urbanSTL

A new banner replaced the <b>?</b> this morning.





<i>a clear view of the future</i>

That is really cool.

incredible. st louis should have more of "this".

That is brilliant and awesome. Can't wait for it to come down.

Clever. Someone out there is using their head!

The website has also been updated:



http://www.buildingexcitement.com/

brickandmortar wrote:The website has also been updated:



http://www.buildingexcitement.com/

From the site:





Corner of 7th and Washington looking south





Rooftop view with historic Dillard's building in the background



-RBB

I like this design. Are they going to build off of the current structure or demolish it entirely?

It looks like they are simply renovating the existing mall. From the buildingexcitement.com website:

Preliminary plans call for reconfiguring the building as modern office and first floor retail space, and the potential for up to 120 luxury condominiums with private parking for residents. The existing central atrium will be reconfigured into a football field-sized, open-air common area with large swaths of grass, a swimming pool, walking paths, and a dog run.

thats right...it is a complete recofiguration of the existing structure...not new infill construction

I guess the demand's not there, but...it'd be nice to see a couple more stories and see this turn into a mid-rise or high-rise project. Why does it have to remain close to its original height?



I suppose the adjacent Dillard's building offers enough opportunities for high density residential. Ah well...I really like the design shown here.

Very nice design. We need more of that in St.Louis instead of the designs that are "safe".

Good positive article about downtown in the NY Times . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/reale ... ref=slogin

That article practically takes up a whole page in the print edition. Would've been nice for them to show a rendering along with the picture they printed of the center in it's current state.

wow - did everyone catch the qoute by niche - they said their sales have been phenomenal since they opened downtown, earning over a million last year. Thats good to hear. I've been wondering how those retail stores were doing - especially the furniture stores. The closure of the one on pine made me nervous.

markofucity wrote:wow - did everyone catch the qoute by niche - they said their sales have been phenomenal since they opened downtown, earning over a million last year. Thats good to hear. I've been wondering how those retail stores were doing - especially the furniture stores. The closure of the one on pine made me nervous.

Which one on Pine?

i might have the street wrong - I can't remeber the name either - but one of the downtown furniture stores recently went belly up

markofucity wrote:wow - did everyone catch the qoute by niche - they said their sales have been phenomenal since they opened downtown, earning over a million last year. Thats good to hear. I've been wondering how those retail stores were doing - especially the furniture stores. The closure of the one on pine made me nervous.

Although the stuff at Niche is so expensive, they probably only sold 4-5 items.

I really like this design, especially given the limitations that St. Louis Centre's design presents. Looks like they're turning downtown's biggest lemon into lemonade after all.

Matt Drops The H wrote:I suppose the adjacent Dillard's building offers enough opportunities for high density residential.

I don't know if we need to start a separate thread for that building or not, but I'm really looking forward to hearing more about specific plans for it.



I know Borders has been floated as a potential tenant for 600 Washington, but I'd like to see it go into the old SB&F/Dillard's space on the ground level. And I don't know how well preserved the original features of the Stix Baer & Fuller store are underneath the gaudy 1980s remodel for which Dillard's is responsible, but it would be great if the main level could be used for one main anchor with as many original architectural features exposed as possible.

markofucity wrote:i might have the street wrong - I can't remeber the name either - but one of the downtown furniture stores recently went belly up

The Ambiente Collection at 10th/Locust closed down and Casa Semplace, which was the upper level of Ambiente Collection, moved a couple blocks.

Has anyone seen a site plan for 600? I'm a visual learner and don't quite have a full grasp on the changes being made to St. Louis Centre. Believe it or not, I didn't take the chance to shop there before it was shuttered.



For those willing to accept good re-use/planning in Indianapolis as relevant to StL, the Borders downtown on Meridian is a great example of what could go in on Wash Ave. [edit] The interior is fantastic, but I haven't been able to find pics - it's two stories and has preserved the architectural detail [/edit]

Ihnen wrote:Believe it or not, I didn't take the chance to shop there before it was shuttered.

I guess you weren't in the market for gold teeth then!



I think the last time I did any real shopping in that mall was around 1991 or so, and I'm not kidding. I may have used the food court a time or two as recently as the mid-1990s. By then, most if not all the good stores fled for the Galleria, and Dillard's was a laughingstock to the point where Dillard's should've been embarrassed to put its name on the store. By the late 1990s, it just became a convenient cut-through to get from the Famous-Barr garage to Rams games.



I don't want to veer too far off-topic, but the one thing that bothers me about St. Louis Centre's demise is the negative perception some have of the downtown Macy's (Famous-Barr). Granted, Famous-Barr did little to that store in recent years, but I have shopped there regularly even when St. Louis Centre wasn't worth my time. And now that Macy's is in the process of extensively updating the store, I hope people shed their negative perception of it, because it is nicer than it's been in many years (I think it was guilty as an accomplice simply because it's attached to the mall).

ThreeOneFour wrote:

Ihnen wrote:Believe it or not, I didn't take the chance to shop there before it was shuttered.

I guess you weren't in the market for gold teeth then!



I think the last time I did any real shopping in that mall was around 1991 or so, and I'm not kidding. I may have used the food court a time or two as recently as the mid-1990s. By then, most if not all the good stores fled for the Galleria, and Dillard's was a laughingstock to the point where Dillard's should've been embarrassed to put its name on the store. By the late 1990s, it just became a convenient cut-through to get from the Famous-Barr garage to Rams games.



I don't want to veer too far off-topic, but the one thing that bothers me about St. Louis Centre's demise is the negative perception some have of the downtown Macy's (Famous-Barr). Granted, Famous-Barr did little to that store in recent years, but I have shopped there regularly even when St. Louis Centre wasn't worth my time. And now that Macy's is in the process of extensively updating the store, I hope people shed their negative perception of it, because it is nicer than it's been in many years (I think it was guilty as an accomplice simply because it's attached to the mall).

Macy's should advertise its improvements. I think most people assume it's the same crappy Dillards with a new name.



-RBB