urbanSTL

a parking garage is a DESOLATE STRUCTURE (devoid of inhabitants and visitors)

A building with apartments or condos is a DENSE STRUCTURE



A structure as large as the new garage adds to the desolation of the OPO district.



Density only occurs in a building with residential and/or retail that adds to the neighborhood.



A smart developer would have seen the potential in the Century. How can you lose by selling condos starting in the 200's range? I guess they will make their money by the hour like a cheap whore.



OH and also by the UPSCALE Schnucks they plan on bringing in to compete with the UPSCALE City Grocer.



No morals or values, they dont care about the city and the area, just their pocketbooks.



The garage adds nothing to the neighborhood and actually is a negative aspect of the area by definition.



if anyone cares

Hey, All Is Well! The STATE is going to buy that garage:



Recent Business Journal Story



Does this smell just a little bit funny to anyone else?

bonwich wrote:Hey, All Is Well! The STATE is going to buy that garage:



Recent Business Journal Story



Does this smell just a little bit funny to anyone else?

Given Stogel's background, yes it does!

^Evidently, Larry Williams cares.



From the OPO-based weekly:

Several hundred state employees, formerly at the Wainright Building, have moved from parking at a city-owned garage on Seventh Street between Olive and Pine to the Ninth Street Garage.

Oh, I see. No grocery store should ever be allowed to open downtown because they will compete with City Grocers?

I didnt say downtown, we are talking about the same block.



anywhere else and I wouldnt mind, does it really make sence to you to open 2 groceries on the same parcel? right next to each other?



City Grocers is sunk if and when this happens.



CS " never logs off " HUMM which he would



HAHA I like you not liking me

^ think he meant wish not which

Alright everyone, here's some middle ground:



Yes it was a stupid and manipulative move on the city's part considering all of the surface parking lots that could have been used.



Yes we have a lot of parking and not enough willingness to walk more than two blocks.



Yes we should never let such a classic building get torn down in the future.



However, having said all that, Central's right. We don't need to cry over spilled milk. It's done. If it looks like it might happen again, then it might be appropriate to rehash. It's just that, yeah, it's done. What else can we do but hope for the best outcome? I'm not saying forget that it ever happened or don't learn anything from it, but can anyone bring up this garage without getting into this discussion again?

Wow, I feel like we're playing musical chairs with garage space now. Now their old garage space is less utilized so that a new space intended to make it easier for outsiders to get to downtown will be at least largely filled all the time by people who were downtown anyway.

BT wrote:Wow, I feel like we're playing musical chairs with garage space now. Now their old garage space is less utilized so that a new space intended to make it easier for outsiders to get to downtown will be at least largely filled all the time by people who were downtown anyway.

However, more openings in the city-owned garage at 7th and Olive is good for current and prospective tenants of the Laclede Gas building.

I checked out the garage this afternoon and I think it is starting to look very nice. I could go on and on about how we'll never replace the Century (I'm not) but as far as garages go this one looks real good.

TheWayoftheArch wrote:The State owning that garage is not new news. Its been planned to work out that way the whole time.

If it's "not news," why did the Business Journal, grand proponents of all things Old Post Office, report it as such? (And can you cite any previous news stories that had reported it?)

I will say it is one of the better looking parking garages that I've seen. Although, that still isn't saying much.

Anybody have any recent photos of the garage-mahal? I'm curious to see how this is going.

ArchMadness wrote:Anybody have any recent photos of the garage-mahal? I'm curious to see how this is going.

I plan on snapping some this evening and will post later tonight. The garage looks really nice and think all will be pleasantly surprised on how great the street level is turning out.

True, as far as garages go, this is about the best you can get. I think they actually did do a very good job. It's no Century, and it's still a garage, but at least it looks good.

TheWayoftheArch wrote:

If it's "not news," why did the Business Journal, grand proponents of all things Old Post Office, report it as such? (And can you cite any previous news stories that had reported it?)

Because they run out of things to write about,a and then re-hash old info from another angle.



And yes, here is the first post in this thread:

matguy70 wrote:From The STL Business Journal



Alberici to start work on Ninth St. Garage in February

Alberici Constructors will begin work on the $33 million Ninth Street Garage in February after getting the go ahead from the Missouri Development Finance Board, the garage's owner.



The 1,065-space garage will be on the site of the Century Building at Olive and Ninth streets downtown. It will serve the $77 million Old Post Office redevelopment, as well as neighboring office, residential and retail properties.



Several lawsuits were filed in opposition to demolishing the Century Building.



The garage, which was designed by Trivers Associates and developed by NSG Developers, is expected to be completed in September 2006.



St. Louis-based Alberici Constructors is a privately held general contracting firm.

The memory of an elephant, I tell you.

Except now the state is selling it to...the state. How does this make any sense? It's a $33M garage being sold for, what, $17M? If garages and parking are so damn profitable downtown, why isn't it being sold for big bucks to private business?



If someone can break down all the economics of tax credits, total cost, etc. I'd love to see a cogent analysis.

I don't have enough time to break this scam down for you.

I walked by the garage yesterday and I'd agree that it's one of the better looking garages I've seen. Of course it is a garage. There's a nice looking garage in downtown Cleveland as well - glass panels/etc/kind of artsy. I'll try to get a pic sometime.

One interesting thing about the garage is that when you are walking east on Olive, (from around 11th-12th) the angle is such that the garage actually looks like a "building." From that perspective, it APPEARS to contribute to the streetscape.

Who wants to think of the true public cost (court costs, government bonds, land sales) of this garage-mahal?! To date, you had the City suing a private owner to stop demolition for parking, then the City buying the block, the State financing demolition/construction, the City and State suing citizens for trying to stop demolition, and now the State "buying" the garage.



After all those dollars being wasted, $17 million sure is a bargain for a brand new garage. But as Bonwich points out, if it's truly bargain, why isn't the private sector interested?



Could it be that there is more than enough parking Downtown? Even the City owns multiple new garages just blocks (Seventh, Cupples, etc.) from this beauty.