, you've been to them all. Great picture frames, great cheap kitchenware, great cheap light fixtures, cheap, but contemporary home office furniture, affordable artwork and mirrors for a bland wall etc.

Seriously, you can buy some of this stuff on Amazon.com.

Again, while I am happy that St. Louis - and the City in particular - is getting a location, IKEA's presence, to me, means the most because: 1.) It will be in the City. 2.) Lots of jobs, albeit mostly low-wage, will be created for St. Louis City and the region 3.) IKEA will likely spur lots of new development in the Central Corridor and surrounding neighborhoods. 4.) Increase tax revenue for the city to address needs. 5.) It will be the only location in Missouri - which is good for St. Louis - because it helps to solidify the St. Louis region as Missouri's retail capital.

Further, St. Louis has a number of major and national boutique retailers that do not exist in metros that had an IKEA prior to St. Louis. Plaza Frontenac, for example, is only one of five premium malls in the country with both Saks and Neimans. A lot of regions of similar size don't have both stores. Anyway, IKEA was old news by the time they opened the 10th or 15th U.S. location. And by the way, Pittsburgh has the 4th oldest U.S. location, but it is suburban - just as Baltimore, Cincy, Minneapolis, KC and others.

So perhaps it was best that St. Louis got one when it did because it landed in the city.

stlgasm wrote:On another note, the comments on STLtoday regarding this story are sad and embarrassing, but I guess that's nothing new.

St. Louisans can be worse than your average naysayer, in my opinion. It drives me bananas. Other than the common bond around the Cardinals, civic and regional pride can be abysmal, which in turns makes for low or a lack of civic and economic progress. Some of the comments don't surprise me at all. To me, it seems like the region's most IGNORANT, biased, racist and uninformed people make comments there. These are the same people who moved to Timbuktu but complain about having to drive to the city except for a Cardinals game. They want people to drive to Bug Tussle, Fenton but they don't want to drive to the city.

I am happy that PACE and IKEA chose the city. Their actions will help the entire region economically. A healthier St. Louis City bodes well for the whole region. AND, IKEA has security.

It's at the point where at least we don't have to hear the insult of 'what, you guys don't have an IKEA?'

Again, My thoughts... I would rather have had IKEA wait to build in Midtown now than put it in the burbs 5 years ago.

This is big for STL. Being right off of 64 - next to the new midtown station (which I would be willing to bet will get a Best Buy, Target, and others, possibly other high brow stores like another Crate & Barrel or alike. Look at the Atlantic Station in ATL - that is what I can see this becoming in the heart of our cosmopolitan CWE and Midtown! I am not dreaming big either - this is what is going to be off this momentum. With Pace at the helm of this all - they will do it RIGHT! Next will be several highrises (as they have hinted to) around the property. Just watch how this will play out! It will boom.

Check out how Atlantic Station in ATL started - on an old huge steel mill property. Anchor store that started it: Ikea

^Stories of new infill construction in this part of Midtown have gone on for a while, from the new apartments east of Sarah to blowback projects from the new height requirements for the CWE, as well as to the Cortex plans for future construction (read: mixed density). Other projects with limited public news (i.e. NE corner of Vandeventer & Forest Park Parkway) may become public soon. I would anticipate a hotel to be built in the area in the near future, and not necessarily that one announced years ago near the credit union along Forest Park Parkway.

Focus: Yeah, Swedes. I may buy picture frames here sometime in the future. Meanwhile, I've heard a whole bunch of grief from academics in journalism livid at how the local media is claiming this story without any further proof other than nextSTL's reporting, how the site is oftentimes disregarded by them as blogging, not journalism, but its word is valid enough for all others to blindly credit now with no named sources other than the site. Eh, can't make everyone happy all the time...

Q: How much new revenue can the City look to recognize coming from IKEA coming to Midtown? A big retail presence can lead to a whole lot more going into City tax coffers, could do a lot with a whole lot of new money.

Looking forward to an announcement making this official. Wednesday, yes?