urbanSTL

This will be built... Stop being so harsh on this development... They are scheduled to start in the fall for crying out loud...These large projects take time... I assure you this will be built

A couple things concerning this project. First, as a development team they have completely lost any potential momentum for this project and it will take a herculean effort to reestablish the interest they had 2 years ago. This project is a long way from being built (if at all) - the reason I say this is after speaking with the project architects and engineers they informed me that they have not even been cut loose to start working on the project (at least since the latest marketing renderings were created).



Now for the good news. Keep your eyes on this project team in the next 2-4 weeks. Apparently, Dan McGuire is being bought out of all property and interest in this project. This is probably the best news for this development - get the rookies out of the way (who obviously had a difficult time making good decisions) and provide some professional direction. After speaking with the project architects, I still have some serious reservation about Ghazi (he does have a typical developer mindset), but he does seem to get projects out of the ground - let's just hope the final site plan, when it is presented, is appropriate. We will see if this purchase actually happens, but I hope something can jumpstart this project which has been on life-support for way too long.

While not being a big fan of the CaboWabo Cantina, I do like the idea of the Rawlings Sports Bar and Grille. And I'm not sure how excited I am for the F1 track. I'd rather see a viable neighborhood with good retail to connect the northside with the casino and landing, as well as the dome.

I don't think you will have to worry about the F-1 track being part of this development (still hoping it comes out of the ground) - the guys they are mentioning on their webpage (Grand Prix Speedways) are going to have their hands full trying to run their facility in St. Charles. It is a shame this development team dumped the F-1 Boston people they were originally aligned with because they are the best in the industry (plus they have a 10-year history behind them - another questionable decision made by this development team). I think with Sammy Hagar's popularity in St. Louis, the Cabo Wabo Cantina could be an interesting place - especially if Sammy makes some annual trips to the restaurant. I am less sold on the placement of the Rawlings All American Grille - this is a baseball company and St. Louis is a baseball town. St. Louis is the home of Rawlings and it only goes to reason that this restaurant should be an anchor in the BPV (IMO).

Blzhrpmd2 wrote:^ Agreed. Rawlings makes more sense in BV. Would the proposed ESPNzone be better in BD?...maintains proximity to a major sports venue.



Having "Rawlings" signage visible on Clark from the stadium would fit in great.

It would seem to me to be a great place for Rawlings to move their headquarters...They could have signage on one of the towers and a Rawlings baseball Museum at street level to possibly be combined with the cardinals/bowling attraction.

god that is a good idea. Rawlings should really think about that.

^

They had mentioned it a few years ago, but since then I think they've opened new offices in Chesterfield.



Bad move.



The Business Journal had an article on it back in 2003:

Rawlings, which was acquired earlier this year by K2 Inc. in Los Angeles, is attracted to downtown largely by the prospect of being closer to a new stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals, said Steve O'Hara, Rawlings chief executive.



Major League baseball players who use and endorse Rawlings baseball gloves and other products are key to the company's marketing, he said.



"When Rawlings was downtown 15 years ago, our key customers, the Major League baseball players, would come over and visit our pro staff," he said. "It's hard to put a price tag on that." With the company now based in Fenton, players cannot walk over "and none of them ever drive over."



Still, downtown is more expensive than Rawlings' current suburban location by roughly $6 a square foot when Rawlings considers a 1 percent earnings tax in St. Louis City and the cost of parking, O'Hara said. Rawlings' 120 employees who would make the move now park for free.



Rawlings has not excluded staying put and also is looking at locations along the Highway 40 corridor and in Clayton. Rawlings is working with Scott Bazoian, a managing principal of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. O'Hara said he expects the company to decide on a new home in June.

It is interesting that Rawlings mentions that one of their reasons for not moving downtown is the 1% city earnings tax. This tax is BS and a very bad move by the backwards thinking ST. Louis government. I recently had quite a few job interviews and SEVERAL of the people I talked to mentioned this is as one of the reasons they are in the suburbs. St. Louis needs to cut the 1% tax. It only makes the city less attractive to business.

2taall wrote:It is interesting that Rawlings mentions that one of their reasons for not moving downtown is the 1% city earnings tax. This tax is BS and a very bad move by the backwards thinking ST. Louis government. I recently had quite a few job interviews and SEVERAL of the people I talked to mentioned this is as one of the reasons they are in the suburbs. St. Louis needs to cut the 1% tax. It only makes the city less attractive to business.

We(the forum) have been over this many times already. The earnigs tax cannot be eliminated, it is 33% of the city's operating budget at this point. It was instituted a long time ago to force people who lived in the suburbs to pay their fair share for city services. Only after the city lost hundreds of thousands in population did the earnings tax take the form it is today, so it wasn't backwards thinking at the time it was forward thinking. The earnings tax is not what killed the city, the advent of the highway and cheap readily available energy did.

Never say never!



http://www.mayorslay.com/desk/display.asp?deskID=351

Mayor Slay concludes that the City’s earnings tax is a disincentive to some residents and businesses. He states, "I favor eliminating it. Frankly, almost everyone does." Further, he adds, "Barring these commonsense, but unlikely, events, I am working with other City officials to re-examine every current and potential source of revenue. Our first commitment is to maintain or improve City services by continuing our unprecedented renaissance. At this point, I can’t tell you that the earnings tax will or will not survive our scrutiny."



Another thread discusses it here: http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t ... sc&start=0

Urban Elitist wrote:We(the forum) have been over this many times already. The earnigs tax cannot be eliminated, it is 33% of the city's operating budget at this point. It was instituted a long time ago to force people who lived in the suburbs to pay their fair share for city services. Only after the city lost hundreds of thousands in population did the earnings tax take the form it is today, so it wasn't backwards thinking at the time it was forward thinking. The earnings tax is not what killed the city, the advent of the highway and cheap readily available energy did.

I agree obviously they have to fill the void with other sources of income which will take time. In the long run much of it could be made up with increased growth in the business markets. I have heard it, and I'm sure most others have heard of a business leaving downtown for this reason only. It's broke so find a way to fix it.

Back on topic.



For the last couple of years we've tailgated for Rams games in the area where the Bottle District is supposed to be. Specifically we're in the lot that's right by the Vess bottle.



The guy that runs our lot called yesterday to ask if we'll be tailgating again there this season. We told him we thought the construction would boot us out and had been looking for other locations. He said he can guarantee no problem parking/tailgating in his lot for the entire fall and winter.



Not a good sign.

^Of course, the Bottle District is a lot bigger than 1 lot.



Another possibility: Let's say he knows you'll get the boot on Dec 1st. Does he tell you that now, and have you find another place? Or does he tell you on Nov 30th, after having gotten 3 months worth of parking fees?

It is still possible to use that and for construction to start. That is at the far north end of the site, and construction will progress from south to north. Depending on how it is phased, construction could not even be there untill the next season, that is assuming construction is starting this fall. There's just too many unknowns to say anything either way about anything.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:^Of course, the Bottle District is a lot bigger than 1 lot.



Another possibility: Let's say he knows you'll get the boot on Dec 1st. Does he tell you that now, and have you find another place? Or does he tell you on Nov 30th, after having gotten 3 months worth of parking fees?

The guy that runs this lot is not the type to mess with you: he's straight up. He's there at 6am to open the lot, stays there all game to watch your stuff and then stays around to clean up afterword himself. (unlike some of the other lots that use homeless to clean up). He even boots people out that don't use the porta-potty.



We've dealt with some of the shaddy characters down there and this guy is not one of them.

I think it is safe to say there will be the typical tailgate parties before each Rams home game this year on TBD site for the entire season. Since the project architects and engineers have not been released to start actual design documents let alone construction documents it is safe to say this site will not see any significant construction activity for some time now. However, once construction does start I think you will be out of luck because the north side of the site will be used as a material staging area for the construction on the south side of the site. Don't worry, you are safe for this season...and who knows, maybe next season as well.

I would be surprised, based upon current information, if they were able to start actual construction by the end of the football season. That doesn't mean they can't start excavating in parts...but I think the northern end of the property is safe.



Also, I'd like to say that nowhere has it been stated that the BPV is getting an ESPNZone. There have been rumors that there will be one, but the only official word we've gotten is that there will be a sports grill restaurant similar to ESPNZone in BPV. But I do agree that Rawlings would be better for BPV over BD.



If we do get an ESPNZone, I think it should be Boston or New York themed instead of St. Louis, it would make it more authentic for ESPN.

trent wrote:If we do get an ESPNZone, I think it should be Boston or New York themed instead of St. Louis, it would make it more authentic for ESPN.

^good one!

redrey wrote:

trent wrote:If we do get an ESPNZone, I think it should be Boston or New York themed instead of St. Louis, it would make it more authentic for ESPN.

^good one!

I hope you mean city themed...not yankee or red sox themed...God forbid...

bpe235 wrote:

redrey wrote:

trent wrote:If we do get an ESPNZone, I think it should be Boston or New York themed instead of St. Louis, it would make it more authentic for ESPN.

^good one!

I hope you mean city themed...not yankee or red sox themed...God forbid...

I think he was referring to the fact that Baseball Tonight devotes the first 45 minutes to Yankess/Red Sox news, and the last 15 minutes to the other 28 teams. And then they show every Yankees - Red Sox game during the season.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

bpe235 wrote:

redrey wrote:

^good one!

I hope you mean city themed...not yankee or red sox themed...God forbid...

I think he was referring to the fact that Baseball Tonight devotes the first 45 minutes to Yankess/Red Sox news, and the last 15 minutes to the other 28 teams. And then they show every Yankees - Red Sox game during the season.

Ya no joke..I despise both of those teams

Yeah, that was my joke...I guess I should have said Yankee/Red Sox and Cardinals instead of the cities.

And it will have to have huge murals of Terrell Owens and Danica Patrick.