urbanSTL

It just blows my mind that Libeskind will be handling the Bottle District design. I was in St. Louis a few weeks ago and was astounded at what is going on downtown and all over the city. It makes me want to move back, I hate missing it!!

Remember Clayco are currently doing the buildings at the Highlands and Cupples Station and completed the work at Merchandise Mart. In my opinion they are preferable to HOK.

I am also leery of crediting an architecture and construction firm who specialize in tilt-up big box construction. I doubt they had much of anything to do with it.....

Read the article, they (along with McGuire) actively courted Libeskind for months to join the project. A moving and storage magnet doesn't just go to a famous architect a say...



"Can you design my new entertainment district? We already have commitments from Sammy Hagar and a go-kart track."



My point was that people in-town need to think bigger (not size, but impact) when the right project comes about. Forum and Clayco thought bigger about this project than even many of the optimists on this forum tend to be.



The Grand and Lindell site presents just this type of opportunity. Check out some of the comments in this thread.



Right now the tallest proposal is eight stories. Jesuit Hall across the street is 15 stories. This is the gateway to the city's arts district and other universities are building some impressive structures, shouldn't SLU and the developers think bigger here too.



By the way I don't work for Forum or Clayco.

You guys are seriously getting way too excited about this. Lets wait and see if they actually break ground before you signal the next messiah, and then we should wait to see if their funding holds up.

Yeah I know. I'm getting to excited. But what else do I have to do all day? Work?



Actually, I was just considering a tangent of your comment. .. why hasn't the Post written anything about this? Makes me think that maybe its nothing more than vapor at this point.

The biz journal often has stories that the post doesn't. This is the biz journals area. The post is often, shall we say, lacking, when it comes to stories like this. And what is the point of this forum except to be unabashadely excited about St. Louis.

codascoram wrote:You guys are seriously getting way too excited about this. Lets wait and see if they actually break ground before you signal the next messiah, and then we should wait to see if their funding holds up.

You bring up a good point. I think we all can be a little "rah rah" on here, I think that one of the positives with this project is that the developers already own the land, have some commitment from tenants and have teamed w/ Clayco, well known as a "get er done" contractor capable of delivering projects at or below cost. There have been a lot of fantasy projects proposed in this town over the years, but often they were just crazy speculators with no land or cash.

I'm the marketing director for The Bottle District and I have truely enjoyed reading everyone's comments on the district. Please know that my goal in unveiling this project is to recieve local buy-in first (being a native st louisan myself). Without the support of the St. Louis community, this project will surely fail. I love hearing the un-biased remarks made here and hope the banter continues. I will be happy to give anyone updated information on the project through its Spring 2007 opening.



Thanks again for your support of downtown St. Louis!

Thanks for posting! We'd all appreciate any future updates that you can give us.

My question is:



Will the previous plans for replacing the existing "projects' (Cochran I think) with be included in the Bottle District?



I ask because there was a previous plan for several blocks between Columbus Square and the Bottle District that was proposed a little over a year ago and I never heard about it again. It would be great if the few blocks between would be developed differently now that the Bottle District is going in.

Bottle District

Editor:



As with the apartment project proposed for Laclede's Landing, the Bottle District is another great idea that will suffer from the elevated highway separating it from the rest of downtown.



Look, I know I sound like a broken record, but I want these projects to succeed, and as long as that highway is there, that success is doubtful.



Why not use a TIF or TDD (transportation development district) to bury the thing sooner rather than later? (We all know that even if interest is there, MODOT certainly does not have the wherewithal to do it anytime soon.) Get it done, and enjoy the benefits.



Again, I ask you: are we serious about building St. Louis into a great city? That won't happen with a highway separating downtown from the riverfront, plain and simple.



Elliot Liebson

^ I tend to agree.

Thats a great editorial courtland. One can only hope that the bottle district folks take this into account, because TBD and the Landing together could make a teriffic entertainment supper district if linked properly.

SMSPlanstu wrote:Will the previous plans for replacing the existing "projects' (Cochran I think) with be included in the Bottle District?



I ask because there was a previous plan for several blocks between Columbus Square and the Bottle District that was proposed a little over a year ago and I never heard about it again. It would be great if the few blocks between would be developed differently now that the Bottle District is going in.

Everyone should send their ideas (like these) straight to them. The Bottle District website asks for suggestions right here:



http://www.thebottledistrict.com/quicksurvey.cfm

I've tried sending comments and questions through that, but I always get a failure to deliver. Are you sure it's working?

TruBluSTL wrote:

SMSPlanstu wrote:My question is:



Will the previous plans for replacing the existing "projects' (Cochran I think) with be included in the Bottle District?



I ask because there was a previous plan for several blocks between Columbus Square and the Bottle District that was proposed a little over a year ago and I never heard about it again. It would be great if the few blocks between would be developed differently now that the Bottle District is going in.

Everyone should send their ideas (like these) straight to them. The Bottle District website asks for suggestions right here:



http://www.thebottledistrict.com/quicksurvey.cfm

The project you are referring to between Columbus Square and The Bottle District is still underway. It is being developed by a firm named Kennedy and Associates. The latest I have heard is that it will be mostly new residential. The best way of keeping up on the project is to contact Alderman April Ford Griffin's office.



As far as 1-70 goes, a traffic study will be done within the next 90 days to determine any modifications that need to be made regarding ingress egress into The Bottle District. I assume the same will be done for Pinnacle. (FYI: 132,00 cars pass The Bottle District each day on 1-70)



As for Bottle District suggesstions, whatever you fill out on the site goes directly to me, so please use the tool. Be sure to add your email address if you would like me to respond.



Thanks.

Isn't there a highway (Lakeshore Drive) separating the lakefront from DT Chicago? Milennium Park has a Frank Gehry designed bridge over it.

Matt wrote:Isn't there a highway (Lakeshore Drive) separating the lakefront from DT Chicago? Milennium Park has a Frank Gehry designed bridge over it.

The bridge spans Columbus Drive (one block west of Lakeshore Dr.)



The difference b/w LSD and I-70 is that 70 is elevated thru the portion of downtown by the Bottle District whereas LSD is actually at grade with signals through downtown Chicago.



One more thing, if we build a bridge like that in St. Louis, make sure it can be used in the winter. Since the rock salt used for melting ice would damage the wooden bridge deck, it was closed creating a big uproar in Chicago

I really think the Bottle District is going to be the key cog that ties everything together for downtown. It will bring Washington Ave together with the Dome, together with The Landing/ Casinos and everything around it.



I mentioned in another thread that you've got to think that the fact that there are already investors lined-up on a $300 million project (which includes residential) is only going to peak the interest of other investors to stake their claim in the surrounding areas.

I heard on the news the other day that the Rams are getting involve in the district. is that true or was I just dreaming?

courtland wrote:I heard on the news the other day that the Rams are getting involve in the district. is that true or was I just dreaming?

(St. Louis, Missouri, May 31, 2005) Brian Ulione, former General Manager of St. Louis? Union Station and Vice President of Sales for the NFL?s St. Louis Rams, announced he would join The Bottle District effective immediately.



Ulione, 50, has extensive experience on the retail and leasing sides of contract development. He will concentrate on attracting innovative venues, as he has successfully before, to downtown St. Louis, and structuring contracts to make The Bottle District, its tenants and the city a must-visit destination.

It seems to me that I-70 downtown is more of a mental rather than physical barrier. (thank God it isn't at grade) I think its' ugly concrete and steel, typical of elevated expressways, is what makes it a barrier. Why not make the support pillars of the elevated section atractive at street level? Perhaps they could be covered with an attractive facade, with planters for greenery or even fountains. If done properly I think it would draw people toward the riverfront. Having said that, I'm surprised no one has thought about rerouting I-70 west with I-64/US 40, tear out the expressway downtown and make the rest of the "old" I-70 a parkway type expressway with its' entrance somewhere north of the Bottle District or perhaps continue underground (ala Boston) to link to the old unfinished interchange between 21st and 22nd streets just west of Union Station. This would also elimate the need of a new bridge and interchange propsed north of downtown that will only gobble up more of the city.

^ Haven't they put Diane Balmori (Mrs. Cesar Pelli) in charge of redesigning the waterfront, including a cap for I-70? I thought I read something like that somewhere. Pretty cool to put her in charge of landscaping!! I can't wait to see what she plans.

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the groundbreaking has been changed to "Summer 2005"

stlmike wrote:According to the website it is now "Summer '05," but hey- guess what? It's summer '05.



I think we'd have some official dates by June 28.

So now it is over a month later and still no word. Anyone hearing anything on the progress or when they will truly break ground?