soulard_gay wrote:Yes I know, however, its not there yet. Where do you plan to shop till it opens? Hop on the metro, or drive out to Brentwood? At the city grocer you pay for the convenience. I have no doubt that schnucks is a good idea for downtown. I just wish they would have moved a few blocks away from the independently owned city-grocer.
The Schnucks at Lindell, Richmond Heights, Arsenal and Loughboro Commons are a lot closer. (If no traffic a 10 minute drive from downtown.) I would add the Grand/Gravois Schnucks to that list but that store sucks so horribly nobody should shop there.
If Schnucks take this spot City Grocers should move to the eastern half of The Ely Walker bldg. That way both East and West portion of DT will be served by a grocery store.
soulard_gay wrote:Yes I know, however, its not there yet. Where do you plan to shop till it opens? Hop on the metro, or drive out to Brentwood? At the city grocer you pay for the convenience. I have no doubt that schnucks is a good idea for downtown. I just wish they would have moved a few blocks away from the independently owned city-grocer.
I agree. City Grocers has been a tremendous addition to Downtown and took the risk at a time no one else would. I may pay more to shop there, but for a small store they pack in about as much as you possibly can and I'm often surprised at the number of items I can find there that I didn't think would be available. I truly hope if Schnuck's moves in City Grocers will continue to thrive and in an expanded store, they'll offer much more than at their current location.
Hey folks -- I just happened to catch a few of the posts in here today and thought I would pipe up with the little history that I know about the Syndicate building (I recently spent some time at the Missouri History Museum Library on Skinker with my husband!). Two cool things which make me so happy that we will be living there: (1) When the Syndicate was home to Scruggs, Vandevoot, and Barney, it was at this very lunch counter in 1944 that an interracial group conducted a sit-in at Scruggs! (2) From 1912-1918, the Syndicate was home to the Equal Suffrage League which later gave birth to the League of Women Voters! So for any folks interested in a social history of this area, the Syndicate is a great place to focus one's attention ...
By the way, you can go to the Missouri History Museum Library (free for anyone) and find any pictures of pretty much anything related to downtown history and then someone there will copy these images for you if you wanted to frame the image (there is a cost but I don't remember it being too horrible). I haven't had too much time to do much research on the Syndicate as I am currently finishing up my PhD coursework at SIU Carbondale (and yes, I make that drive several times a week!) but this is a goal I look forward to working on when I am looking for distractions from working on my dissertation!
I love lurking here but it is sort of cool to have something to add every now and then!
Looks like we'll have a few curious history buffs living in the building soon! I too visited the Historical Society Library a few months ago. They have a few copies of the original architectural plans for the building if anyone is interested. I also looked at a few photographs of the building, including a few shots of some office interiors and one of the elevator lobby during the 40's.
My research has been sporadic as well. Hopefully we can all compare notes at some point.
bronte16, were you able to confirm whether the Scruggs lunch counter was actually within the Syndicate building. I had read something similar but from one of the pictures I saw at the Historical Society Library, it appeared that the lunch counter was on the Century building side of the store. I wasn't entirely sure though. Unfortunately, as with a lot of the Scruggs Vandervoort Barney references, it is difficult to tell where certain departments were located, whether on the Syndicate or Century side of the block. Best of luck with your PhD coursework by the way!
The National Register nomination also contained quite a bit of good info on the building. The State Historic Preservation Office was able to provide me an online link (pdf format) if anyone is interested.
Here's a curious find from a 1916 directory of St. Louis businesses: Office suite 1132 (where unit 1101 would be now) was occupied by John Ashcroft, Christian Science
011 to 101: Wow! Interesting stuff that you found! As far as the Scruggs info goes (where was that darn lunch counter?), I read something in a St Louis History book that it was, indeed, on the Century side but then I recently read somewhere else (I think it was a book on women's history in St Louis) that it was on the Syndicate side. This could definitely be something to actively look for as soon as someone has a chance to revisit the Historical Society Library. Those plans that you mentioned could be very cool to have as "decor"
I'd love to sneak a peak at the online link that you mentioned -- yet another way for me to be distracted from rhetorical theory (I'm a comp/ rhet researcher/ prof).
But I am getting excited about meeting our new neighbors, history buffs or not! (and we are going to be living in the coolest downtown building but perhaps I am a bit biased!). Cheers everyone! Dianna!
I rode past the Syndicate tonight and noticed a sign in the front window (where City Grocers was supposed to go) that said space was available for a "restaurant or bar." I hadn't seen that sign before although maybe it's been there for awhile. At any rate, I sure got the impression City Grocers won't be going in there now.
Our unit is on the 9th floor, (903) so we will be among the first to close. In early June we were told that our closing would probably be during the last week of October. Last week we were told that, due to electrical installation problems, our closing will most likely be in the last week of November, or the first week of December. Just a heads up so that you can adjust your decisions regarding interest rate locks, closing on the sale of your current home, retirement etc. accordingly.
How does the new projected closing date compare to the original projection in your sales contract?
Looks like the website has been updated to reflect move-ins occuring in the Fall instead of October.
Oh well, I imagine delays are nearly inevitable on a project of this scale. Better to do it right the first time than rush and have problems down the road.
The original estimated closing on our contract (whcih we signed last October) was identified as December 20th. In late May/early June, the prime contractor told Loftworks the building from the 10th floor down would be completed and turned over to Loftworks on October 26th.... Hence, the "move ins in October" banner and tentative identification of closings starting in the last week of October. One thing that does concern me is that when I was in St. Louis last weekend, it seemed to me that work has not started on the permanent elevators. It seems to me that installing elevators will take some time.
Those were great pics of your unit! I loved all the windows and the interesting architectural detail in the ceilings. I bet you can't wait to get moved in. Good luck on a late November (hopefully) move!
Work on all of the elevators has been ongoing for nearly one year now. There is a ton of preliminary work that has been done within the existing elevator shafts that is not necessarily visible to the untrained eye. In fact on many of the floors the elevator doors are already installed including the main lobby elevator doors/frames.
Took a walk with my dog looking for some nice thick green grass for him to run around in. Started at 17th and Locust and finally found myself at 10th and Chestnut. What a difference crossing Tucker made. Really like night and day for me. So we're playing around and I look up and notice The Syndicate which is only two blocks away. The feel, the views, the aesthetics, the sounds (you could hear the roar from Busch Stadium), are just awesome in that area and cannot wait to be living there!
Then headed to City Grocers and got some water for him to drink and saw the new sales center which has now moved into The Syndicate all lit up. The street presence looks fantastic. So walked around behind the Old Post Office and some dude riding a bike down the street comments on what a cool city St. Louis is. Then took a look at where the new urban park is being developed and headed back up Locust. I just can't say enough how incredible this area is turning out to be. And the best is yet to come.
Why are the condo fees so much for the syndicate? There is only that one open space right?
Also, I dont understand why someone with 1,700 sqft has to pay more than someone with 1,000 sqft. They use the same everything.
If anything, the person living on the 15th floor and has 1,000 sqft uses more energy than a person living on the 9th floor with 1,700 sqft. (elevators)
innov8ion wrote:Because they own a bigger share of the building. That's how most condos work, I'm pretty sure. How much is it? 20 cents / square foot?
Condo fee's are always figured per sq. ft. That's why at the Plaza in Clayton the condo fees for the top units are 2500/mo. Remember these fees most likely go toward these things:
-any common utilities (common lighting, water, trash, heat/ac)
adamflath wrote:Why are the condo fees so much for the syndicate? There is only that one open space right?
Also, I dont understand why someone with 1,700 sqft has to pay more than someone with 1,000 sqft. They use the same everything.
If anything, the person living on the 15th floor and has 1,000 sqft uses more energy than a person living on the 9th floor with 1,700 sqft. (elevators)
As has been pointed out, it based on square footage. You own a larger percentage of the building therefore you pay more.
Keep in mind the more services and/or amenities the condo offers, the more the condo fees are going to be. Besides what's already been mentioned insurance is a huge expense which goes up even more with things like fitness rooms and pools.
One thing to also watch out for... the developers usually set the condo fees as low as they can to entice buyers. But once the condo association takes over they often find the fees were set unreasonably low and don't cover all the building expenses and have to hike the fees. Not saying that's the case here but it does happen.
adamflath wrote:Why are the condo fees so much for the syndicate? There is only that one open space right?
Also, I dont understand why someone with 1,700 sqft has to pay more than someone with 1,000 sqft. They use the same everything.
If anything, the person living on the 15th floor and has 1,000 sqft uses more energy than a person living on the 9th floor with 1,700 sqft. (elevators)
I think condo fees are around .20 a SF. And there is much more than one open space. You have a 9th floor outdoor community patio, a 2800 SF 24 hour fitness center, a scenic rooftop deck with firepit and misting showers, a theater and media room, a business/copy center, availablity of FlexCar monthly car sharing, grocery delivery from City Grocers and an on-site laundry facility to name a few.
adamflath wrote:
One thing to also watch out for... the developers usually set the condo fees as low as they can to entice buyers. But once the condo association takes over they often find the fees were set unreasonably low and don't cover all the building expenses and have to hike the fees. Not saying that's the case here but it does happen.
I'm 2 for 2 in this department. Actually we decided to manage my current condo association in house instead of raising rates. (we can do that with only 6 units).
adamflath wrote:
One thing to also watch out for... the developers usually set the condo fees as low as they can to entice buyers. But once the condo association takes over they often find the fees were set unreasonably low and don't cover all the building expenses and have to hike the fees. Not saying that's the case here but it does happen.
I'm 2 for 2 in this department. Actually we decided to manage my current condo association in house instead of raising rates. (we can do that with only 6 units).
I hear ya. Printer's went up shortly after the association took over but Moon Brother's, so far has not. Maybe Loftworks is estimating accordingly now. BTW, which development only has 6 units? Is this DT?
