Does anyone know what is going on at the Mercantile Library building? A garage door was recently installed on Locust street and you can see that there are lights on in the building along with some equipment inside.
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^ Sure it's the Mercantile? I've asked and person claimed no knowledge. That doesn't mean that something isn't happening though, of course.
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No, he's right. There is a new garage door on the Locust side. A reputable source told me that redevelopment plans are still on hold.Alex Ihnen wrote:^ Sure it's the Mercantile? I've asked and person claimed no knowledge. That doesn't mean that something isn't happening though, of course.
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All I could find is that the owner owes over $100,000 in back taxes to the City and hasn't paid a dime since 2010.
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This What Should Be post is an eye-opener.
http://nextstl.com/what-should-be/what- ... -buildling
Getting that building restored would be such a positive for downtown and the M/X area in particular.
http://nextstl.com/what-should-be/what- ... -buildling
Getting that building restored would be such a positive for downtown and the M/X area in particular.
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As I understand it, the buildings' original facades are too damaged to restore. The same thing happened with the 411 - the old Farm & Home Savings building - at 10th and Locust. The developer removed a few of the exterior panels and determined that the original facade was unsalvageable.roger wyoming II wrote:This What Should Be post is an eye-opener.
http://nextstl.com/what-should-be/what- ... -buildling
Getting that building restored would be such a positive for downtown and the M/X area in particular.
While it would be great to see the original facades of the buildings that make up the Mercantile Library brought back to life, I think it can still look really cool, even in its current state.
Downtown St. Louis could use a true Cultural Center. I don't know what the interior here looks like, but I have to assume a former library/gallery would fit that mold.
I was at Chicago's Cultural Center today for a seminar. It's right off Michigan Ave., on Randolph across from Zmillennium Park. It holds a tourist center, coffee/snack cafe, rotating arts/culture galleries and exhibits, and a pretty steady calendar of events and activities -- ethnic dance lessons, writer Q&As, concerts, and regular cultural discussions.
Mayor Slay talked about encouraging immigrants to relocate to St. Louis -- well, a good first step to doing that would be opening a Cultural Center that bridges the ethnic gap and offers programs to involve and encourage discussion amongstSt. Louis' current residents and those visiting.
I was at Chicago's Cultural Center today for a seminar. It's right off Michigan Ave., on Randolph across from Zmillennium Park. It holds a tourist center, coffee/snack cafe, rotating arts/culture galleries and exhibits, and a pretty steady calendar of events and activities -- ethnic dance lessons, writer Q&As, concerts, and regular cultural discussions.
Mayor Slay talked about encouraging immigrants to relocate to St. Louis -- well, a good first step to doing that would be opening a Cultural Center that bridges the ethnic gap and offers programs to involve and encourage discussion amongstSt. Louis' current residents and those visiting.
I've heard this too, and while it's a shame the original facade can't be restored, I kind of like the one it has now. With a bit of polish it could be really great.While it would be great to see the original facades of the buildings that make up the Mercantile Library brought back to life, I think it can still look really cool, even in its current state.
I hope something happens soon. I can see this building from my office and the roof has been deteriorating for quite some time (years), with no evidence that the owners are going to repair it, and quite a few of the windows on the upper floors are open or broken out.
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I remember gong in there once in the mid-1990s and being surprised to find a Victorian library inside a mid-century modern building. At the time, I didn't realize it had been skinned in the 1950s. When I visited, though, a lot of the original interior remained.
From Shewey's Pictorial: St. Louis Past and Present. A Sketch of St. Louis, Its History, Resources, Chronological Events, Tables of Information and Points of Interest (St. Louis: Arista C. Shewey, 1892):
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From Shewey's Pictorial: St. Louis Past and Present. A Sketch of St. Louis, Its History, Resources, Chronological Events, Tables of Information and Points of Interest (St. Louis: Arista C. Shewey, 1892):
Walked by this morning and noticed some work going on inside the old Mercantile Library building. The delivery door on St. Charles was open and all the meters outside the door were closed. Inside were a couple large construction trash bins and a few workers.
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The developer of the apartments in the Millennium Center is using the building as a staging area.ealfotd wrote:Walked by this morning and noticed some work going on inside the old Mercantile Library building. The delivery door on St. Charles was open and all the meters outside the door were closed. Inside were a couple large construction trash bins and a few workers.
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If anyone wants to see what this would have been like - visit the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati.
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Our resident Presbyterian saw Brandonview was granted a permit to build ramps for a future parking garage in the interior of 516 Locust, one of the buildings built in the 50s adjacent to the older 1880's building that was reclad in the 50s and housed the Mercantile Library. Not sure what the larger plans are, if any, but hopefully this is part of a larger plan to redevelop the adjacent buildings. (Brandonview bought the properties from Spinnaker earlier this year and owns the entire square block except for the Lasalle on Olve and the small adjacent building on Broadway that used to house Paradowski Creative,)
I'm not optimistic that garage development is going to lead to any worthwhile development. Garage development indicates to my admittedly uneducated perspective the opposite. "So we've got this building and nothing is happening, let's turn it into a garage so that we can at least make something off of it."
I apologize for my pessimism.
I apologize for my pessimism.
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^ I think you guys are absolutely right that the typical Saint Louis move would be put to put in interior parking pretty much for the hell of it. But the thing that's different here is that the developer is of a mindset that you can't build apartments downtown fast enough.... he is certainly of a different mold than almost every other downtown actor and I wouldn't be surprised if his plan is to create interior parking in portions of the block to service new apartments elsewhere in the block.
I bet though that he has plans for the adjacent 1880s building (that unfortunately has been defaced and abused) -- either planned to be new residential or office or as part of the parking garage.
I bet though that he has plans for the adjacent 1880s building (that unfortunately has been defaced and abused) -- either planned to be new residential or office or as part of the parking garage.
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Yeah, I suspect this is just parking for his residential projects on that block.
It's his residential projects that tend to concern me. He would do well to hire a good architect and take advantage of historic tax credits on these properties. The end result would be a great improvement.
It's his residential projects that tend to concern me. He would do well to hire a good architect and take advantage of historic tax credits on these properties. The end result would be a great improvement.
Can the structure of this building hold the weight off a lot of cars? I think the parking would be in the basement with residential/ offices on the other floors.
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^ good question and I have no idea about the interior of the buildings... I'm not even sure they're separated inside as they were all part of the bank. All I know is that we need to track down any living persons who were responsible for the murder of the Romanesque exterior of the 1880s building and engage in an old-fashioned defenestration. They are monsters!
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Back in the late 90s, there were plans to convert it to a data center. I'm not sure how the structural requirements for servers differ from that of cars, but I'm guessing the floors can accommodate quite a bit of weight.True_dope wrote:Can the structure of this building hold the weight off a lot of cars? I think the parking would be in the basement with residential/ offices on the other floors.
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^ interesting. I'd rather have this messed up complex house a big data center than RR/X. (Although dredger's idea -- I think it is his -- of being able to live and work above the cloud is a good one.
In regards to the 1880's building, is that pretty much beyond reasonable hope that the facade could ever be restored to its former glory? I believe I read it was pretty much sawed off flat and essentially murdered.
In regards to the 1880's building, is that pretty much beyond reasonable hope that the facade could ever be restored to its former glory? I believe I read it was pretty much sawed off flat and essentially murdered.
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As I understand it, the only option for the facade is to keep it as it is. Kind of like the 411 building at 10th and Locust. The original facade is just too far gone to save.roger wyoming II wrote:^ interesting. I'd rather have this messed up complex house a big data center than RR/X. (Although dredger's idea -- I think it is his -- of being able to live and work above the cloud is a good one.
In regards to the 1880's building, is that pretty much beyond reasonable hope that the facade could ever be restored to its former glory? I believe I read it was pretty much sawed off flat and essentially murdered.
Personally, I've always thought this building would work well as office space. I'd almost rather see it sectioned off into separate buildings again. The portion of it that faces Olive is a really cool little building.
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I kind of figured this would move faster than the rest as Brandonview doesn't dilly dally with incentives; multifam building permit has been issue. (h/t presby... you can subscribe to his twitter newsletter to get this and other inside info @PresbyterianStl)
Isn't there a mammoth parking garage on the other side of the street?
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^ yes, although this is to service a rather quirky project... I see the story on the project was never posted here:
Planned for Hayden’s adjoining buildings, which range from five to six stories high, are apartments that would have parking at their front doors.
Ramps inside the buildings would allow residents to drive to their apartments on what, in effect, would be indoor streets. The interior ramps would have to be constructed.
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 9efaa.html
Planned for Hayden’s adjoining buildings, which range from five to six stories high, are apartments that would have parking at their front doors.
Ramps inside the buildings would allow residents to drive to their apartments on what, in effect, would be indoor streets. The interior ramps would have to be constructed.
http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 9efaa.html