urbanSTL

My idea is that, first, we need to get Choteau's Landing developed to make that part of the City not as "scary" as it currently is, both aesthetically as well as being home to a considerable population of homeless people. Once the Gateway South development, in whatever form it'll look like, gets under way and shows real change, then this area becomes much more attractive to whoever has been holding these properties. Then, sell to developers who can make apartment buildings that look like the Cupples buildings. The trick will be soundproofing amidst the elevated railways and 44/55, and I think that can be reasonably done if developments are coordinated... 

Calling myself out, we're going off topic here. And I'm still hopeful for the RX building getting developed sooner than later. 

Didn't have time to get this ready by April 1, but here's a proposal to replace the RX garage.
Presenting Olivewood Estates - Luxury Single Family Homes in a Quiet, Tight-Knit Cul-De-Sac Community

^Agreed, that's definitely more realistic   There are a few problems that I've been thinking about regarding a design like that with a big building on top of the garage, not your design in particular, but just that concept in general. 1, if the garage is meant to serve the Railway Exchange building and surrounding offices such as One Met Square, stacking an apartment building on top of the garage will increase the required size of the garage. 2, I haven't been watching the Downtown apartment market, but flooding the market with that many apartments at the same time that Railway and Chemical are hoping to be redeveloped into residential doesn't seem great. 3, the garage is still very visible and doesn't add much to the vibrancy of the area. 4, I know that smaller scale urban buildings are a wanted asset in Downtown to help repair the urban fabric and make it a more pedestrian-friendly environment, and having a giant building taking up this entire block obviously doesn't meet that goal.

So, this morning, I got the idea to do a sort-of Texas Donut, but surrounding the garage with smaller buildings around the scale of the existing Gill building. See the Plot Plan attached. I believe that this would solve several of the above problems: 1, the garage's capacity will be more available to serve bigger buildings as the occupants of smaller buildings should be able to park on the street for the most part. 2, this does not flood the market with new apartments while older buildings are waiting for redevelopment. 3, the garage is now hidden and the street now has pedestrian-oriented buildings facing it, increasing the vibrancy of the area. 4, this concept provides the smaller scale urban buildings that are much needed in Downtown and throughout the city. I also added a Pocket Park on 7th Street, which would be activated by the café next door.

Please, anyone feel free to make comments, questions, or suggestions on this idea. I really want to know your thoughts! Also, sorry for the amateurish graphics, I couldn't get AI to cooperate, so I drew everything in PowerPoint instead 

kg2024 wrote: ↑

4:56 PM - 15 days ago

SRQ2STL wrote: ↑

4:35 PM - 15 days ago

kg2024 wrote: ↑

4:21 PM - 15 days ago

Considering the LCRA still does not own Railway Exchange, and there's no indication of a timeline for even an RFP for the redevelopment of both sites let alone an approved proposal, design, and construction plan, and the demo of the garage years behind what was first proposed, we should be preparing for how long we will accept this as the reality downtown:

Perfect opportunity site for a temporary pocket park! Pocket Parks STL| Our Parks

Other uses: 
Dog Park
Food truck picnic corral
Recreational courts such as sand volleyball
Something fun like "Cherokee Beach"

Yes! Something simple like this should be a part of the demo bid so that it doesn't become a fenced off pit for an indefinite amount of time. 

I'm telling you... we need a landscape designer + team on city staff that is pumping out projects like this... 

I strongly agree with @delmar2debaliviere2downtown here. STL has some "silver bullet" projects already in the works (Millennium, Jefferson Arms, Albion, etc.) and several that haven't made it to the starting line yet (AHM, AT&T, Railway, Chemical). While I admire and support all of these projects, I don't think that any one of them is going to magically solve all our problems. Looking back, other megaprojects like Pruitt-Igoe, the demo of Mill Creek Valley, and the extensive demolition Downtown to build parking have all caused much more harm than good. Not to say that all silver bullet megaprojects will inevitably end in failure, but just to say that they aren't in themselves the solution to every problem.

With regards to this site in particular, yes, a community space or park could work as a temporary solution, but also keep in mind that Downtown already has acres of underutilized green space in the Gateway Mall. I think splitting this lot into multiple parcels for smaller developments would be ideal, and we've got a unique opportunity here to recreate an urban environment similar in scale to the Gill Bldg. and other historic structures.