urbanSTL

I also posted this under Transportation Projects, but am posting this here as well as there are WeCar's parked within a few blocks of The Laurel:



I just signed up for WeCar and completed my first "rental" yesterday. It was great. I agree that it takes a few minutes to get going. The Prius is a bit quirky and they don't tell you that there are two glove compartments (the key pad with the car key is in the TOP compartment). Once on the road, the Prius operates like any other car.



I just traded a two-seat sportscar for a larger vehicle, but WeCar would have been great for me when I had a very small car. There were many times when I have had to borrow a larger vehicle from a friend and WeCar would have been much more convenient.



I also know of many downtown couples who have gone from two to one vehicle. I think WeCar will be a great asset to those people as well.



Also, if the gas goes below 1/4 tank during your rental, you are obligated to fill it up (with a gas card locked in the vehicle), but they do give you a $2 credit for your time.



If you wash the car they give you a $4 credit for your time PLUS they reimburse you for the cost of the wash up to $12 (receipt required).



I encourage everyone who works or lives downtown to consider joining or telling neighbors and co-workers about the WeCar program !



http://www.wecar.com/stl

re: Projects Up In The Air

Original thread: www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=5455



After posting on the above thread earlier today, I have been asked to repost my analysis of the delays in construction to the appropriate threads individually. This posting relates to the delays in funding of the major new construction and certain redevelopment projects in the Downtown Saint Louis area, which would include the Pyramid projects, such as the Laurel, as well as Skyhouse and the Ford.





That construction has stalled on all of these projects makes absolute perfect sense.



For years, the economy has been capitalizing on incredibly lax lending standards, including and especially individual mortgage holders who’ve overextended themselves. This has been further exacerbated with the secondary markets’ selling of investment products based upon collateralized mortgage obligations, basically banks selling the interests in mortgages wholesale for investment. When these collapsed, it took down hedge funds as well, to the tune of $400 billion.



This resultant full-blown collapse in the US credit markets, and now the Euro credit markets, has greatly impacted the availability of either liquid or collateralized capital that can be used to fund major expansion projects like these. We’ve had a great history of rehabilitation projects, backed by state-supported and federally-supported tax credit programs for ancillary support of financing. While these programs remain strong and aren’t expected to disappear, their role as ancillary funding sources remains. Banks are still the primary source for capital in these development projects. As banks are in the doldrums of the credit market crash (and yes, it is a full-blown crash), it’s hard to place that $50M bridge capital to a fully-occupied building.



The establishment of a base population within these buildings is what will separate these projects from being a sound investment from a purely speculative enterprise. Only with a firm foundation in actual sales and revenues will a beleaguered lending institution be able to support such an allocation.



Problems relating to delayed construction are absolutely not Saint Louis-centric. It is endemic.



These companies want to finish their projects, which remain profitable ventures for them as well as local development to our benefit. While they may have cuts in marketing budgeting expenditures, the continued sales of interests in their projects and acceptances of commitments remain. I believe we can expect all these projects to continue, although these impediments to proper funding sources mean they will have delays to final completion. During this time, we must remember to look macro as well as local.





Also, I’m new to posting on this forum; please excuse the simplistic linking at the top as I learn proper encoding procedures.

^ I think removing cars from the upper level would be a mistake. If the East St. Louis riverfront ever becomes something more than a wasteland, having that car access will be an important part of tying downtown into such improvement.

Framer wrote:Remember, a couple of Summers ago, the city closed the bridge deck for weekend food fairs. It tied up traffic and caused a general uproar. I doubt they'll do it again.

Ah yes, the "Eats Bridge". In thought, a pretty romantic idea. In reality...not a very good idea.

STLCityRes wrote:In addition to tearing down the skybridge over Washington Ave. near MX, has there ever been any discussion to turn the upper deck of the Eads Bridge into a recreational area, i.e. for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, tourists, etc.? I know the lower portion is used by the Metrolink, but with more residents moving downtown, it might be nice to use the upper area for recreational purposes. The views are great, its in a touristy area, and it doesn't seem like there is much car traffic.

You can already walk, ride, or stop on the eads bridge and take photos of the skyline. There are also plenty of people in Illinois who use the bridge, including myself. I always use it, when I can. I also see, very often, tourists taking photos, Downtown residents jogging, and people biking on the bridge.

STLCityRes wrote:Yes, I have walked/jogged here as well, but it's not so great when cars come whizzing by. And you can't easily go from the north side of the bridge to the south side. I was just thinking of some of the pedestrian bridges in Europe.

You can't just shut a bridge down to car traffic, one that many Illinoisans are dependent on, so that people in Missouri can jog and bike more comfortably on it.

From the Mayor's Desk



Sunday, March 30, 2008

Updating Plans for the Laurel



Readers who make it past the first several paragraphs of Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair’s story in the Sunday Post-Dispatch will find an update of sorts on Downtown’s continuing revitalization. Like most newspaper stories about the economy, the accent generally is on the negative. Yet, several billion dollars of recent private and public investment Downtown have added new retail and dining choices, new residents, and new or expanded businesses that even the daily newspaper can’t ignore.



I recently spent some time talking to John Steffen about his plans. According to John, the Laurel, formerly home to the downtown Dillard’s department store, is now slated for transformation as an Embassy Suites hotel and first floor retail space, in addition to residential apartments and condominiums. Since Pinnacle Entertainment purchased the Embassy Suites on Laclede’s Landing and rebranded it, the popular Embassy Suites brand has been missing. The Embassy Suites at the Laurel will remedy this deficiency. And many of the condos have already been pre-sold.



In addition, the overall development has been expanded to include the long-vacant first floor retail space at 555 Washington as the first step towards realization of John’s Mercantile Exchange concept. General Growth, owners and operators of the Galleria in Richmond Heights as well as hundreds of other successful shopping malls across the country, is leasing and operating the Mercantile Exchange retail space for John, and has interested a number of mainstream retailers in the Laurel and 555 Washington spaces.



Once a TIF process is completed, construction —including the long-awaited removal of the “bridge” over Washington Avenue between the Laurel and St. Louis Center — is expected to commence.

innov8ion wrote:

MidcoastSTL wrote:^ That is what I was wondering. Does this mean things are a go?

The Mayor's post stated that once the TIF is complete, construction is expected to commence. I suppose that's an unofficial yes.

All I can think of is the song "The Trial" from Pink Floyd's album "The Wall". The chorus is Tear down the Wall!!!...Tear down the Wall!!!



Tear down the skybridge!!!



Tear down the skybridge!!!