HOK-designed AT&T (Southwestern Bell) Tower demolition?

urban_dilettante · PostSep 09, 2018#12018-09-09T21:55+00:00

Written by Michael Allen:

The AT&T Tower—once the Southwestern Bell headquarters, until merger—stands completely vacant, with a rumored plan for total demolition imminent.

Ummm... WHAT?

https://www.citylab.com/design/2018/09/ ... 68/569413/

dbInSouthCity · PostSep 09, 2018#22018-09-09T23:10+00:00

read that story again, pay attention to dates and the context of those dates and report back here after you do

urban_dilettante · PostSep 10, 2018#32018-09-10T01:58+00:00

^ what am i missing contextually? it's under the "2018" heading. everything else under "2018" has already happened with the exception of the trolley officially beginning service, no? if Michael intended that one line–the AT&T demo–to be fiction it's not clear. so you're saying it's fiction? there are no talks of demo?

here's the complete excerpt:

2018

Mayor Lyda Krewson celebrates one year as the city’s first female mayor, while facing lingering criticism over her handling of deplorable conditions in the city’s workhouse, the ongoing police harassment of the city’s homeless population, and the previous year’s policing of protests after the Jason Stockley verdict. Progressive calls for a new political movement seem set in favor of individual candidates and contests over control of the local Democratic Party, rather than on an issue-driven popular movement.

The AT&T Tower—once the Southwestern Bell headquarters, until merger—stands completely vacant, with a rumored plan for total demolition imminent.

The EPA decides to remove only radiologically impacted material from the top 16 feet of West Lake Landfill, despite evident wide public support for full removal and voluntary buyouts.

A 2.2-mile electric trolley system between the Delmar Loop and Forest Park begins service after years of delays.

St. Louis drops from the 20-largest US metro areas.

chriss752 · PostSep 10, 2018#42018-09-10T02:19+00:00

There will be no demolition in the foreseeable future. This story was something made "just for fun". The building is just to visible to be demolished and the costs of demolitoning the building would most likely outweigh the cost of restoring it to new uses because...
1. Size: It just to big to go quietly
2. Implosion: Nearby structures would be effected and the cleanup would be massive
3. There is better uses for it than demolition

urban_dilettante · PostSep 10, 2018#52018-09-10T02:44+00:00

^ i realize it was written "just for fun"–or rather to make a point about STL making the same mistakes into the future–but the timeline follows actual events up through 2018.

i don't take any demolition rumors for granted in this city. we've been mowing sh*t down for decades. it's a dated building that's probably going to require significant updating to lure a tenant.

sc4mayor · PostSep 10, 2018#62018-09-10T16:44+00:00

That whole CityLab piece should be taken with a grain of salt. The current owners of the AT&T Building have taken it off the market in an attempt to try and lure some tenants to drive up it's value.

From late July of this year:
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... def8d.html

It's not going anywhere.

bwcrow1s · PostSep 12, 2018#72018-09-12T00:26+00:00

Yes, a great scheme, even though the building is completely unappealing to any tenants in its current state.

I still don't understand why the Clayco proposal was washed away. Dont they get sh*t done? Sounded like the correct avenue to actually get some development and usage out of it rather than hoping for a single tenant use. Unless leadership has something up their sleeve to lure a big fish.

bprop · PostSep 12, 2018#82018-09-12T01:41+00:00

I had no idea HOK designed it. No wonder it's so damn ugly.