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PostApr 11, 2006#26

From MayorSlay.com:


Park Pacific involves the historic rehab of the Missouri Pacific Building, which became empty when the railroad moved its employees to Nebraska several years ago. Steve Smith of the Lawrence Group plans to transform the old building into retail, office, and residential apartments. But the best part is that Steve is also planning a striking new building on Tucker. Tucker is the major entrance to downtown St. Louis, and the ?modern? architecture that currently lines the street is less than distinguished. The new building will begin to fill in this streetscape with the kind of architecture that our entrance to downtown deserves. In addition, Steve plans improvements to the two adjacent parks. These enhanced park spaces will provide pleasant and relaxing outdoor places for everyone who visits, lives, or works downtown.
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PostApr 12, 2006#27

But the best part is that Steve is also planning a striking new building on Tucker. Tucker is the major entrance to downtown St. Louis, and the ?modern? architecture that currently lines the street is less than distinguished. The new building will begin to fill in this streetscape with the kind of architecture that our entrance to downtown deserves.


!!!



Do we know anything more about this?
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PostApr 12, 2006#28

Condos will top vacant UP building

By Eric Heisler

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

04/11/2006



A St. Louis developer is closing in on plans to redevelop the vacant Union Pacific building downtown and build a 15-story condo tower next door.



The $125 million project, called "Park Pacific," will re-use a 22-floor building that was emptied last year when Union Pacific Railroad moved 1,000 workers to Omaha, Neb.



To help fund the project, Lawrence Group, a developer and architectural firm, plans to ask the city for $20.3 million in public assistance.



Park Pacific will mix office space with condos, apartments and retail. Lawrence also plans to redevelop two neighboring parks\



Steve Smith, president of the Lawrence Group, said the residential portion of Park Pacific will help meet the growing demand for non-loft condos in downtown St. Louis.



"If you want to move downtown, just about all that's there right now is lofts," Smith said. "There are people who want to live downtown, but a loft is simply not for them."



Under Lawrence Group's plan, the 1920s-era Union Pacific building will be redeveloped to include retail stores on the ground floor. The upper floors will be a mix of offices and residential units.



The historic tower will be attached to a new building that will feature stores, condos and a parking garage. The two towers will be connected by a "community center" on the ninth floor featuring a pool, spa and other amenities, he said.

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PostApr 12, 2006#29

Ucityman wrote:residential on top....this could be a total knockout. I'm excited for this project.



Don't the keiner garages have the base structure for potential buildings to sit atop them?
^Yes, the Kiener garages were originally supposed to be phase I of a modern redevelopment project that included two towers atop each in phase II. Needless to say, phase II never happened. I think those garages are the two single biggest eysores downtown, especially overlooking Kiener Plaza.



The Lawrence Group is a godsend for St. Louis.
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PostApr 12, 2006#30

Wow, this one's got it all. Rehab, lofts, apartments, office space, retail, new construction and revitalized green space. Very exciting, my hat's off to Lawrence Group.
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PostApr 12, 2006#31

This is great news for that building and for that part of downtown. Lets just hope that the new construction does justice to the great facade of the older building. The devil really is in the details on this one.

PostApr 12, 2006#32

This is great news for that building and for that part of downtown. Lets just hope that the new construction does justice to the great facade of the older building. The devil really is in the details on this one.
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PostApr 12, 2006#33

This is the type of development that really gets my imagination going. It is tremendous news for so many reasons.



Using the UP for residential is brilliant, adding a new building on Tucker is beyond icing on the cake :D . We are seeing this area turn into a real residential neighborhood. This will have a positive impact on the park and the whole neighborhood. And I love the name, the Park Pacific.
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PostApr 12, 2006#34

There is a scale drawing of this project in today?s PD. I will try to scan it later in the day
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PostApr 12, 2006#35

This is really exciting news!!! I just love watching all of these buildings come back to life. And it's great to hear that they're adding some green space with this project -- I'm sure that my dogs will approve!
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PostApr 12, 2006#36

aimster wrote:This is really exciting news!!! I just love watching all of these buildings come back to life. And it's great to hear that they're adding some green space with this project -- I'm sure that my dogs will approve!


Aimster, just to clarify, they are not adding new green space. They will be developing existing green space, whatever that means. I think it means improvements to the existing park. Anyway, that is my understanding.
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PostApr 12, 2006#37

On the rendering, it looks like the park to the west of the building will have some kind of small pond/water feature (it's kind of hard to make out), and that park and the park to the south will both have paved areas in which to congregate.
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PostApr 12, 2006#38

Expat wrote:
aimster wrote:This is really exciting news!!! I just love watching all of these buildings come back to life. And it's great to hear that they're adding some green space with this project -- I'm sure that my dogs will approve!


Aimster, just to clarify, they are not adding new green space. They will be developing existing green space, whatever that means. I think it means improvements to the existing park. Anyway, that is my understanding.


I guess the real question is whether the "existing park" is something that I would have used... I'm not familiar with that area so I don't know, but I'm just assuming that it hasn't been cared for and isn't an area where I'd want to walk my dog. Maybe that's an incorrect assumption.



Anyway, the new and improved version sounds great!
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PostApr 12, 2006#39

aimster wrote:I just love watching all of these buildings come back to life.


I agree.



I'm still sad DT lost 1,000 when UP consolidated operations. The other thing that bums me out, some may remember a few years back, Union Pacific was looking for new headquarters, STL and Dallas were the finalist.



They selected Dallas because they wanted an vibrant downtown space.

But in the end, I think they decided to stay in Omaha. I can't recall. Sorry, don't want to steer this in another direction, just lamenting...



that said, the new tower on Tucker will be awesome!! :D
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PostApr 12, 2006#40

aimster wrote:I guess the real question is whether the "existing park" is something that I would have used... I'm not familiar with that area so I don't know, but I'm just assuming that it hasn't been cared for and isn't an area where I'd want to walk my dog. Maybe that's an incorrect assumption.



Anyway, the new and improved version sounds great!


Right now, you might not want to walk your dog there. The park is pretty popular with the homeless. It looks like a camp site more than a park on most days.
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PostApr 12, 2006#41

That's what I suspected. Thanks for the info!



But that leads me to a whole other issue... I hate that there are so many homeless people wandering the streets. A few years ago I looked into volunteering at St. Patrick's center, but ended up choosing another organization. I may have to look into it again when I return because I want to do whatever I can to help.
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PostApr 12, 2006#42

^The proximity to Larry Rice's homeless shelter on 14th and Locust certainly draws in the homeless to the area. I thought the City was working on some way to eliminate the random food drop-offs that happened at Lucas Park and consolodate the services elsewhere. I haven't heard anything about it for a while now.



The parks that the Lawrence group are talking about redeveloping are most likely the ones north and east of the Soldiers Memorial not Lucas Park which is two blocks north.



My favorite part of this project isn't the rehab, rather it's the new building that is proposed on Tucker and Olive. I really hope the new building has a fantastic modern look to contrast with the older buildings along Tucker.
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PostApr 12, 2006#43

DeBaliviere wrote:
aimster wrote:I guess the real question is whether the "existing park" is something that I would have used... I'm not familiar with that area so I don't know, but I'm just assuming that it hasn't been cared for and isn't an area where I'd want to walk my dog. Maybe that's an incorrect assumption.



Anyway, the new and improved version sounds great!


Right now, you might not want to walk your dog there. The park is pretty popular with the homeless. It looks like a camp site more than a park on most days.


Admiteddly, my comfort level may be a bit higher than most but I hardly see any reason for anyone not to walk their dog through there -- especially during the day. Yes, there are several homeless folks "camping out" but my experience has been that they keep to themselves. I walk through there occasionally and have never even been panhandled. I mostly see them socializing with one another. Keeping in mind that people are homeless for a variety of reasons (mental illness, addiction, or just hard-luck), it is always wise to be aware of you're surroundings no matter where you are. That being said, those people are just trying to survive on the most basic level on a daily basis and I don't fear them in general. While I wish the rest of the region would asssume greater responsibilty for the problem, I don't blame the homeless per say -- they just go where the services are.
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PostApr 12, 2006#44

The new building, along with the new building at Washington and Tucker, should really help improve Tucker's appearance. I hope that at some point, developers will turn their attention to the U.S. Bank branch at Olive and Tucker - talk about an underutilized space!



I believe the plan was to consolidate homeless services at one of the churches near the Plaza Square Apartments so that the homeless would have a place to take refuge from the elements, have a meal, take a shower, etc. It sounds like the Mayor and several of the homeless services providers have a pretty good plan in place.
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PostApr 12, 2006#45

Hopefully, the added residential, investment, improvements to the park, etc. will make it more appealing for everyone. For decades, this park has been overlooked and underused. But, as the neighborhood becomes more residential, this is likely to change.



There is already a old but good discussion/thread regarding the homeless in this park (unrelated to the Park Pacific) somewhere on here, maybe under Urban Living.
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PostApr 12, 2006#46

This truly is a fantastic proposal. A new wonderfully modern building on Tucker is just what we need. I also love the fact that the Lawrence Group is considering the public space as a part of their development. It is incredibly, incredibly, important to its success. I am thinking of Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. But for it to be that active and vibrant the streets bordering the park would need to be narrowed and additonal dense development would need to take place in the adjacent blocks.



My only problem with the plan as shown in the print edition of the Post is the focus of the PUBLIC park on the UP building. In my mind that park should have a greater emphasis on the relationship of Soldier's Memorial and our grand public library. I applaud the Lawrence Group for co-opting public space to enhance their development but I think that park has a higher civic purpose than to just serve their residents.
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PostApr 12, 2006#47

News of this tower could have been found earlier on the Downtown STL Partnership website on one of their many spreedsheets.



This is great news and one must hope the combo of new and old will go a long way to filling out that section of Tucker. Its also good to hear that the plan will include work on the park between the Library and the Soilders Memorial. I am, however, disapointed that the park area the the south of the structure is not being developed or pushed by the city for development as part of an overall plan for the mall. Preserving the two blocks along Market vs. Tucker maks a great deal more sense, as the park space becomes dominated by the Civil Courts rather than the UP and city hall. Once the drawings come out we should hav a better idea of what is going to fill the area.
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PostApr 12, 2006#48

Great sounding project. What is the height on this new building? I agree with DeBaliviere - something needs to be done with that bank drive-thru. Once Kwame's building happens as well as the new Lawrence Group tower, Tucker should be looking up.



Aren't there plans to narrow Tucker?
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PostApr 12, 2006#49

Anyone know?are there renderings?
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PostApr 12, 2006#50

There are plans for a wide median within Tucker, as shared in the recent Downtown traffic study. Also, future north-south MetroLink lines could utilize Tucker, instead of 14th Street.
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