Bring the remaining down to level 1? Accessibility? Do ya think? Duh?
I'd be shocked if they can do anything with it. The quotes in the article are theoretical. Walk through the place at least twice a week. It's too far gone to save and still earn a return. This winter is being particularly hard on the building. With the change in temperatures, the entire atrium roof crumbling at an alarming rate. Window seals are shot. Water damage internally--that you can't see--is probably extreme.
There out to be a betting pool for charity. I'd bet $100 that the entire thing will be torn down after condemned through eminent domain. Proceeds to St. Patrick's Center?
They just put a Gold's gym on the basement floor and I am now a member ...
I signed up but i must admit I hesitated. How can the club gurantee its continued presence when the building's future is so clouded? I must admit I was a little shocked that they decided to move there. Why move into a building when you know that it might be completely redeveloped or transformed in the next few months?
I think that St. Louis Center also made a bad move by allowing Gold?s Gym to eliminate one of the four main street level entrances. To enter the main mall, you have to find your way around to the entrance on the east side or north at Washington.
I've never been able to enter the mall at the southwest corner(where Gold's is currently).
It's high time for the City to move on this hack Cohen, he isn't doing anything to improve 'his' property. The last time I was there before Christmas, most of the escalators weren't working either.
From the Arch City Chronicle - 4 January 2006 Issue
ST. LOUIS CENTRE SITS by Mathew Murphy and Brian Werner
" Redevelopment of St. Louis Centre, or the lack thereof, has generated some heated discussions in St. Louis over the past year and a half. Tom Lampe, a photographer for Arch City Chronicle, recently learned it's a sensitive issue for the Centre's management: Lampe was handcuffed by mall security after a dispute over photos taken inside the Centre. The Centre has been described by some as an "eyesore" and a drag on downtown development. Despite millions of dollars and years of effort, the Centre is still in need of a major rehab. Its current owner, Barry Cohen, purchased the Centre in August of 2004 for $5.4 million and promised to revitalize the downtown mall. In the time since then, he has been criticized by city officials and private interests for a lack of progress towards that goal.
Cohen told Arch City Chronicle he will announce his redevelopment plans in the first quarter of 2006. Those plans, according to Cohen, will create a mixed-use space with retail and possibly residential tenants. Downtown development officials are anxious for progress and skeptical about Cohen?s ability to follow through on his promises. Neither Downtown Now nor Downtown St. Louis Partnership have been informed of any plans for the Centre. Tom Reeves, Executive Director of Downtown Now, seems to have lost confidence in Cohen. "I would like to see the Centre in more experienced hands," said Reeves. Downtown Now and Cohen have not been in contact since a previous plan unraveled.
The much maligned sky-bridge connecting the Centre to the neighboring Dillard?s building was to be demolished this year. But Downtown Now pulled the funding for the project after Cohen failed to meet deadlines and, according to Reeves, essentially walked away from the table. Cohen said that plans to remove the sky-bridge will be revealed when he presents his overall development plan early this year.
Dean Burns, Vice President of Development for G u n d a k e r Commercial, said he was unaware of any definitive plans for the bridge, but was pleased to hear plans may materialize soon. G u n d a k e r owns the Dillard?s building and 15 feet of the bridge. "We have made a variety of proposals to Mr. Cohen," said Burns, "The ball is in his court."
Meanwhile concerns are mounting over the Centre's ability to survive alone. Built for $95 million in 1985, the Centre experienced only a few years of success before the Galleria's major expansion in 1991 drew away needed attention and affluent shoppers. The Centre is plagued by a troubled history: two individuals who leapt to their deaths in 1995 and 1998, its role as a political football, declining revenue and legal issues culminating in the foreclosure sale in 2004.
Despite a lack of action so far, supporters of Cohen point to his record of success in St. Louis. He was responsible for the $2 million dollar renovation of the Jefferson Arms at 415 North Tucker. But if that project is any indication, downtown may still have quite a wait. That property was purchased in 1993 but wasn't redeveloped until four years later."
Cohen is behind the "New JA", too? Well, if I had known that I wouldn't be nearly as inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt as I have been. That building may be a gem inside for all I know, but the marketing has been terrible and they don't seem to care about the streetscape at all.
I now work just east of the Wash Ave skybridge, and have to walk under it on my "commute." This has taught me to really despise this monstrosity and the way it cuts the area in half... watching tourists walk through the "void" from the convention hotels to the landing today made me cringe to think how their perception is affected by the tunnel and empty streetscapes.
Just needed to vent. I don't think the Centre should be allowed to remain as is for another year.
Demo of the bridge and reconfiguration of the north end of the mall could be the most visible change to get people back to the Centre. Frankly, the place needs as much street-oriented space as possible, but unfortunately, its design limits street-level retail to only its narrower northern and southern ends. Maybe the food court and interior accessed shops could all move to the second floor, place a new multi-story tenant at the reconstructed northern end (i.e. Crate & Barrell), and lease third and floor spaces to other uses, from office incubators to art galleries.
I still think that resuscitating the food court would be a viable option for the fourth floor.
The west side of the Centre does provide some street-level retail space, but unfortunately, the way the upper floors hang over the sidewalk make it unappealing.
I'm at a loss to imagine how the existing structure could ever be home to a successful business, much less contribute positively to the urban landscape. The city is full of people with more experience and imagination in that sphere than I, though, so who knows?
A single destination retailer like ye olde IKEA idea might work. If I worked at 1200 Market I'd be trying to talk Federated into pairing the "new" Macy's with a Bloomingdale's and orchestrating symbiotic development at street level on the surrounding blocks.
Cohen's drawing up redevelopment plans? Great. And I'm sure he's working a comprehensive plan for revitalizing East St. Louis in his spare time.
IMHO, Cohen's no better than Haywood (Jablowme) Whichard, the mall's previous owner. The powers-that-be seem to be getting fed up with Cohen, but I am amazed it's taken THIS long for our leaders to become irritated with the years of inaction at Saint Louis Centre. As I said in another post, if there was ever a poster child for appropriate use of eminent domain, this is it.
At the risk of repeating what's been said before, my preference would be to tear down the entire center and start over. At the very least, the Washington Avenue skywalk linking the Centre to the former Stix/Dillard's must go. If the structure must stay, I'd like to see the facade completely redone, a smaller collection of stores on the first two levels with as many spaces facing the streets as possible, and some sort of specialty anchor (Crate and Barrel? Borders?) on the north end of the mall.
Maybe I'm not as optimistic as I should be, but I'm not sure about the odds of attracting a second department store. Besides, I'll be happy as hell if Famous-Barr (Macy's) stays open for the long haul. But, in order to ensure Macy's long-term viability, to entice other businesses to cluster in and around the area, and to create a better image for that crucial part of downtown, we simply can't afford to wait much longer for Cohen to do, uh, nothing.
The Downtown Now Partnership in particular has this campaign against Cohen, and so do a lot of the members on this forum. I think he is a big problem and stands in the way of change, especially with the demolition of its skybridge.
However, I think it is wrong of us to scapegoat him.
Let's be honest, an indoor mall in a downtown that had a very little amount of residents and very little to set itself apart from suburban malls was DOOMED to fail from the very beginning. Cohen is simply the latest in a long line of people to own this steadily declining mall. It wasn't exactly booming when he acquired it. I really don't think he's making any more money by making things more difficult for everyone. What do we expect him to do with it? I say this place needs to be reworked entirely, have streetside access retail, and hell... gut it out and turn it into lofts. Its an abomination.
Cohen's act is wearing thin. I have been willing to give him time to develope a soultion, but his secerative actions and even worse antagonistic games with any people trying to honestly look at the state of the mall is frustrating. He better come up with a soultion soon or he will be on the loosing end of an eminent domaine suit.
While the escalators may have been formally shut down recently, many of them have not been working for weeks.
Cohen has had plenty of time to come up with a plan, and I would guess that spurning Downtown Now's offer to help pay for the demolition of the skybridge certainly didn't put him in anyone's good graces. It's time to (expletive) or get off the pot.
Is there any petitions to be signed? What kind of action is being taken specifically? Can't a bunch of citizens sign a petition requesting its demolition through emminent domain?
I've spotted a well-known developer checking out the Centre and discussing what they'd like to do with it. A friend has also noticed survey crews drawing property lines under the Wash Ave skywalk. Something is up.
If they remove the skybridge and focus on creating a well-lit, inviting facade right across from the convention center, the Centre could still be viable as a shopping mall. With downtown's residential population surging, and the number of downtown workers holding steady, you'd think it would be an attractive place for national retailers. Imagine what a four-story Borders would look like all lit up at night.
Or somehow transform it into a street-level pedestrian mall inspired by New Urbanism, with restaurants and shops on the street topped by offices on floors two through four.
Whatever happens, I'd hate to see the entire thing torn down. I can imagine people regretting such a step in 10 years' time.
As mentioned previously, those escalators have got to hold the world record for being broken more than working...not just recently but over the past 10 years. Agreed, this is an act, it's all a game the owner is playing. They are trying to get Walgreens out.
Maybe Walgreen's could relocate to a former location, the corner of 9th and Olive, in the street-level "Shoppes" of the Ninth Street Garage-Mahal.
But alas, if Cohen really wanted Walgreen's out of their fourth floor space, he could have interested them in the street-level space where Gold's Gym ended up.
Maybe Walgreen's could relocate to a former location, the corner of 9th and Olive, in the street-level "Shoppes" of the Ninth Street Garage-Mahal.
I think the old Woolworth's space in the SLC parking garage would be perfect for Walgreen's (About 6-7 years ago, the space was gutted and is currently just used as additional parking spaces.)
southslider wrote:But alas, if Cohen really wanted Walgreen's out of their fourth floor space, he could have interested them in the street-level space where Gold's Gym ended up.
Cohen did claim in a follow up report that he offered Walgreen's street level space, but they turned it down. Although the only reason he wanted them out is so he could turn off the utilities to the fourth floor.
I agree, action needs to be taken. If anyone is knowledgeable on eminant domain procedure I would be more than willing to go downtown on washington and collect signatures. All of his (Cohen) talk is cheap; we need to show him that we will not allow this to continue.
We'll see. It's the "Show me state" we need more than promises
