jakektu wrote:Thankfully there was no closing of Chestnut, but they did get 10 feet+ added to the sidewalk where there was previously on street angled parking. I think it's a good addition as that stretch of Chestnut was/is rather wide and sidewalks small.
I'm glad they got a wider sidewalk, as that was much needed for the noted reasons, and it allows for a nice area of sidewalk dining. Closing Chestnut would have been horrible.
Robert Duffy of the StL Beacon has reviewed the new location of the SLU Law School.
There’s no question a rather lavish and beautifully lined silk purse has been created from the sow’s ear at 100 North Tucker Blvd., and the streamers of buff brick will forever remind us of the building’s pre-renovation aesthetic hideousness. Some may regard it still as an irreparable mediocrity. Others may say it is too lavish, an embarrassing show of chutzpah and wealth. And indeed, the 12th floor pavilion and deck bear a certain resemblance to the observation deck of the Four Seasons Hotel on the riverfront, which of course can be seen from the building’s sweeping roof deck.
While no match for last year’s architectural and cultural bonanza, the majesty of Cass Gilbert’s Central Library, Scott Hall owns membership in a special class: buildings and institutions that do not simply exist but actually serve a out-of-the-ordinary public function. For St. Louis, it a big step forward in the city’s process of reinventing itself.
The new sign is a kinda "extra". I would have liked to see more ground floor awnings with SLU Law's name and logo on them versus this distracting sign.
I love how SLU seems to be screaming with all of this blue everywhere, "Hey Washington University and St. Louis, we're here too". I like school and college pride, but the rooftop sign is a bit extra. Maybe it'll grow on me.
I like the sign, but I agree, the building looks top-heavy. This is also reflected on the inside of the building; the lobby is barely an elevator vestibule, then there are three floors of parking, then classrooms/offices, and then the common areas on the top floor. It's a little bit strange, but the views from up there really are incredible, so I guess that makes up for it.
With the new law school about to start it's second semester I fell it is time to look at how the school affected Downtown.
1) Did the law school had an impact on foot traffic or on businesses in the area?
2) Had the influx of students further increase residential demand downtown?
3) This one is probably still to soon to tell but had the law school sparked interest in Law firms to expand or move to Downtown?
(I never had time to see the school for my self yet.)
I think it may be partially responsible for nearby buildings such as the Alverne starting renovation right now. It should be motivating for developers looking to build apartments, I would think. It's too early to tell if law firms will want to move there. They wouldn't be able to until their leases are up in their current buildings not downtown. Maybe afterward they will look to moving near the school. If another school could build a similar-sized campus as well that would be helpful. SLTCOP is around this size. If a few more small schools like these with about 1,000-2,000 students/faculty/staff opened downtown it would be a big push for the neighborhood. I think Webster wants to occupy two floors of the Arcade. If they, Wash-U, and someone else would just move a few thousand people down there, that would be great.
Someone with actual legal education and/or recruiting experience could certainly shed more light on this, but I'm not sure I see increased motivation from a law firm to move closer to the law school. I've heard that the school's move made good sense from an educational perspective because of students' proximity to the courts for mock trials, assignments, observation, and internship opportunity. If court proximity is advantageous for firms as well, there would've already been the impetus to be downtown that the law school doesn't exactly add to. Now if law firms wish to be near burgeoning local law talent to optimize recruiting efforts, sure, being closer to the school would support monitoring the pulse of the student body; but firms with that much ability to recruit in a cyclic fashion are likely the large ones that are already downtown (or in Clayton: proximity to county courts). The question then would be was there a trend for law firms to relocate or locate in close proximity to the school while it was still in Midtown?
I would guess that a firm's practice patterns and identity dictate optimal position for their physical structure which is independent of where the students are. As far as bolstering the residential community downtown, I would also guess that it may take at least a year or two to see a representative upswing as only a third of the students this year made living situation decisions with 3 years downtown in mind. I'm not sure the % of students that start as L1s that come from SLU undergrad, but if significant, I wonder if they will see/saw enough benefit to move downtown away from wherever they lived during undergrad if happy with their situations. After present location recruiting efforts are a year or two old and the School (students and faculty alike) really sells the whole downtown campus experience higher percentages of students choosing to live downtown will follow.
