Certainly looks like it could be done without home demo to me. Doesn't mean there won't be, but it could definitely be done. And if you consider the space where the old bank building is, there is a lot of room.
Wait, are they taking down the old bank building? I apologize in advance if I missed that part.
The three buildings on the southeast corner of the lot were rehabbed in the last three years by Millenium so I can't imagine they will be tearing them down to replace with condos. This is a project I hope they can push through very quickly it sounds exciting.
Ok, I spoke with the 8th ward alderman at my neighborhood asociation meeting last night. He said that the only planned demolition was for the old roosevelt bank building and that all the parking spaces reserved for the condo complex would be below grade. His understanding was that there would be 1 and 1/2 spaces per unit which I guess would come out to 75 spaces below ground. That would leave an additional 95 surface spaces, an improvement over the 160 plus spaces on the surface now. He also said that there were a lot of hurdles still and that he wouldn't expect anything to happen before summer. I don't know what he meant by "happen." So there it is.
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Steve Anrod and Silverstone has announced a 50 unit, $15M condo development behind the Commerce Bank at Juanita/Grand. Regarding design: (from the Business Journal) "the project will have a 21st Century urban design but not modern architecture. The three-story brick building, which will feature bay windows, balconies and overhangs, will be designed to appear as several smaller buildings."
I heard about that at the Tower Grove East neighborhood assc meeting a few weeks ago. I also heard about the Pelican Court mixed use at Shenandoah and Grand (mentioned in the same article) in a thread here from months ago. At the meeting, it sounded like the Silverstone thing was supposed to get rolling this summer, but from the article it doesn't seem like they have gotten very far. Of course, the Pelican Court thing made it through the planning board months ago, but strangely there is still a for lease sign on the YMCA building. The plans submitted to the board for the Pelican are posted somewhere in the South City thread if anyone is interested. Anxiously awaiting plans for the Silverstone. Both could add nice density and residents to the area considering they are on vacant/under utilized lots. Please let them be done right. [-o<
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Steve Anrod is such a great guy. He is the person who spearheaded the Park East Tower and later sold the development rights to Opus. With him at the wheel, I think this will be a great development. He really likes St. Louis.
Problem. They are trying to screw this thing up. The plan calls for a surface parking lot fronting on Grand, just south of the existing Commerce Bank building. That lot needs to be used for streetfront mixed use or commercial. I heard that, in this case, it was the city that insisted on the lot (it is going to be turned over to their control). What a bunch of f-ing sh-t flinging monkeys.
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TGE-ATW wrote:Problem. They are trying to screw this thing up. The plan calls for a surface parking lot fronting on Grand, just south of the existing Commerce Bank building. That lot needs to be used for streetfront mixed use or commercial. I heard that, in this case, it was the city that insisted on the lot (it is going to be turned over to their control). What a bunch of f-ing sh-t flinging monkeys.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!
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There's a small surface lot there already - is this "new" plan calling for any demolition?
its not a new plan, somebody just pointed it out to me by reading between the lines in the old journal article. I contacted a few people in the know, and confirmed it. The only demolition is the Roosevelt Bank building (modern, vacant, and in my opinion an impediment to the retail corridor). The houses that are on the back of the lot (southeast corner) will not be touched.
I hate the idea of a larger parking lot on Grand, but the plus side is that it will be ready for new construction when the market (which I believe is close) demands it. The original plan was for a garage to be built there but who knows if it had retail space or anything on the ground floor. At least now something potentially substantial can be built there in the future.
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MattH wrote:the plus side is that it will be ready for new construction when the market (which I believe is close) demands it.
That sounds about right to me.
Yes and no. I am just afraid that once the lot starts getting used, the city and possibly even the other businesses will get so attached to it that it will never be developed. Parking is needed, so it will serve a purpose and people will like its effect, if not its appearance. I just think that parking should be developed in a viable manner now, while they have existing open (actually its already parking lot) space on the lot, rather than wait. If they wait too long to develop the site on grand, other viable spaces for general business district parking, off Grand, may have been snapped up and built on already. If that happens, the prime real estate along the strip could be a lot forever.