This just in from the Post Dispatch:



WATCH JOE GO: Joe Edwards, the visionary of Delmar-velous Boulevard, is at it again. He's got plans to break ground by the end of the year on a $15 million, 120-room boutique hotel at 6177 Delmar between his Pageant and Pin-Up Bowl locations. Edwards said he planned to work with Kiku Obata & Co., which won an international award for the Pin-Up Bowl design. "This is just something so different, and that's what I like to do," Edwards said Thursday. He plans to develop the hotel himself and currently is working to set up financing, which he added would involve a TIF for the area. He said Alderman Lyda Krewson has been working to get that done. Even though the project is in its infancy, Edwards said: "I'm confident this will happen." He'd like to have the hotel up and running by the end of 2006. The shuttered Ronald Jones funeral home currently is on the site.



This is freakin' fantastic. I know there's been talk about a loop hotel for years but now its finally happening - and on the city side as well (city can use all the tax dollars it can get). Comments anyone?

I guess he would be redeveloping the old funeral parlor building? This will definitely help add more vitality to an already prospering area.



Joe Edwards is amazing - he takes on so many different projects, but he always gets them done.

I wonder why the hotel isn't proposed on the vacant lot across the street?

Can't wait to see this hotel! Does Joe Edwards have a star on the walk of fame? He deserves one......

I am always supportive of saving old structures, but a hotel in an old funeral home....?



I'm sure it will be torn down - 120 rooms is rather large. I'm hoping for some height along Delmar. Maybe something in the range of 8-10 stories. Plus, with Kiku in charge you know it will be done right. Her firm produces excelent designs IMO.

I was wondering the same thing - why not put it on the vacant lot across the street?



I assume the funeral parlor will be torn down. I can't imagine that building supporting a hotel of that size. .. which is a bit of a shame. Its a nice lookign building...



on a similar thought - doesn't Joel Edwards own that vacant lot? I thought he was planing to put a small theatre there but the plans fell through. I suppose that doesn;t mean he actually owned the lot - but it makes me suspect that he at least has some interest in it. ... That lot really needs to be developed.

Yeah, it doesn't seem like there's been any news about that proposed theater in quite a while. Wasn't the theater supposed to be in the old church? It's too bad that the building that once stood on the vacant lot collapsed - it would have been great for the Loop.

I'm hoping for some height along Delmar. Maybe something in the range of 8-10 stories

Whoa!! That's WAY too tall for the loop. The building would stick out like a sore thumb, like univercity tower on brentwood. I think 3-4 stories is plenty tall. a major issue here is cost (to the consumer). I'm almost certain this hotel that this hotel is going to be marketed by washU for the parents who come in for various days to visit their kids, and of course they can pay boutique prices. I just hope edwards can keep rate below $99 a night, because it's not fair to the traveling student/non businessman to pay high rates like that. This is actually one of my biggest gripes with edwards. While everything he does turns to gold, it costs just as much. Even blueberry hill is getting up there in price. I think a hotel is great, but pleeeeease keep it cheap.

I remember reading in the West End Word that the Theatre project across from the Pageant was cancelled because Joe couldn?t find a suitable acting troupe to take up residence.

This is also probably a move to give acts at the pageant a nice alternative place to stay near their venue.



Saw the Killers last night at the Pageant...it was awesomeness.

That side of the loop is really growing. Nice places across the street from Pin-up-Bowl.



Now if they could only get rid of that ugly Church's chicken.

^I know! I hate that Church's Chicken. That corner deserves a proper building.

I think the loop is ready for some mid-rise construction. We're talking about an urban neighborhood, after all. I'm really impressed with how quickly the expansion east of Skinker is progressing.



And I really like how the University Club Tower rises by itself. I wish some of those god-awfull 3 story suburban office buildings plopped down all over the place looked like that.

i don't know if the Loop "needs" midrise construction (seems to be doing fine without too much of it as it is). If there is a market demand for it (i.e the plot of land is so expensive that the only thing that could justify new construction would be higher density) then i suppose that's something we'd have to accept. However I'd rather see a lot of that development energy go into infilling all the vacant lots that currently exist with similarly scaled buildings to the rest of the loop (2-3) story buildings with specially designated places for stand out buildings (5-8 ) stories. Thewayofthearch brings up a great point interms of the possible bookend approach to siting possible mid-rises (with the 5 story U City Hall building acting as one bookend). I think the Church's Chicken site would be a great place for a 5 story stand out building, because of it's location at the intersection of two important streets, not to mention as a way to solidify the connection between the east loop and the main strip. Maybe further east, at some intersection they could then build 8-10 story midrises to further the bookend effect.



In general I think the loop is a great transition area between the urban nature of the city, and the more mixed suburban nature of U City. St. Louis City has a wealth of grand streets and boulevards that could function a little better as high intensity mid-rise/highrise corridors. Personally i like the Loop's scale as it stands, and i'm sure in the future it will provide a nice change of pace from higher intensity retail strips that may (and will, if all goes to plan) develop in the CWE, Mid-town, and downtown.

this is indeed great news!



I'd like to see more highrises if thats what this new hotel project may be in the loop. Plus there aren't many hotels around that area, near WashU. This would be a great addition to the loop along with the new grad campus their building.

Clayton is as close to Wash U as the loop is and they have plenty of hotels.

I'm surprised at Codascoram's statement. While, I'm not advocating a building taller than 10 stories, I don't think you need to "keep" it at four or five stories either. What if someone said the same thing 80 years ago about the West End or Demun or 50 years ago in Clayton?

JCity if someone said the same thing about Clayton 50 years ago maybe more of those towers would be downtown. : )

JMedwick, you do have a very good point. I would MUCH rather have Clayton only have midrise buildings, and have a strong downtown. Clayton used to have a maximum height restriction, which was changed when the current Radisson Hotel was built. The "two downtowns" thing definitely doesn't help downtown st. louis. But in terms of the Loop, you already have taller towers on the eastern end (ok far east of the loop at Delmar and DeBaliviere). I don't think having high density in the eastern area of the Loop is a bad idea.

Maybe the hotel would be better farther east on Delmar. The blocks east of Union are looking pretty bad these days. There has been a lot of demolition on the eastern part of Delmar lately - in fact, a great old commercial building at Delmar and Taylor is coming down as we speak.

I think the reason for this location is to keep it close to Wash U and to provide a close place to stay for musical acts.