urbanSTL

I ate at Chuy's the other day and I think this building looks hideous - must not be too many NIMBY's in Dogtown. It's way out of scale and it looks cheap. Some trees to break up the facade may help, but it's still a bad fit - and it's very expensive - wonder how it's selling . . . That being said, it's a nice little neighborhood/small retail intersection that should be on its way up due to proximity to FP/BJC/WU and Clayton.

I really don't like the Tamm side of it.

DeBaliviere wrote:I really don't like the Tamm side of it.

I don't like any side of it. But you're right, the Tamm side is an abomination

The best part is the "corner stone" that bears the Est. 2007 wording is shaped out of EIFS. That fact alone represents all that is wrong with this building.



-Brent

I don't think it's all that bad. I like its size, but the execution could have been MUCH better. The retail component is what they really screwed up. It should have been actually ON the street, not elevated above it, and should have wrapped around the corner to include frontage on Tamm.

I had dinner at Felix's on Saturday night, and this thing really is an eyesore. It doesn't complement the neighborhood at all, it's really not very pedestrian friendly, and looks like a box on the Tamm side.



Not very good design.

Any word on plans for the retail set to open on the ground floor?

From Joe Whittington's PD Column:

DOG DAYS: The soft market has claimed upscale mixed-use condominium project Lehman Place on the Park in Dogtown. Southern Commercial Bank on Wednesday took back the property, which opened in early March.



Prices ranged from $250,000 to $550,000 per unit at the 6400 Wise Avenue project. It is at the site of the old Lehman Hardware Store.



"The market is so bad now," said Chuck Billings, one of the principals. "We took care of the issues within our reach, but couldn't control the marketplace, and condos are one of the first casualties of a depressed market."

^

Yeah, it's all the market's fault. Nevermind the fact that the building is poorly designed and the units are overpriced.

DeBaliviere wrote:^

Yeah, it's all the market's fault. Nevermind the fact that the building is poorly designed and the units are overpriced.

Exactly. The builders deserve to loose their shirts on this one. $500K for a condo in Dogtown? Puh-lease.

I see this coming with some other projects that were designed for the wrong market, and just designed wrong. Nothing specific in my mind, but more of this will not surprise me.

So if a condo development gets foreclosed on, what happens to the people that had already purchased a unit in the building?

Has anyone even moved into the building? I've never seen any signs that someone lives there. i.e. window shades, lights off/on, television flickering etc. I drove by last night around 9pm and didn't see anything.

dweebe wrote:Has anyone even moved into the building? I've never seen any signs that someone lives there. i.e. window shades, lights off/on, television flickering etc. I drove by last night around 9pm and didn't see anything.

I believe it is empty top to bottom.

Maybe now that the bank owns them they will sell them for a reasonable price and fill the bldg up.

^ Too bad the bank can't and won't order a redesign of this building, especially along Tamm Avenue.

^^^How about a building wrap!!

^Cute. Where is that?

Reminds me of a building in Columbus, OH? Any chance that's it?

This is what happens when developers look at architects as simply a line item in their excel spreadsheet. The numbers only work out for high-end condos when owners actually invest in quality design and materials that justify the pricing. I'd like to see the building re-skined with a new facade that addresses all the problems I have already pointed out elsewhere in this thread.



I am sad to see the building foreclosed upon, but i do not see this as being entirely a symptom of the market. The only "symptom" the market displayed was its unwillingness to buy crap.



Thanks,



-Brent

bhardy wrote:I am sad to see the building foreclosed upon, but i do not see this as being entirely a symptom of the market. The only "symptom" the market displayed was its unwillingness to buy crap.

True enough. This is what really happens when a market is in a downturn. The properties with less well done finishes and/or in slightly less desireable locations don't sell. Many, many neighborhoods continue to do very well.