urbanSTL

Presbyterian wrote:Definitelty Olive Street. The stretch by Bailey's Range always feels alive to me.

Agreed. Once the Arcade and Chemical buildings come back to life, that stretch will only get busier. The trick to re-activating the Railway Exchange in my opinion boils down to finding as many uses for that building as possible because of its size. I don't see why it can't house a bit of everything- residential, offices, a hotel, and retail. And even though it'd be ideal to find an anchor that would take the entire first floor space and perhaps the second level as well, I think any mix of the above uses will not just bring that building back to life, it'll also make the adjacent blocks much more attractive for development. And that should make Sixth and Seventh streets more attractive to retailers, and this will eventually make it easier to reconnect the dots between Olive Street and Washington Avenue and make the area more inviting for retailers and customers alike.

Not good... Is DT losing momentum?

sirshankalot wrote:Not good... Is DT losing momentum?

I wouldn't say it's losing momentum, but it's not getting better at the pace we would like. It seems like DT is on its way to becoming a purely residential/entertainment area.

roger wyoming II wrote:

dweebe wrote:Bank of America closing downtown branch

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 28ef7.html

Just to clarify for those who haven't read the piece, the 800 Market branch will remain open and expand staff, etc.... the branch at the Tower is the one closing. I do look forward to the day US Bank announces it is closing its Tucker branch to make way for real progress.

How many downtown BofA branches are really necessary? Consolidation is better than job loss.

As for the US Bank on Tucker, isn't it undergoing renovation? But I agree, it seems a poor use of that land.

^ Was speaking more of the vast drive-thru than the branch itself. Perhaps economics will come to the point that US Bank will see better return on selling at least that portion if not the entire property.

I've notice recently seems like theres been quite an uptick in layoffs here in the St.Louis region while in comparison seems like KC Metro is adding lots of jobs. for example did SunEdison really have layoff 100 here why couldn't of been else where. I feel downtown is really losing its thunder still no CVS or Walgreens in the heart of downtown and still no national retailer on Wash Ave.. Whats going on ? Is there even a EdJones office downtown? Has Nixon really tried Champion any jobs from outside to here? he's certainly doing that for KC ...
It's going to be kind of hard sell to get more residential growth if we don't start adding more retailers and jobs downtown..
maybe im wrong lets hope

Its a shame both Boatman's and Mercantile are gone .. At one time weren't both suppose to build new towers ?

I think bank branch closures or consolidations have been happening consistently everywhere as more and more people bank online. Also, like airline consolidation, you see a mini version of hub consolidation when the large national banks like BofA simply have a lot of branches. Don't really think this is downtown losing a mojo but simply the fact that banks need less square footage devoted to personal banking.

On a different not, I really think it comes down to what the State, Region & City can do to find a tenant for ATT One Center. This will be great, ready made space for Investment Back Office and/or expanding Tech. Both are strong and getting stronger. I also believe Ron W of Stifel Nichols has been talking up St Louis region and along with Wells Fargo Securities & Edward Jones will go a long way in making something happen. Charles Schwab made it very clear that East & West coasts are becoming expensive places for back office work with their intention of moving jobs out of San Fran Corporate HQ. Nor can you discount the fact that McKee, love or hate him, brought MasterCard to the region in a big way. Could he land a major back office relocation for West Downtown? Not sure, but he does have a track record.

I am not sure what the major concern is. The way I read the story is that BofA is closing a branch and consolidating some to the other branch at Market and 8th. They aren't closing regional back office operations. With more people using online banking there will be less of a need for brick and mortar branches. Plus BofA built branch’s during the 2000’s at a feverish pace while Lewis was CEO.

I don’t see how this news translates to a poor business environment like some have made it sound.

FORTY locations? Surely one of those must be downtown (although it wouldn't shock me if not).

Please open one downtown. PLEASE!!!

I think it be awesome if downtown got both a Tim Hortons and Dunkin.. Downtown is definitely in need of a variety of retailing options. Old Peoples Bank location maybe Chemical Building Aracade OPO Tower Perhaps If the old Jefferson hotel awakens one there also MX

Finally. Now I just need a Nyah cat 458 Ferrari and a go pro to complete my coffee runs.

I believe I stumbled on the one location in the San Fran Bay area you can find Tim Horton's coffee, the Oakland Ice Center in Uptown when my son was skating their last week. Been awhile since I had Tim Horton's. Worked in and out of Canada eastern maritimes over a few years. Have to love Tim Horton's if you like your cup of Joe.

moorlander wrote:Finally. Now I just need a Nyah cat 458 Ferrari and a go pro to complete my coffee runs.

deadmau5, when did you move to St. Louis?

A major expansion of Tim Horton's in St. Louis sounds great...and a downtown location would be even better!

^ nice detective skills. I'm a long time fan. He loves his "double doubles" from Tim Horton's.

Why are the new retail spaces such as Park Pacific garage and MX garage not filling up? It's even been a struggle to fill the block near the Schnucks garage. A few years ago I thought the retail excuse was the lack of available spaces like these. But now that the space is there they are sitting empty.