urbanSTL

Who knows--maybe it won't look cheap. Maybe it will be a good addition to the Lindell stretch.



In any event, the loss of the historic house is unnecessary. It furthers SLU's shameful track record of the erasure (or support for the erasure) of any residential/mixed use context in the Midtown area.



It's amazing that SLU is even credited with "saving Midtown" at this point. What--they saved the Cupples House and didn't stand in the way of renovations of the Coronado and Continential Life? Well, thank you SLU, truly!



Here's to hoping that they build something the "neighborhood" can be proud of.

Matt Drops The H wrote:Who knows--maybe it won't look cheap. Maybe it will be a good addition to the Lindell stretch.



In any event, the loss of the historic house is unnecessary. It furthers SLU's shameful track record of the erasure (or support for the erasure) of any residential/mixed use context in the Midtown area.



It's amazing that SLU is even credited with "saving Midtown" at this point. What--they saved the Cupples House and didn't stand in the way of renovations of the Coronado and Continential Life? Well, thank you SLU, truly!



Here's to hoping that they build something the "neighborhood" can be proud of.

Actually, Fr. McNamee saved Cupples House. Fr. Reinert wanted to tear it down.



Anyway, the Cook Hall addition doesn't look cheap to me, which leads me to believe that the law school addition won't look cheap either.

^Hence, the McNamee Gallery in the basement of the Cupples House. And ironically, Reinert Hall is one of the ugliest buildings saved by Biondi.

I'm a 1L at SLU law right now and let me just say that the current facility is an absolute piece of crap. Classes are either in the basement or on the third floor and the main method of getting there is by two narrow stairwells that barely accomodate normal sized people going both up and down at the same time. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the library was built with tin foil and toothpicks given that the back portion sounds like its about to collapse evertime you walk through it.



The rendering that was mentioned earlier in the thread did say there would be a 41 month time line of construction, starting with the building of the new facility. The complete renovation of the current building will commence once faculty and students are moved into the new digs. The Dean also told me there will be a grand staircase when you enter the current atrium (no idea where to just yet). Also, construction will begin as soon as the $35 million cost has been raised, which he said may take a year or so.



The demolition of the historic building next to Queen's Daughters has already occured and that area is now a "premium" gravel parking lot that students can pay $390 per semester (lol) to use until construction eventually starts.



I, personally, think the model looks awesome and will do wonders for the reputation of the law school and the campus as a whole. The Cook Business School is absolutely stunning both inside and out and if they do anywhere near the same quality of work, the law school will be a marvel.

Hear, Hear!

awrhodes wrote:I'm a 1L at SLU law right now and let me just say that the current facility is an absolute piece of crap. Classes are either in the basement or on the third floor and the main method of getting there is by two narrow stairwells that barely accomodate normal sized people going both up and down at the same time. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the library was built with tin foil and toothpicks given that the back portion sounds like its about to collapse evertime you walk through it.



The rendering that was mentioned earlier in the thread did say there would be a 41 month time line of construction, starting with the building of the new facility. The complete renovation of the current building will commence once faculty and students are moved into the new digs. The Dean also told me there will be a grand staircase when you enter the current atrium (no idea where to just yet). Also, construction will begin as soon as the $35 million cost has been raised, which he said may take a year or so.



The demolition of the historic building next to Queen's Daughters has already occured and that area is now a "premium" gravel parking lot that students can pay $390 per semester (lol) to use until construction eventually starts.



I, personally, think the model looks awesome and will do wonders for the reputation of the law school and the campus as a whole. The Cook Business School is absolutely stunning both inside and out and if they do anywhere near the same quality of work, the law school will be a marvel.

AMEN to that! I have spent the past 3 years trudging up and down those stupid stairs, and am glad something will eventually be done to improve the law school... even though its too late for myself!

As of tonight, only the first floor front wall is still standing.

I know it's a bit off topic, but it's too bad the law school has slipped to a tier 3 school during the past 3 years. A new building might make the school look good, but what kind of education you're getting has nothing to do with the physical beauty of a school.



Anyone know what the newest demolition means? Have enough funds been raised to begin construction or is this just another preparation move?

stlchiefs wrote:I know it's a bit off topic, but it's too bad the law school has slipped to a tier 3 school during the past 3 years.

Where is it listed as tier 3? U.S. News has it at #95 (Tier 2).

DeBaliviere wrote:

stlchiefs wrote:I know it's a bit off topic, but it's too bad the law school has slipped to a tier 3 school during the past 3 years.

Where is it listed as tier 3? U.S. News has it at #95 (Tier 2).

Hmm, I stand corrected. I guess I should have checked it out myself rather than just going off what I'd been told by others. I do know that we used to be comparable with MU (ranking wise) and now there's a considerable gap (MU is #59). There are many students upset with the plummeting ranking.



Back on topic: does this demo mean that construction will begin or is this simply an expansion of the gravel lot?

Buildings can make a big difference for law schools. Wash U used to be ranked in the 30s, then it demolished its mid-century modernist nightmare of a building and built a state-of-the-art facility. Since then, Wash U has climbed into the top 20. No doubt other factors are important as well. But it's hard to attract high quality students or professors to a bad building (where both spend 90% of his or her time). A bad building can hold a good school back. I think a new building will help SLU law a great deal.

An update on the SLU Law School Expansion

Saint Louis University today announced a $3 million gift from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation -- the largest donation to date for a $35 million expansion of SLU's School of Law and the largest-ever individual gift to SLU from A-B in its corporate history.



"There is no better St. Louis corporate citizen than Anheuser-Busch," said University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J. "This very generous gift demonstrates that its support for local institutions remains unmatched."



The gift, which fits into Anheuser-Busch's priority to support educational institutions in communities where it does business, was announced officially during the law school's hooding ceremony at Chaifetz Arena.

The full story can be found here: http://www.slu.edu/x30420.xml

^ CS,

The purchase just went through. Things like this were likely already in the works. It would be bad press to just quit giving 'cold turkey.' They would likely just phase it out or tone it down over several years. Lets hope they continue to be a strong civic leader. Thank you ABI.

I can't wait for this project to get started. It's really going to look great and improve that stretch of Lindell.

Do we have any renderings for this mo fo? Looks like what4 posted some pics, however the links no longer work.

Moorlander wrote:Do we have any renderings for this mo fo? Looks like what4 posted some pics, however the links no longer work.

Not bad.



I'll be honest and say I'm a bit jealous. The current facility. . . . . .well, it s*cks frankly, and is no doubt a HUGE barrier to recruitment.



Can't wait to see this move forward.



This news is also kind of weird to me: I was just at an alumni happy hour last week, and asked someone in the administration what the status was on the renovation/expansion, and got an uncomfortable "we're still in the fundraising stage" response. I guess she didn't know about this at the time.

hmmmm ... .



the Post just broke the story that SLU is appreciative of AB's 30 million dollar gift. .. another scoop for the PD

What is this? A center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to lawyer... if they can't even fit inside the building?!?

-RBB

^hilarious! I love Zoolander!