What do you want to see built in Midtown?



I would really like to see something like this development in Cleveland.

Midtown needs a high-rise with underground parking, or something like the picture above with ground-floor retail. It doesn't matter to me as long as it has a rooftop view of downtown.

Besides residential, I would love to see the Grand Ave. bridge rebuilt or at least dressed up a bit. I know that it will probably never look the way it originally did, but we can at least spruce the joint up a bit. Maybe that will come with the greenway

It definitely needs a new mixed-use building at Grand and Lindell, but that's on the way.



I like the building you posted, Citylover! I think architecturally interesting single family housing might be good as well, in the western portion of the area, near Vandeventer.



One thing that I think that GC definitely needs is housing/studio space for artists. It would be great to have more working artists living in the district.

Given that it's one of the largest pieces of land in Midtown, I think the corners of Grand, Lindell, and Olive need to be a high-density mixed-use project. That corner is too much of a prominent corner to be wasted on a low-density project.



Perhaps a 200-225 unit tower with retail and office space. That's what I would like to see. The architecture, of course, would have to be respectful of SLU's campus architecture, St. Francis Xavier Church, and nearby buildings.



I think the Cleveland project would look great on the stretch of Lindell between Cardinal and Leffingwell. I don't know what entity controls the land, but a contemporary building would look great there.



I would also like to see a Children's Theatre, a cafe/venue for spoken word artists, another jazz club, another museum, a new (or expanded) facility for the St. Louis Symphony, infill housing, improved streetscape, and new office space (a mid-rise) built in Midtown.



A couple of things....what happened to the infill housing proposals in which a national competition was held and the acorn lamposts that were supposed to stretch from Grand to Kingshighway?

As for the streetlights, those have been put up on Lindell. I don't know about the housing.



At Grand and Lindell, I would like to see something like Arch City suggested. Something tall. I think we will end up with a 4 story building though. The beginning of December, a company was taking core samples of the lot for testing. Hopefully an announcement on what will get built will be coming soon.

Although it may negatively affect my alma mater, I would really like to see the St. Louis Repatory Theatre and Opera Theatre St. Louis move from their current home on the Webster University campus to Grand Center. While there has been talk of the Sun Theater being restored, I would like to see a new performing arts venue that could be their new home. Currently the Loretto-Hilton has a 750 seat mainstage and a 125 seat black box stage. I'm not quite sure where in Grand Center I'd place this new venue (The Busch, or Taylor Arts Center probably, given the need for a large donation to fund it.) But I think bringing St. Louis premier Live theater (as they bill themselves) would be a great addition to Grand Center. Let me know what you think.

Arch City, what do you think is wrong with Powell Hall?

Powell Hall itself is really fine and the interior is very nice, I just think a new state-of-the-art high technology venue would keep St. Louis competitive with other cities.



Nonetheless, I think the existing building could do the trick if it is cleaned exteriorly, updated with the latest technologies, and the parking lot removed. An improved streetscape outside could help too.



Powell needs an external cleaning badly, in my opinion, and the parking lot on the side of the building is unsightly despite the landscape meant to conceal it. That's why I suggested expansion.



A few years ago Powell Hall had proposed a 100,000 square foot building with parking for 60 cars called Symphony Place. It was to be offices, a symphony shop, etc. I guess when the symphony went in the red it was scrapped.





Symphony Place

^

Man, that would have been nice!



It seems like there are a lot of plans for Grand Center that have been scrapped over the years...

If Symphony Place ever comes back online then hopefully they revise the design. I imagined something a lot more cutting edge and inspiring. That design was rather tame. It would be nice to add this to the area though.

While I miss the Marina & Feathers buildings that once graced the now-vacant lot at Grand & Lindell, I think there needs to be a very bold structure built there. Enough with the pansy-ass "3 or 4 story mixed-use" developments. Those are fine for neighborhood commercial districts, but that is so p**** for such a prominent corner in Midtown. We need a 15-30 story tower there, complete with residential, commercial and entertainment components. Let's really make it a "Grand" entrance.

Michael Allen wrote:Grand Center, Inc. plans to relocate the <a href="http://www.eco-absence.org/stl/sun/">Sun Theatre</a> facade to the lot adajacent to Powell Hall on Grand to become part of a new 500-seat black box theater. Whether or not they complete the project is not certain, but it's under study at present.

What are they proposing to put on the Sun's site? more parking?

I would like to see some modern, large, residential buildings put on the sun site if it is torn down. Residential, as we have noted, is one of the things that is in short supply, and this would be a good spot to add some.

Grand Center being the arts and theatre district needs buildings that transform the masterpieces (music/paintings) into architecture; buildings that capture the emotions of the work. Of course, this does not translate into Scandanavian contemporary architecture, but more 21st century based on classical, renaissance, art deco themes. More glass, less concrete, more ornate maybe whimsical detailing, less modernist. The theme of modernism, LeCorbusier's "a house is a machine for living in," is fallible, flawed, and leaves a home uncomfortable for living in. A home should not be entirly based on efficiency, for that element is for machines, and humans are not machines! Even post-modernism still wants us too believe that we humans exist in a partial world that should be inhuman and inhabited by robots. Where is the human scale? Where are the human traits, inequities, and life? Architecture needs a new era, and Grand Center has plenty of room to be that new 21st century neighborhood.

For the Sun Theatre site, Grand Center indeed wants to build a garage.

ecoabsence wrote:For the Sun Theatre site, Grand Center indeed wants to build a garage.

How about something more creative, a la the City Museum?

I'm in favor of leaving the Sun Theatre where it is and exploring ways to reuse its shell. I don't know if it could be feasibly restored, but I hope that it could. (Otherwise, all sorts of uses could be plugged into the building.) The big blank wall on Delmar is perfect for murals, neon installations, etc. The roof could be used for almost anything.

I always felt midtown needed a grand entrance or two as well. Rebuild the viaduct and for Olive give me something monumental like the lion's gates in U City!

That old Grand Avenue viaduct was unbelievable!

Where did you find those pictures? University City Library and Mercantile Library? St. Louis needs to go on a monument building spree since Kansas City beat us to the fountains idea, and monumental entrances are not uncommon to STL, most are for the private places. Did you know that the Eads Bridge used to have sculptures?

Did you know that the Eads Bridge used to have sculptures?

I did not - I'd love to see pictures if anyone has them.

I would love to see St. Louis reconstruct many of the elaborate bridges that once criss crossed the train yard. Imagine a series, planed together that extended from grand down too 14th street? That could be so impressive.

Anway if grand really wants to an improved enterance. Woolworth building. I know the Grand Center people toyed with the idea of larger video screens and ads on the site. But really i would want to see the grand center inc offices on the site with a great Grand Center sign in neon on the building. A great enternce just as you get into the heart of all the large buildings.