urbanSTL

$2.5M building permit application submitted.

chriss752 wrote:

mjbais1489 wrote: ↑

Dec 10, 2020

Where are they located in St. Charles?

Google says...
800 S Duchesne Dr, St Charles, MO 63301

I believe this was most recently a Here Today store until it closed last year.


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Time for a thread name change?

^ Nice to see these brought up again.  I'm assuming this would be where that one story building and empty lots are just east of the Armory building.  I haven't heard anything about the acquisitions of the buildings like the Goodwill to the west.

EssTeeEll wrote: ↑

Mar 28, 2021

^ Nice to see these brought up again.  I'm assuming this would be where that one story building and empty lots are just east of the Armory building.  I haven't heard anything about the acquisitions of the buildings like the Goodwill to the west.

I would strongly prefer that they hold off building there until the Bernard St. exit off of EB I-64 can be eliminated. That is a strong possibility once the new Jefferson interchange and Compton viaduct are completed, hopefully as part of a larger reconfiguration of that whole I-64/Grand/FPP clusterf*ck.

There is an opportunity to do something really special on those parcels east of The Armory, but that off-ramp really screws it.

Recently in the area and was reminded what a mess the 40/Grand area is WOW! And SLU is not on top of redoing this mess??

chris fuller wrote: ↑

Mar 28, 2021

Recently in the area and was reminded what a mess the 40/Grand area is WOW! And SLU is not on top of redoing this mess??

Pretty sure were seeing this happen eventually.  At least at FPP and Grand with the Kingshighway-FPP treatment.  What happens with the 64/FPP/Grand/Compton/Bernard/Market mess should be a part of that.  Get Jefferson and 22nd street done first.

Armory District Master Plan rendering shown by Green Street's Phil Hulse during the CMT Talking Transit yesterday. Looks to be two buildings with 10 stories of residences over a few levels of parking and a plaza in front of the Armory.

Video, set to the time of Hulse's remarks

^ Interesting, recall one of the first renderings incorporating a hotel on platform for a Grand Ave connection.  Thought that was a pretty good idea.   I think the above with platform and two residential towers is even better.

Had two after thoughts from my initial posting.   Can't help thinking that Iron Hill not happening gives Foundry Phase II, Armory Phase II as above and more development around Steelcote some more breathing room in terms of what capital markets/bankers are willing to finance in the immediate and what can be realistically rented & leased in near term..  In other words, better in short term to see three established developments with more progress instead of having competition from another large mastered plan development.   Do things right and the opportunity will come for former Iron Hill property.    

Second,  would be great to see City, Bi-state, MoDOT, greenway district and SLU come up with a comprehensive highway/street/greenway improvement plan & applications to pursue federal funding for at 1) grade Grand & FPP intersection combined  with 2) Grand Ave/I64 interchange improvements and Greenway trail extension through Foundry, over I-64 and tie into  Armory.  I think a lot of the greenway portion has some preliminary design behind it.  Not sure about intersection and interchanges.   Anyone know?  

For good measure kick in a request to fund a street grid improvement/sidewalk improvement for former iron hill property & streets surrounding Steelcote.  City using its Covid aid could set aside some of that funding for their cost share and technically being a county could probably cover some of MoDOT/Greenway share.   Just don't know if anyone thinks SLU would remotely take on that leadership roll?   

Quincunx, thanks for posting and pulling out the various references in respective threads.  

dredger wrote: ↑

Apr 30, 2021

^ Interesting, recall one of the first renderings incorporating a hotel on platform for a Grand Ave connection.  Thought that was a pretty good idea.   I think the above with platform and two residential towers is even better.

The Phase I tower and podium is similar to the renderings from a couple years ago, particularly the Grand Ave. connection.

But it would be silly to go through all the expense of connecting to the Grand viaduct, adding a pointless extension of Market Street, and then building an overpass over it; all just to add a driveway from Grand to the parking garage.

If they can do that, why not connect the whole top of the podium to the viaduct? Or at least provide a wider, landscaped pedster connection. It doesn't look like they are even trying to accommodate a greenway trail connection at all, beyond what appears to be a narrow sidewalk. I just don't get it.

yeah, i don't really understand the point of building the residential portion at grade with Grand if there's not going to be a substantial pedestrian connection to Grand. these renderings look pretty awful for pedestrians, actually. that giant curb cut on Grand is absolute garbage.

I’m pretty sure that there is an easement that prevents the building from being built right up to the Grand viaduct. It would make some sense if there was.

The driveway from Grand seems to connect down to Prospect, which I think is a good idea. Have another entry way since the only ways to get down there are from Vandeventer or Spruce Street. Not everyone knows those ways. I look forward to seeing more renderings and perspectives of these buildings but overall, I like what I see so far. They’re keeping parking hidden from Grand and I wouldn’t be surprised if the ground floor of these buildings includes some retail space to liven the area up a bit.

And while it’s TOD, I see it as being a bit hard to really make this area really top notch for pedestrians. These buildings alone will help out a lot, but it’s hard to really make this a pedestrian oriented experience because of the lack of connections, the lack of pedestrian infrastructure, the electrical station, highways, and more. It’s like you’re down in a hole at the Armory.

I’ve been in contact with Green Street and was told a little bit more, but am not yet allowed to share. I’m happy they’re going with taller buildings again. It’ll make the Armory district a bit more visible than it currently is because now you’ll have larger buildings where there currently are none. More to come soon.

chriss752 wrote: ↑

May 01, 2021

I’m pretty sure that there is an easement that prevents the building from being built right up to the Grand viaduct. It would make some sense if there was.

It's not an easement, the city actually acquired a 15' strip of land on both sides of the original viaduct when they built the new one, plus land for the overlooks and Metro elevator and stairwell structures. I'd guess they bought the land for construction staging while still leaving a strip to provide access to maintain the retaining wall. 

A garage podium could certainly be designed to allow for viaduct maintenance access below, while still  providing for a more or less seamless connection between the top of the podium and viaduct sidewalk/overlook above.

I don't know how accommodating (lazy) the city would be in that situation, but obviously Green Street didn't foresee it being an insurmountable obstacle since they are showing that new driveway connection to the viaduct...

520 apartments. $160 million (looking for investors). Potential year end start.

Way more apartments and more expensive than I thought it would be.

goat314 wrote: ↑

Nov 15, 2016

$83 million Armory rehab would include health spa, offices
Nov 15, 2016, 9:56am CST

Green Street Development plans to as Future phases of the project, located on property just east of the Armory, would include a 90,500-square-foot mixed-use building at 500 Prospect Ave., and a 135-room hotel and 300-space parking garage along Grand Avenue.

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news ... h-spa.html

As a reminder, Green Street's Phase II concept from 2016, on page one of the thread.

It was pretty much the same, just with a hotel instead of residential. I am curious as to why they thought a hotel wouldn't work or why residential would provide a better ROI.

I think residential makes a lot more sense next to the Rec Hall they're going to open in the Armory.

I think hotels make more sense on the other side of the highway, at least in this portion of Grand. I'd love to see one at the entrance to the East side of the Armory. Currently, the Foundry looks really nice, but whatever that building is on Spring looks hideous.

Whenever the old Iron Hill spot gets developed, I bet we see a hotel there.

Unless Pier Property Group beats them to it on the east side of Grand. And even then, you may still see one go in over there.

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gone corporate wrote: ↑

May 07, 2021

Another story on this... 

STL Biz Journal: Developer plans two apartment towers near Armory, Foundry

- $160MM total buildout ($80MM x 2)
- 500+ units, with 265 in the first tower
- Construction to start late this year "or early next year" (hoping for this year) 
- Second tower sees construction start late 2023 or early 2024 
- 18 months to build each tower 

Props to Chris for being first with the story. Credit where it's due. 

The benefit, in my view, of having the second tower after the first is nearing completion or is completed is that Midtown can have a large construction project underway for a while longer. And if we're lucky, the construction of the second tower would coincide with the Melbourne Phase 2 and the City Foundry apartment building (which is debatable since the TIF Commission document from last month mentioned a Late 2025 opening for the residential tower). So Midtown could have three large apartment buildings totaling 742 units going up at once and all open around the same time. All also fall within the same height range of 13-14 floors.

Of course, there will be other projects announced between now and then. One announcement could come as soon as this summer and is separate from Iron Hill (which an updated plan could come before the end of the year). So stay tuned for that announcement.

One thing I would like to point out is that the two Armory buildings is the biggest, in terms of unit count, Transit Oriented Development in the Region. No developer, up to this point, has proposed 520+ apartments within a short walk to a transit station. Another thing that I'll point out is that even after these two towers are built, there is still another lot down there, at Scott and Prospect, that could be developed into additional housing, a hotel, office space or something else.

Hate to be a downer so early in the process, but I really don't like the beige color of the new towers. It gives them a dated, institutional look (would fit right in at BJC). Let's brighten them up a bit, eh? 

^ They are rather bland, hopefully the design will be tweaked.

^^ Thanks for the updates on this and other projects Chris. This is an exciting time for Midtown and I am really looking forward to hearing about additional proposals.