Union Club - 1700 S. Jefferson Avenue at Lafayette

goat314 · PostApr 14, 2008#1512008-04-14T21:13+00:00

jlblues wrote:From Page 1 - Nov. 2005:

DeBaliviere wrote:From MayorSlay.com:

The Jefferson and I-44 proposal involves the reconstruction of a handsome mixed use building, the Union Club, that was located on the site before the tornado of 1896 took it away. The new facility will include condos and retail space. An interesting element of the plan is a ?nearly-inked? deal for a new Nelly/sports-themed restaurant concept, with several major St. Louis sports figures as prospective investors. The restaurant concept includes a flat-screen TV at every table, as well as facilities where local amateur sports teams can hold banquets.
Hadn't seen this before. I didn't realize there would be so much retail space in this building. The restaurant was supposed to be called Jerseyville. Are they talking about what eventually became SkyBox, or is this still a go, and Nelly is investing in this too? If Jerseyville is dead, I wonder if there are any other plans for the space yet? The Gilded Age website doesn't have any info, about the retail space or sales numbers.

Duh jblues cant you see this is going to become "Nellyville"

tge-atw · PostApr 14, 2008#1522008-04-14T21:31+00:00

Two questions.

Are they going to cover the entire building in brick, or just some of the walls? If they do the whole building, this will be an instant win. If not, I will not be so impressed or pleased.

If Nellie opens a sports bar in this place, how long will it be before somebody gets shot there?

downtown2007 · PostApr 15, 2008#1532008-04-15T01:34+00:00

Nelly has a sports bar on the Landing and there hasnt been any shots there.

tge-atw · PostApr 15, 2008#1542008-04-15T17:19+00:00

Its only been open for a few weeks. Give it time.

goat314 · PostApr 15, 2008#1552008-04-15T17:36+00:00

TGE-ATW wrote:Its only been open for a few weeks. Give it time.

Nelly is not even a gangster rapper and has more middle aged white fans than young black "thugs", but I doubt people will start shooting on the Landing anyway. I'm sure the cops are always around anyway, because they have the same assumptions that you do. I doubt Nelly would try to create a venue that attracts thugs anyway, he knows thats bad for business. The guys worth like $400 million.....he ain't no dummy, definitely a businessmen these days.

arch city · PostApr 16, 2008#1562008-04-16T03:25+00:00

First, I think it is presumptuous to suggest that a sports bar or business enterprise that happens to be owned by African-American investors - particularly Nelly - is going to have "shots" fired.

Second, Nelly is not the only investor in Skybox. Larry Hughes, Darius Miles and Marshall Faulk are investors as well. They are hardly "gangster" rappers, and by the way, neither is Nelly.

Three. goat314, you are absolutely right. Nelly, while I don't enjoy most of his music, has evolved more into a business man and less of an entertainer, in my opinion. This is why Skybox is one of the most unique sport bars in St. Louis - if not the Midwest. I wish him and the other investors much success.

Four, please do not mar this thread with stereotypes and innuendo and let's stay on topic.

tge-atw · PostApr 16, 2008#1572008-04-16T14:31+00:00

TGE-ATW wrote:
Are they going to cover the entire building in brick, or just some of the walls? If they do the whole building, this will be an instant win. If not, I will not be so impressed or pleased.

markofucity · PostApr 16, 2008#1582008-04-16T15:13+00:00

One More Point: Nelly is one of th best ambassadors this city has. He consistently supports St. Louis every chance he gets.

moorlander · PostApr 16, 2008#1592008-04-16T15:35+00:00

His name is Cornell, would you expect anything less?

If you haven't seen him lately, he's now YOKED!

jlblues · PostApr 16, 2008#1602008-04-16T19:18+00:00

TGE-ATW wrote:
TGE-ATW wrote:
Are they going to cover the entire building in brick, or just some of the walls? If they do the whole building, this will be an instant win. If not, I will not be so impressed or pleased.

Look at the pics on Page 10. The areas with the white Tyvek vapor barrier will be brick, the areas with the dark building wrap/vapor barrier (around the balconies, and the one large section on the north elevation) will probably be EIFS. I really hope it won't be siding. Oh yeah, and the areas covered by brick...will be brick.

tge-atw · PostApr 16, 2008#1612008-04-16T19:29+00:00

I see.

I am concerned about the facade facing the highway looking like a suburban condo, in the midst of the adjacent monumental buildings.

jlblues · PostApr 16, 2008#1622008-04-16T19:41+00:00

^It looks like the south elevation will be all brick. As I said before, I don't like that the area enclosing the courtyard will be one large expanse of featureless brick.

And I'm not sure about the section of the north elevation, but will reserve judgment until I see what the finish material will be. From the original renderings, it looks like that part of the elevation was supposed to be brick, but they switched to EIFS to cut costs.

shadrach · PostApr 16, 2008#1632008-04-16T22:37+00:00

except the first two images it looks like a Courtyard by Marriott.

watcher · PostApr 25, 2008#1642008-04-25T19:31+00:00

Is there a sales office?

Have there been any substantiated presales?

Tough corner to live on.

ecoabsence · PostApr 27, 2008#1652008-04-27T18:52+00:00

TGE-ATW wrote:I see. I am concerned about the facade facing the highway looking like a suburban condo, in the midst of the adjacent monumental buildings.

Since I-44 itself belongs in the suburbs, the facade will be appropriate.

I am concerned that the elevation on *Lafayette* won't be all brick. Huh?

stlbluejay · PostApr 28, 2008#1662008-04-28T22:31+00:00

Watcher wrote:

Tough corner to live on.

Do you mean because it is close to the interstate?

gelatinousendive · PostApr 30, 2008#1672008-04-30T18:35+00:00

The north facade does have some verticle sections that are not brick, but I think that it is not as obtrusive as in the photo. The non-brick portion recedes and isn't prominent.

rencelas · PostJul 09, 2008#1682008-07-09T16:11+00:00

Had a very brief tour of this place last night after the Lafayette Square neighborhood meeting for the monthly get together.

We saw two condos, Unit E and I think Unit C (it may have been B).

Great finishes throughout. Nice flooring, fireplace and mantle, kitchen equipment, etc. Huge laundry rooms and bathrooms. The bedrooms, though, are very, very small. The bathroom in C was 1/2 the size of the bedroom it was attached to, which seemed rather silly.

There will be retail at street level on the Jefferson side, with I assume a Jefferson fronting, and parking on the East Side by the Church, underground. No surface lot that I could tell.

They're making good progress and looks like they should be done in the next few months, though I didn't ask any of the salespeople they had there when it would be open.

All in all, a very welcome addition to the neighborhood.

watcher · PostJul 13, 2008#1692008-07-13T23:52+00:00

Has anyone seen or heard about the price range?

How many have been sold?

conurbation · PostAug 14, 2008#1702008-08-14T00:03+00:00

Took a few new pics this morning. Looks like its getting close:

shadrach · PostAug 14, 2008#1712008-08-14T12:47+00:00

Curious what kind of sidewalk improvements are going to happen.

A little late, but a decorative brick wall separating the development from the parking lot to the east would be nice. Also, the left-over alley between the it and I-44 is pretty ratty looking.

framer · PostAug 15, 2008#1722008-08-15T03:09+00:00

This thing is awsome. Thanks for the pics.

jlblues · PostAug 15, 2008#1732008-08-15T18:10+00:00

It looks good from a distance, but when you get up close, it is...disappointing (as nice as I can put it). The facade is completely flat, no depth at all. The lighter-colored decorative brick arches, the horizontal bands, and window headers might as well be painted on, and the windows have almost zero setback. They really spared every expense on the exterior, I wonder if the interior will be the same.

framer · PostAug 16, 2008#1742008-08-16T04:22+00:00

^I'm still disappointed with the flat shingles. Picture it topped off with a beautiful slate or tile roof.

smsplanstu · PostAug 17, 2008#1752008-08-17T20:31+00:00

Maybe that's because we don't make walls entirely out of brick and plaster on the interior. They did a great job, and today the exterior can better be thought of as decorative and a light layer hiding the wooden or concrete building materials.

Now were is that ligh rail line down Jefferson?

In all earnestness, if rail is constructed along Jefferson, it would radically aid the movement of people back to the city and possibly cause a building boom even on the northside.

Union Club - 1700 S. Jefferson Avenue at Lafayette

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