urbanSTL

roger wyoming II wrote:Here is Kansas City's 2014 Downtown Report....

http://www.downtownkc.org/wp-content/up ... lowres.pdf

They have their Greater Downtown population up to 21,500 now. Again it is hard to make precise comparisons on overall population as boundaries vary, etc. but they do appear to be making much greater progress on bringing market rate apartments to the core that we are. And their Streetcar will help further growth.

At the same time, the Kansas burbs are exploding with sprawling developments with massive parking lots at highway exits.

MatthewHall wrote:

roger wyoming II wrote:Here is Kansas City's 2014 Downtown Report....

http://www.downtownkc.org/wp-content/up ... lowres.pdf

They have their Greater Downtown population up to 21,500 now. Again it is hard to make precise comparisons on overall population as boundaries vary, etc. but they do appear to be making much greater progress on bringing market rate apartments to the core that we are. And their Streetcar will help further growth.

At the same time, the Kansas burbs are exploding with sprawling developments with massive parking lots at highway exits.

Actually, I wouldn't expect for the growth on the Kansas side to last. Government services and school districts there are on the precipice of degrading quite a bit.

So whats holding back downtown STL from being great? Would we be seeing the same activity as KC if we had a street car under construction?

stlien wrote:So whats holding back downtown STL from being great? Would we be seeing the same activity as KC if we had a street car under construction?

Yes that would help a lot they have more jobs in their core too. We need a N/S metro or streetcar and more jobs in the core simple as that.
St. Louis as more historic buildings that are being rehabbed /need to be rehabbed than KC

stlien wrote:So whats holding back downtown STL from being great? Would we be seeing the same activity as KC if we had a street car under construction?

but St. Louis has metrolink going directly through downtown.

stlien wrote:So whats holding back downtown STL from being great? Would we be seeing the same activity as KC if we had a street car under construction?

Probably not as much, right away. Because Kansas City is a growing region while it's a possibility that St. Louis drops out of the top 20 metro areas by 2020. But the N-S Metrolink would be a huge investment to reposition the core for growth over time. Without it, I think the Downtown-Clayton balance of growth looks pretty much the same in 20 years.

Lots of things are happening downtown. We just need "corporate STL" to get behind downtown. It's some type of badge of honor to be located in the suburbs overlooking a highway or clayton, the suburban office park with a street grid. They are SLOWLY starting to figure out that people under 35/40 don't want to work in the office parks of the 70's/80's/90's. Sadly this is where STL is behind the trend yet again.
I wish Railway Exhchange would again dedicate a few floors to startups for free. The city should subsidize it. TREX on steroids! Largest business incubator in the US/ world!

More jobs downtown certainly is key. Saint Louis Streetcar (or legitimate BRT w. fixed stations, pre-board ticketing, etc.) would bring significant redevelopment in downtown and midtown and I believe is key to creating a truly dense, walkable central core. I also agree with Amos Harris that more street trees and lighting, etc. are sorely needed downtown.

^ granted it was late afternoon on a sunday, but i walked around downtown a bit yesterday and man was it depressing. everything was closed and the sidewalks were empty except for a few forlorn-looking robotics kids. the streets and sidewalks themselves—where they even exist—are a mess. we have GOT to replace those f*cking Kiener Plaza garages with actual buildings. that whole area looks like sh*t. i actually felt embarrassed for the people giving horse-and-buggy rides: "To your left we have another empty parking garage, and to your right another empty parking garage with some empty commercial space." i mean, there are just a TON of empty parking-garage retail spaces. really sad.

Interesting. I thought Washington Ave had pretty good foot traffic all weekend. Especially Fri after work.

Otis William's claim about their being a streetscape plan is correct. Back before 2008 the SLDC has a master streetscape plan for all of downtown, from Washington to Busch Stadium and the Arch to Union Station. The economy tanking put all of that on hold. Engineering has been done on some portions. I think its just a matter of getting money to do any of it.

I was told by an Alderman that there is a potential half cent tax increase that could be coming for downtown. Not sure on the timeline or the status. The tax would raise 3 million a year that would be used for infrastructure downtown. That 3 million could lead to more Federal dollars on projects I would think.

arr1274 wrote:I was told by an Alderman that there is a potential half cent tax increase that could be coming for downtown. Not sure on the timeline or the status. The tax would raise 3 million a year that would be used for infrastructure downtown. That 3 million could lead to more Federal dollars on projects I would think.

i am assuming the TAX it just for downtown and downtown west? Any way that sounds like a good idea

roger wyoming II wrote:I think Crowne Plaza is closing this month ahead of the planned conversion to mixed-use residential/boutique hotel. And Marriott Courtyard should be opening this summer.

Also, anyone get to witness the Dodge Ball glory downtown? Looks like a fun time.

Didn't make it over this year, but participated in it last year. It's a fun event hosted by Group 360.

Our team got shellacked early and often last year, and it can drag a bit (waiting for your next game), so we spent a good deal of time over at the then pretty new Alpha Brewery.

But that was last year. I'm not sure how our team did today.

kinger wrote:The owner of those garages requires all new leases (for retail space) to have a clause that the tenant can be relocated/terminated in the event the ownership wants to redevelop the property. They will not bend on it, either, which is a big reason there are several vacancies in an otherwise great retail location. ...Gets you thinking.

In the ULI presentation on the Railway Exchange, they mention that improvement are being considered for the Keiner garages... but no more details were provided. For the Railway Exchange garage itself, removing the 7th Street ramp and a reskin of the garage were recommended. That would be a help. And hopefully the owners of the Keiner garages are thinking boldly.

The ULI report also mentioned improvements coming to the 8th & Pine Metrolink station (makes sense with Arcade/Wright project) and streetscaping for 7th & 8th streets.

I have no idea what this means, but here ya go:

In this week's "Ask the Road Crew" (in the PD), someone asked why demolition debris has been allowed to acumulate near the 20th Street/Chestnut Exit. Andrew Gates, from MODOT, offered this rather intriguing answer:

"The material (rock and dirt) is there for a future project that may be constructed with possible development in that area."

Let the speculation begin.

Here is what Pittsburgh is doing with their shrinking Downtown Macy's...
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/8400 ... z3bYxjFaLM

See what you can do if your average downtown studio unit is renting for almost $1,200.

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 9b904.html


Is this group (or group of groups) part of the solution or one of the obstacles to improving The State of Downtown?