urbanSTL

Possibly, but a doc crew wouldn't be using a boom or jib generally. Sounds more like a scripted production, unless they are making a intro for Sweetie Pies.

I second that it was Sweetie Pie's. We live right around the corner over there and were driving out early; my girlfriend and I both commented to each other that they were filming something for the show.

My girlfriend works with one of the members of the family, I'll see if I can confirm.

ImprovSTL wrote:Possibly, but a doc crew wouldn't be using a boom or jib generally. Sounds more like a scripted production, unless they are making a intro for Sweetie Pies.

Remember, this is a reality show. Those are much closer to scripted productions than they are documentaries...

-RBB

rbb wrote: Remember, this is a reality show. Those are much closer to scripted productions than they are documentaries...
-RBB

REALITY: More scripted than documentaries. It's funny because it's true...

Yes, this was for Sweetie Pies. They were taking some exterior shots. They shoot in my alley quite often, and they do multiple takes of everything. The entire thing is scripted, even the heated arguments. It was fun having them as neighbors at first, but it gets old very fast.

Lot upcoming in the Grove right now. There's a plan to renovate the building at 4301 Manchester (Manchester and Tower Grove) as a Reliance Bank. Images are from the Park Central Development packet:

Site plan:


Rendering:


I'm glad to see this building reutilized, but I don't love the traffic flow/curb cuts. Not sure if it could be improved, though. Any suggestions on how to better handle the parking lot/drive through/curb cuts?

FWIW the curb cuts are already there. What bothers me is that they aren't going to leave the building red.

Also being discussed at Tuesday's Development meeting is the hotel proposal for the corner of Taylor and Chouteau (nextSTL article. It's by the same developers as the Aventura and the townhomes at Tower Grove and Chouteau. A 4-story 107-room hotel is proposed. It will be a Home 2 Suites by Hilton, an extended stay hotel. There's no plan for a retail component. Images are from the Park Central Development packet

Proposed site plan:


They are not interested in building on the proposed pocket park at the corner due to environmental concerns, so it may become some sort of neighborhood green space (a block away from Chouteau's Park and Rainbow Park and pretty close to the playground at the southwest corner of Forest Park) or a dog park for the neighborhood.

There are several potential color schemes, but the buildings all have the same pre-fab materials and appearance:


They are asking for 10 years of tax abatement. Park Central recommends the tax abatement if they agree to reign in the fence, replace the EIFS on the public facades with brick, and present a landscaping plan. The developers presented at last night's neighborhood association meeting and don't really seem interested in compromising with the neighborhood on anything, really, with the possible exception of lowering their proposed fence rather than continuing the minimum-security prison Aventura fence. They did move the hotel from the center of a sea of parking to having parking in the back (though still visible from Chouteau), so that's something, I guess.

The hotel is just horrible. Deny the tax abatement. Have the courage to say no.

An ugly hotel, made of cheap materials, surrounded by fences, walls, "buffers", and of course parking. This developer needs to wake up and smell what people are actually trying to make the Grove into.

Form-based code stat!

Wow, that hotel is just stunningly ugly! Highway frontage, and that's the best they come up with?

quincunx wrote:Form-based code stat!

At the most recent neighborhood meeting, Alderman Roddy said that H3 has been hired for the form-based plan in FPSE (they also did the one for the CWE and have done planning studies for Skinker-Debalviere and I think Parkview Gardens). They hope to begin public meetings soon but completion is probably a year or so out, so until then tax abatement is one of the few points of leverage for the neighborhood.

The hotel is pretty bad, but I think a brick facade would help it at least fit in to the neighborhood better.

The paramount problem with the hotel is the site plan.

StlToday - Forest Park Southeast committee backs projects, with conditions

A development committee is backing tax abatement for a hotel and a bank branch proposed for the city's Forest Park Southeast neighborhood.

But support from the Forest Park Southeast Development Committee carries some conditions. Committee members prefer exterior materials different than the type of panels proposed by the hotel developer.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/column ... dab27.html

Isn't/wasn't there a little science park there?

Apparently the site has major environmental contamination from a previous tenant on at least one of the three lots. Two of the lots were owned by Anheuser-Busch, and one was an LRA lot (property ownership in Geo St. Louis only goes back to 1997, I don't know what the deal was prior to that). According to Geo St. Louis, there was a permit to "DEMOLISH 1-STORY BRICK SERVICE STATION BLDG" on the Manchester-Kingshighway lot in 1988, to "WRECK 1 STORY BRICK COMMERCIAL BLDG" on the adjacent lot to the east after an emergency board-up/condemnation in 1990, and to "WRECK 1 STORY COMM GAS STATION " on the easternmost lot in 1994. I'm not sure if one of these properties is responsible for the contamination or it's some combination. Science Center took control of the site in 2001, I think via donation.

Years ago there was a little garden there using elevated beds to avoid soil contamination problems, but it has since fallen into disrepair. There was a gazebo as well, and a few other small structures like a geodesic dome and a wind turbine. I don't recall it ever being well-utilized, though. The Science Center has said they are working on a plan to revitalize the corner but they have not released any plans yet. From what I have heard they are thinking more along the lines of garden and art space rather than constructing building, but hopefully they will release a plan soon. Some new construction on at least part of the lot would be nice, it's a very big space.

It was mentioned at the FPSE Neighborhood meeting that the Science Center will be making "improvements" to this area in the Spring.

not in the grove but close and not sure were to put it
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog ... toric.html