urbanSTL

alphalfa wrote:Now I been watching this bldg for a while now, somebody help me out, which unit would you want to live in? I'm stuck.

Interior unit with a deck and view of the courtyard gets my vote.

Here are some progress photos. Notice the barrier fence.

Looking good!



I sure hope they buck-up and use some nice, thick roof tiles. With that much roof showing, flat asphalt shingles would really kill the esthetic.

Brick is going up quickly now...

I drove by on 44 today, and did a quick double-take when I saw how big this thing is (not so easy to do in the new skinny lanes). It sure makes a nice visual impact.

Framer wrote:Looking good!



I sure hope they buck-up and use some nice, thick roof tiles. With that much roof showing, flat asphalt shingles would really kill the esthetic.

If you look closely at portions of the roof, you'll find that the aestheticide is now in place.

FFGump wrote:

southcitygent wrote:Gilded Age has completed several "risky" projects. Both Eden Lofts and The Georgian were in iffy areas when first started. I wish more developers were willing to creatively work in edgy areas

Although Gilded Age's reputation can be viewed as cutting both ways. With their demolition of many historic single family homes on the south side of Lafayette, east of Truman and the prospect of leveling more of Bohemian Hill for a Walgreens and a SuperValu/City Market, I don't think they're as creative as they could be.

My report card on Guilded Age



The Larry Rice House Benton & Park (forgot about that one didn't ya?) B

1800 Lafayette Ave Houses B (they should be commercial, too much turnover)

2000 Lafayette Apts A (easy job)

1801 Park D (Greek revival on French 2nd empire, whatever!, I blame the architect)

Abbey A

Lafayette & Mississippi C (great concept poor floor plans)

Hospital A+ (changed the whole dynamic of the neighborhood)

Eden B

Union Club Semester Break B+

Bohemian Hill A for effort, still have to see the product



Every one of these was a big hill to climb that nobody else wanted to touch. Wrong market, tough floor plans, too large a project. At least these guys have interested major retailers into looking at the changes taking place. They have backed off the Bohemian demolitions, for now. 1801 Park looks awful and I chalk it up to beginners luck, the more recent stuff is much better.

Way to fill up a corner that was pretty much a lost cause for decades Thanks for the pictures.

FFGump wrote:

Framer wrote:Looking good!



I sure hope they buck-up and use some nice, thick roof tiles. With that much roof showing, flat asphalt shingles would really kill the esthetic.

If you look closely at portions of the roof, you'll find that the aestheticide is now in place.

What does that mean exactly? They are using plain shingles? I didn't see any shingles last time I was by.

jlblues wrote:

FFGump wrote:

Framer wrote:Looking good!



I sure hope they buck-up and use some nice, thick roof tiles. With that much roof showing, flat asphalt shingles would really kill the esthetic.

If you look closely at portions of the roof, you'll find that the aestheticide is now in place.

What does that mean exactly? They are using plain shingles? I didn't see any shingles last time I was by.

It means asphalt shingles are being installed. Not the plain, single-ply style, but the multi-ply "architectural" style.



See Certainteed, Laminated Architectural "Landmark" style at:

http://www.weatherguardtx.com/products.htm[/img]

Yeah, not a big fan of the shingles. At least they have some texture, so I guess it could have been worse... I know the fake slate is pricey, but the textured shingles aren't exactly cheap either, and with all the $$$ they put into stone and brickwork, and as high-profile as that roof is, I wish they would have gone the extra quarter mile. It makes what would have been a spectacular building, simply nice.

Yup. That's what I've been saying. Very dissapointing.

Kind of reminds of the cupolas on the City Hospital. Good job all around, but it shows where they took the cheap alternative.

I also wonder if cost cutting construction is the reason why they are making the corner towers sided and not rounded, which in my mind is more in keeping with the period. The newer townhouse on the north side of Park near Jefferson was built this same way and it has always bugged me.

if anyone happens to be in the neighborhood with a camera, could you please post some recent pics of this project? i'm excited to see the brick! but sadly i'm stuck outside of MO ... many thanks!

This thing is way cool. An instant landmark.



But I still have to complain about the boring, short-sighted choice of roofing material. Heavily textured slate or tile would have been so much better.

^Are they at least architectural shingles? From the pics, there looks to be a little bit of texture.

^Yes, they are. Those are pretty expensive as well, but they don't add as much weight to the roof as fake-o-slate would.



That first pic almost looks like a century-old building undergoing rehab.



I'm curious to see what the courtyard-enclosure is going to look like from Hwy 44. It looks like they plan on just a large, 3 story expanse of featureless brick.

Although more authentic looking roofs would have been better, I personally think this is great new construction for the city. I know I'm not the only person here that is disgusted whenever I see suburban style development pop up in the Lou. There should be an ordinance banning those types, but this right here is wonderful and compliments the city's architecture well.

The roof is so tall in the portion facing Jefferson, is there an attic level containing maintenance systems or just really tall ceilings? Looking at it now, they could have installed small dormers to add light.



Lafayette Square is amazing! First Vail, now this, and next is the Lawrence Group development at Park and Mississippi (right?). The development in Lafayette Square has shifted from rehabilitation to new townhouses and rowhouses to mixed-use new construction. What is next?

This really is an exciting project, and it's looking great. It's going to be a nice gateway to the Lafayette Square neighborhood. Much better than an abandoned Aldi store, eh?



It's just too bad that we won't see something built on the parking lot on the other side of Lafayette from the Union Club.

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.