Now that the Arcade is going to come back to life, I believe they should open the tunnels in the building to the MetroLink station beneath it. They were sealed off because they didn't want pollution from the old trains coming into the building, but now those trains have been replaced by the MetroLink trains so it shouldn't be an issue anymore.

People could exit the station and instantly be inside the building. People from the county, who are frequently not very keen about spending time downtown, would be able to avoid going outside (you know how scared a lot of them are of the streets of downtown STL). This would also be beneficial when there is bad weather. Not to mention, this would add tons of value to the building.

In addition, what sort of stores and restaurants do you think will be on those first two floors? Which stores would you want? I think a good anchor would be an IKEA and it would encourage county dwellers to come downtown for more than just sports events and concerts. Unfortunately, IKEA is already opening a store in KC, so a St. Louis location may not be in the near future.

I think that's a great idea, but I don't think it would entice many more county dwellers downtown. They're probably more scared of the MetroLink itself than the downtown streets. I'd really like to see a Target go somewhere downtown, and this would be a great location.

A variety of stores would be ideal. Some things that downtown residents need, of course, but also some stores that are uncommon (or currently nonexistent) in St. Louis at all. That would draw people downtown from all over. I think maybe a LegoLand would be effective. Once completed, along with Roberts Tower and eventually (hopefully) the Chemical Building, this little area of STL should be pretty lively soon! Lots of stores and restaurants will come with the new residents.

As far as in interior MetroLink entrance is concerned, I was also thinking about how convenient it would be if residents of the building could just go right into the station when they need to go somewhere. Also, people who need to exit the MetroLink to go somewhere nearby the Arcade will get off here and have all of these restaurants and shops greeting them to the city. How inviting that would be! They can stop and grab something there and then leave to go wherever it is they came downtown for.

Why not just a secondary lobby for residents with gated access? It would definitely be a selling/marketing point to any prospective residents who would see the added benefit of accessing metrolink as well as offering something that none of the other lofts/downtown residential buildings could offer.

dredger wrote:Why not just a secondary lobby for residents with gated access?

An urban twist on the gated community. Interesting.

^ Yes, but don't a lot of lofts downtown require gate access or a key or a vistior to get a resident buzz them in for all intent and purposes at the street level?

^^Interesting observation. Would make for a fantastic marketing campaign.

dredger wrote:^ Yes, but don't a lot of lofts downtown require gate access or a key or a vistior to get a resident buzz them in for all intent and purposes at the street level?

Yes, they do! In my job in home health I have been to a huge number of apartment buildings in the city and county, and nearly all have secured entrances. In fact, all the senior apartment buildings are secured and require visitors to be buzzed in, then they must show ID and sign in on a book at the front of the building before proceeding to the apartment.

People could access the first and second-floor retail via the entrances to the Metro but I'm sure the security would be fine for the residents living on the third floor and up. Most of the stores will probably close before too late anyway, although I think the second floor should have some sort of 24-hour convenience store for the residents, but that decision isn't up to me anyway. Regardless, I think all they need to do is open the entrances to the tunnel and add a nice platform beneath them that connects to the nearby. It will cost a bit of money, but I think it would be worth it, even if there is already an exit half a black away. It would be the same stop, just a different exit to the surface.

Gateway City wrote:although I think the second floor should have some sort of 24-hour convenience store for the residents, but that decision isn't up to me anyway.

Why a convenience store? There's a Culinaria one block away. And why 24 hrs?

Sometimes people need things late at night and Schnucks isn't open 24 hours. Also, they wouldn't even have to leave the building. I also don't really see it as just selling groceries, but numerous other products residents would need.