urbanSTL

Marmar wrote: I remember when Atlanta was NOTHING compared to St. Louis, and look where Atlanta is today. What drew so many to Atlanta? The ocean? Mountains? Urban living (almost non existant there 40 years ago)? No. Civic pride. Pride felt by it's vast general metro populace, all for that city. That's what we need here, and it shouldn't be misplaced pride. Our suburbs are our suburbs, and should remain just that. It's time to put our pride where it belongs, even if you abhore city living, because if IT propers, we all prosper.

Not enough pride and too much complacency. Cities either grow or shrink.



The appearance of downtown also affects the talent pool available to the region’s businesses because most prospective employees are going to visit downtown at least once during their trip, even if the job is out in Chesterfield. It creates an impression about the health of the region.

The evolution is from having no choice but city living to choosing city living took about 35+ years even in New York and Boston.

The fact that Baby Boomers were raising families and flocking to the suburbs in the 70s and 80s accelerated the extreme suburbanization.



And we lost a way of life in many cities, especially STL as is noted above. And what happened in the more thoroughly abandoned cities made it seem as if they could never come back.



The amazing thing is that so many young people today are embracing a way of life they never really knew except through a few television shows.

Could it be that there will always be a minority that find suburban life sterile? And once the blight is driven back a ways, a new option emerges. Rob

I feel now is as good of a time for me to actually chime in a provide an opinion this board needs and will love.



At the risk of being disregarded thorougly in all further posts, I am a 21 year old college student. I can tell you first hand, not a single person I have encountered since coming to college 3 years ago has expressed any desire whatsoever for suburban living. Literally not one. The only talk around almost every campus I've been to (at least 20) is excitement about living in cities once we are all out of college. I don't know that this fact is that obvious to those outside of our generation, but there is a MAJOR paradigm shift occuring right now within my age group regarding lifestyle choices. Suburban living is, without exageration, almost abhored in most college circles. I'm sure there are many who are indifferent, and many who will prefer to live in the suburbs, but I have just not encountered anyone with these viewpoints. Generation Y (I believe that's us) is going to change the way the entire country sees urban living... everyone else just doesn't know it yet. By the time our generation begins to hit affluence (2020), demand for urban living will be at a height never seen before in this country or anywhere else for that matter. (Admittedly take this with a grain of salt, as I'm a huge skyscraper and urban enthusiast, but I can honestly say everything I have said above rings true.) We cannot wait to get into the midst of everything, so keep building those condos, there will be none left on the market in 10 years.

Get to college, something happens there. It's a little hard to explain...but once you are on your own for a significant period of time...something magical happens to your views about life . You think about your future in highschool, but not like juniors and seniors in college. Where it counts, a magnificent change is occuring in our generation. I have no doubt you will know exactly what I'm talking about in around 4 years. See you on the other side.

has anyone been able to get into the Laurel website to see the floorplans yet? weren't they supposed to be available today at 5:00?

I just got back from the grand opening... and it was pretty dam cool. They closed off 7th street north of washington and made it into a lounge. Free beers, free drinks, and a band was playing outside. I think the best part was the band, they fit so well with the atmosphere and crowd... i wanted it to go on for the rest of the night. It was nice sitting on the couches outside looking up at Bank One and taking in the city. Wish the buildings were a little bigger



Inside the Laurel was AMAZING. It blew any other demo/model show room away. The floor plans are awesome IMO. Everyone was great, with lots of windows.



Overall I think this one project is going to be great.

Your right, the Laurel was amazing. I loved the finishing touches, the floor plans were great and the atmosphere made it seem like it was more than just an opening of another building downtown it made it seem like it was an event to showcase the city to a new market of people looking to live downtown. I was completely impressed.



That being said, the best part was not the band. It was definitely the paid models who stood around smiling.

Marmar wrote: I remember when Atlanta was NOTHING compared to St. Louis, and look where Atlanta is today. What drew so many to Atlanta? The ocean? Mountains? Urban living (almost non existant there 40 years ago)? No. Civic pride. Pride felt by it's vast general metro populace, all for that city. That's what we need here, and it shouldn't be misplaced pride. Our suburbs are our suburbs, and should remain just that. It's time to put our pride where it belongs, even if you abhore city living, because if IT propers, we all prosper.

You're joking right? There are some pretty basic truths to urbanism and cities - their growth is cyclical - young cities are able to adapt and grow faster than old cities - and no city is built on civic pride.

Grover wrote:

Marmar wrote: I remember when Atlanta was NOTHING compared to St. Louis, and look where Atlanta is today. What drew so many to Atlanta? The ocean? Mountains? Urban living (almost non existant there 40 years ago)? No. Civic pride. Pride felt by it's vast general metro populace, all for that city. That's what we need here, and it shouldn't be misplaced pride. Our suburbs are our suburbs, and should remain just that. It's time to put our pride where it belongs, even if you abhore city living, because if IT propers, we all prosper.

You're joking right? There are some pretty basic truths to urbanism and cities - their growth is cyclical - young cities are able to adapt and grow faster than old cities - and no city is built on civic pride.

I don't want to get too far down the city-v-city road, but let's not forget that Atlanta got a huge infusion of investment leading up to the 1996 Olympics. Even without that it would be bigger than St. Louis at this point, but the federal funding of their transit and infrastructure accounts for a substantial portion of that gain.

I also went to the Laurel grand opening. They get an A+ in my opinion. This is going to be just a great project and there were so many people there! It was wonderful seeing so much interest in this project!



The condos are amazing. Very upscale and very well laid out. Even the smaller condos appear to be spacious. I can't wait to see this project completed!

Very well done opening. There were people everywhere. Appeared to be a lot of interest. The ladies were quite nice as well. I'll post some pics later.

dina wrote:has anyone been able to get into the Laurel website to see the floorplans yet? weren't they supposed to be available today at 5:00?

Yes. Go to www.thelaurelstlouis.com

Pictures from the display unit are on The Laurel's website:



http://www.thelaurelstlouis.com/progres ... temId=2348



-RBB

I was at the Renaissance for a work function last night and walked by the Laurel on my way back to get my car - looked like a hell of a party! Downtown felt very vibrant last night.

Great opening last night!! Pyramid did a great job. Good looking girls, delicious appetizers, music in the street, awesome display, cool 3D model, and a neat sales center. I'm anxious to hear how many reservations they took.

Great opening last night!! Pyramid did a great job. Good looking girls, delicious appetizers, music in the street, awesome display, cool 3D model, and a neat sales center

... White Castle Sliders.



Really who could ask for more?

Anyone find out at the opening what condo fees will be?

around 26 cents a square foot.

Awesome Jay. Welcome.



Few people realize what an asset this forum can be for their business, it's good to see the people at the Laurel are on board.

The Laurel at MX wrote:Hello! My name is Jay Hederman and I am the sales manager for The Laurel Condominiums. I look forward to answering questions, correcting misconceptions, and providing updates about this exciting new development.



Our sales center and professionally designed display are now open daily:



Monday through Friday - 11am to 6pm

Saturday and Sunday - 11am to 5pm



We are located at 625 Washington Avenue (corner of 7th and Washington). You can reach us by phone at 314-241-3900.



Thank you and I hope you'll all visit soon!

So is it true that the Laurel is built upon a Native American burial ground and that 34 inches of garlic infused molten steel has been poored in the basement to entrap the undead? (just trying to dispel a possible misconception - and check for a sense of humor - welcome! )