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PostNov 22, 2014#726

roger wyoming II wrote:Sorry about that. Here is a link to the KC action:
http://urbanstl.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 15#p242184

From the Nerdery article...
Drew Solomon, the Economic Development Corp. of Kansas City's coordinator for entrepreneurship and industry initiatives, said the EDC coordinated a multi-agency effort to help facilitate the expansion.

A similar effort helped attract another growing firm, Sungevity Inc., to Downtown earlier this month.

Come to the Lou, Drew, and show us how it's done, hon!

Here is the Atltanta article, which took me longer to relocate than I hoped....

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/real ... tower.html

In fact, office building owners believe the unprecedented number of Midtown high-rise apartment units are a catalyst for corporate relocations back to the city. That's because the new rental housing — as long as it remains relatively affordable — will convince college graduates from schools such as Georgia Tech and Georgia State University to continue living in the city once they enter the workforce.

Some metro Atlanta companies have already relocated back to the urban core to be closer to the universities, intown housing and amenities, and projects such as the Atlanta Beltline, which will connect dozens of city neighborhoods. Consider Coca-Cola, which moved from Cobb County to downtown's SunTrust Plaza tower, and athenahealth, which relocated from Alpharetta to Ponce City Market, the redevelopment of the former Sears, Roebuck & Co. building in the historic Old Fourth Ward.


I'll bill you through PM :wink:
Awesome, thanks.

Great, can't wait to see the damage.
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PostNov 22, 2014#727

^ consider it pro bono this time seeing your diagnosed state of laziness; but tell ya what, if a major employer filling up 100,000 square feet or more downtown is announced by the end of the year you can by me a beer & burger at Bailey's.

PostNov 22, 2014#728

kbshapiro wrote:JohnWarren -- ouch. We have the highest amount of vacancy and the lowest rent. I guess on the positive, there's a lot of opportunity for company's that could take advantage of those stats.
I agree there is some opportunity, especially if someone is willing to take advantage of the ATT One Center that will become available before long (but probably in need of a major overhaul). But I think what John might be alluding to a bit is that we also have somewhat of a shortage with sufficient Class A space when not counting ATT. What we have hordes of in contrast is B and C class, hopefully a good degree of which can be tackled by a combo of growth from start-ups, etc. and conversion to new uses like residential or hotel.

So with the relative lack of new Class A, while we won't see spec anytime soon I'm somewhat hopeful that a downtown company wanting new digs will anchor a modest new Class A building and bring along others who may also desire that kind of product. McCormack Baron would be a great candidate to do something cool if they're impacted by the 720 Olive work where they presently are at.
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PostNov 22, 2014#729

What exactly distinguishes "class A" from "class B" and so forth? is there some sort of formula? modern amenities?
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PostNov 23, 2014#730

I'm really hoping Downtown can turn things around i think theres many positives that are happening in the city but overall downtown is definitely in the losers seat. There needs to be a broad refocus on downtown and getting jobs downtown. We always say theres so much potential however our leaders seemingly are ignoring it don't realize it or just don't care anymore who knows but I'm tired of all the negatives that have been happening here I'm ready for the positives to explode out of the seams. I think its time for our leaders to focus on downtown first i wouldn't mind the loop street car being moved to downtown..Thats my little opinion on it..

PostNov 23, 2014#731

I'm not here to bash St.Louis by any means all i want is good quality sound formidable progress throughout the city including downtown. Good projects that enhance the cities visual beauty a city thats taken cared of by its citizens also cared about by its citizens a city thats not afraid to compete with just not cities here in this country but around the world a city thats welcoming to new comers including immigrants. Theres so much i can go on to say but i truly care about St.Louis and only want whats best for it i know for a fact theres a lot of great things happening here and there will be many more great things happening in the future.
I heart St.Louis!
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PostNov 23, 2014#732

Progress in the city at any part is good for downtown. As the city becomes better it makes downtown more desirable. What the city need to do is show off the cheap rent and use that as a development tool. As a way for a business to cheaply expand.
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PostNov 23, 2014#733

True_dope wrote:Progress in the city at any part is good for downtown. As the city becomes better it makes downtown more desirable. What the city need to do is show off the cheap rent and use that as a development tool. As a way for a business to cheaply expand.
That i agree with you. This city has so many beautiful assets that not even most locals here don't even know about .
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PostNov 23, 2014#734

roger wyoming II wrote:^ consider it pro bono this time seeing your diagnosed state of laziness; but tell ya what, if a major employer filling up 100,000 square feet or more downtown is announced by the end of the year you can by me a beer & burger at Bailey's.
If that happens by the end of the year, I'll buy you a beer and burger at Baileys, once a month for a year.
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PostNov 26, 2014#735

The Collective closed at MX. Retail continues to struggle in Downtown St Louis. For them to close before the holidays, shows that it must be real bad for them.

http://www.stlmag.com/style/collective- ... is-closes/
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PostNov 26, 2014#736

^ uugh.
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PostNov 26, 2014#737

kbshapiro wrote:The Collective closed at MX. Retail continues to struggle in Downtown St Louis. For them to close before the holidays, shows that it must be real bad for them.

http://www.stlmag.com/style/collective- ... is-closes/
Real jobs in the CBD. Not sure what else is gonna do it. Doesn't feel like we're going in the right direction with that though. I've lived in the same place in the CBD for the last five years but work in Creve Couer. The CBD has never seemed less busy to me than now. As for my daily commute by car - with the CBD - it seems rarely ever congested with traffic at rush hour unless there is a Cardinals game or major event at the Dome (the rare Monday or Thursday night football game or the rare concert). It feels like in past years there was more typical rush hour traffic than there is now.

Also, I'm rarely ever home on a weekday during the day but lately have been using up some vacation days and taking some Fridays off. There really feels like there is a lack of bustle down here in the CBD during the day even compared to just a year or two ago.
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PostNov 27, 2014#738

Downtown needs jobs and also People In the suburbs are never going to go to downtown for things they can buy in the burbs.
Also people in St. Louis suburbs Do try to avoid downtown at much as possible. So if you want downtown to grow you need add jobs, students ,and residents and not rely on people from the burbs or sports fans.
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PostNov 27, 2014#739

I don't think people in the suburbs avoid downtown "as much as possible." If you live in St Louis Hills and work at Wash U, I don't think that inherently makes you any more or less open to patronizing downtown than if you lived in Maplewood and worked in Clayton.

There is a difference between actively avoiding downtown and choosing to selectively patronize it based on convenience and diversity of amenities.
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PostNov 27, 2014#740

Downtown should become the retail mecca for city residents. People who live in the city always shop in the burbs thats where all the good stuff is located the same with Illinoisans they by pass downtown cause theres no retail downtown. I'm not really sure how downtown going to fair after all of this protesting but i think downtown if marketed the proper way can be very attractive to many potential developers. Downtown needs a eclectic mix of jobs retail home dwellers students tourist street scape transportation . I believe a street car running from downtown to wherever would help out a great deal. City needs to market downtown as the epicenter for the city. Just think of IKEA would have gone downtown.
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PostNov 27, 2014#741

I always wish IKEA moved in to Macy's Old space wish the upper floors turned into offices and apartments.

PostDec 02, 2014#742

http://www.newgeography.com/content/004 ... -downtowns

According to his article Perhaps nothing better illustrates the notion of urban revival in America than the comeback of many downtown districts. Yet if these areas have recovered some of their vigor, they are doing so in a manner that hardly suggests a return to their glory days in the first half of the 20th Century.
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PostDec 02, 2014#743

I personally don't think downtowns will ever be the epicenter for everything. Many people believe downtown St.Louis will never comeback but i still think theres a decent chance it can come back if a few things are done efficiently such as the 2nd phase a BPV bringing the Chemical and Jefferson arms buildings back to life. Find a few key national retailers that would locate downtown. If theres still the possibility of the street car or Metro link expansion i would love to see either expended to the possible new football stadium which is a pipe dream .
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PostDec 02, 2014#744

^ yeah, downtown doesn't need to be what it once was -- society has changed so much that that isn't really even possible -- but it can still become a vibrant center of a wide range of activity. I think the problem we're facing though is that the residential growth just isn't proceeding at the type of robust pace that is needed to achieve true momentum. With the poor jobs performance, a couple rehabs a year just isn't enough to get to that next level where downtown growth is clear and convincing... it always seems to be just beyond our grasp.
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PostDec 02, 2014#745

30 years ago downtowns were bustling during the day and vacant at night. Virtually all restaurants and shops closed after 5. Not they have added residential and entertainment. Much more of a 24 hour feel.
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PostDec 02, 2014#746

^ right..... having a range of activities certainly is more interesting than just a reliance on daytime office jobs and some tourism; perhaps it also is better economically as well but I'm not sure about that. Anyway, what is clear is that our overall population comprised of jobs, students, visitors and residents is not where it needs to be.

The big question in my mind is, assuming small gains in tourism/visitors, students and jobs in the coming years, how many more residential will we need to sustain a healthy level of retail and get to that bustiling sense? If it is 10,000 or more that will be quite some time at present pace.
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PostDec 03, 2014#747

roger wyoming II wrote:The big question in my mind is, assuming small gains in tourism/visitors, students and jobs in the coming years, how many more residential will we need to sustain a healthy level of retail and get to that bustiling sense? If it is 10,000 or more that will be quite some time at present pace.
To state the obvious, one means of adding vibrancy without adding tourists, students, jobs, or residents is continued expansion of Metrolink. The more neighborhoods with quick, easy pedestrian access to downtown, the more its streets will be filled with St. Louisans supporting retail, dining, and entertainment (mostly on nights and weekends, but also throughout the day).

In 2010 the CWE had a population of 14,473 and density of 7,700. While it is a local draw and jobs center (BJC) with good transit connectivity and a few hotels, none of those characteristics are on the scale of DT. A comparable pop. for DT & DTW would be about 2X what it had in 2010 and give it a comparable density. The CWE is obviously far from being a vibrant bustling 24 hr. center. But, I would hope that with Downtown's additional strengths (tourism, transit, jobs, students, entertainment, etc...) it would exhibit a heightened stability and vibrancy to what the CWE is currently working with. So, maybe about 15,000 residents? Which would mean about an additional 5,000?
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PostDec 03, 2014#748

^ I guess one way of looking at it would be how much more activity can be expected to result from each additional 1,000 downtown residents? How many additional street-level businesses could we expect from say 5,000 new residents? Related, would those 5,000 new residents and their income get downtown to the point where national retailers will commit? I know they have formulas but I'm not sure on where we stack up.

Depressing to think though that even if 5,000 would be a magic number, it would take over a decade at present pace!

PostDec 03, 2014#749

So the Death in the Afternoon guys will be expanding hours and offering beer tastings but they also would like to see free parking....

"I think the city has to work with us a little bit," he says. "They say they're raising parking rates because we're behind other cities. But parking should be free downtown to bring people here. If I'm worried about where I'm going to park, I'm not going to come. .. They've got to do something to entice people like us to stick around."

http://www.feastmagazine.com/the-feed/a ... 331cd.html

I know this is a popular sentiment with many business owners but I think it is a pretty complex issue. All day free parking of course wouldn't work as downtown workers would take all the spots up and then business owners would complain that there is nowhere convenient for their customers to park! But I think if there were a way to enforce reasonable time limits then it might not be a bad thing -- e.g. maybe the first 60 minutes are free parking allowing for patronage and then moving along or pay.

The other thing of interest is if the city were to offer some degree of free parking along both city streets and in city-owned garages, might that have an impact of private surface lots? Would that help spur some owners to develop their lots? As I think the problem downtown is one more of demand than supply, I'm not sure that would be the case but you never know.

Of course the real solution is to have more rapid transit and daytime population actually in downtown.
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PostDec 03, 2014#750

I refuse to believe that parking is an issue. It has to be a culmination of things and saying "parking" is just the easiest.
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