urbanSTL

dbInSouthCity wrote:Looked on their site and they have some 1 bedrooms going for $1050-1175 but cannot make more than $39,500, I haven't rented in a long time and when I did I was in Jeff city and got a huge 2 bedroom for $385 a month but that seems like steep rent for that income....

Yeah, those income-based restriction numbers are ridiculous in general (not just at the Arcade Bldg). If you make $39,000 and live there, I guess you'll be eating from the dumpster out back, since you'll have like $5/month in income not spent on housing.

Building management hosted an Open Studios event last Saturday night (including free booze and snacks). A whole bunch of artist-residents opened their doors, and the rooftop deck was open too. Looks like a friendly, lively building. The turnout was great; the worst part was the long waits for the elevators.

jcity wrote:Does Metro plan on cleaning up that entrance/overhang? That bad boy is still covered in dust from construction and is rusting in places.

It still appears to be quite dirty. I tweeted @STLMetro asking if they could clean the glass awning(s). We'll see if they get around to it this decade...

It looks like the market rate apartments at the Arcade are now fully leased. 79 of the 80 are listed as RENTED on the website, and the 80th apartment is a model.

Pretty impressive and encouraging how quickly this filled up (especially after OPOP Tower's slower leasing). Hopefully it has Dominium looking for their next project. I can't help but think of the similarities in scale and complex tax incentive financing that it would probably require between the Arcade-Wright and the Jefferson Arms. It also bodes well for the Gills getting financing on a Chemical conversion to apartments and the recently proposed apartment redevelopments on the 900 block of locust.

I heard that the building is essentially fully leased.

roger wyoming II wrote: ↑

Dec 22, 2015

^ to me, that is about as beautiful a picture as you can get! Man was that one ugly corner not long ago.

(And that corner of the Arcade project will house the Gorlok Grind, a coffee shop and bookstore open to the public.)

Does anyone know why Webster U closed and cleared out the "Gorlok Grind Cafe" and bookstore on the first floor of the Arcade building? And why their art gallery on the corner of 8th and Olive is also completely empty?

Granted there are residents living above - but from a street activity standpoint, the building may as well be empty.

bprop wrote: ↑

Jun 15, 2017

Does anyone know why Webster U closed and cleared out the "Gorlok Grind Cafe" and bookstore on the first floor of the Arcade building? And why their art gallery on the corner of 8th and Olive is also completely empty?

Granted there are residents living above - but from a street activity standpoint, the building may as well be empty.

I can't imagine the cafe nor the bookstore did terribly well. Not really sure what they were expecting though. From a street activity stand point, most of downtown may as well be empty.

As for the gallery, I'm actually impressed with how much use they get out of it, granted it could get used 5x more but we'll take what we can get right now. Mostly it's used as an event space, as are most art galleries. I wish they'd really fill it up some times and have it open to the public during the day.

Believe the cafe had weird hours. Also wasn't the most inviting...Was set up as a souvenir shop and was always dark inside.

The gallery space is a joke. The artwork on the inside of the Arcade is beautiful, but the displays are absolutely terrible. IMO, they should try retail instead of the gallery. The Old Post Office Plaza is poppin with Culinaria. They just need to keep people there while they stop for groceries.

Part of the problem for downtown restaurants and spaces like these is that they aren't capitalized very well. It's like they rent a space and put a flower pot out front. Hang a sign and call it a day. Wash Ave. restaurants do a much better job with their space.

Take Sen Sai. It was in the old post office plaza. Open for lunch 11-2, then expanded its hours for dinner. My friends took me past it all the time, but you wouldn't even know it existed. I understand not every restaurant can play outdoor music and have outdoor seating, but we are missing some "vibes" downtown. A lot of the storefronts are...awkward? How bout some creativity, some paint. Murals on exposed brick. Create an atmosphere that makes people feel "We're very downtown-esque."

dylank wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

The Old Post Office Plaza is poppin with Culinaria.
...
Take Sen Sai. It was in the old post office plaza. Open for lunch 11-2, then expanded its hours for dinner. My friends took me past it all the time, but you wouldn't even know it existed. I understand not every restaurant can play outdoor music and have outdoor seating, but we are missing some "vibes" downtown. A lot of the storefronts are...awkward? How bout some creativity, some paint. Murals on exposed brick. Create an atmosphere that makes people feel "We're very downtown-esque."

OPO is "poppin"? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point, but that's not how I'd characterize it.. Two desolate banks (Busey and People's, which I don't think has customers), another citadel of a bank (US bank), the entirety of the Olive side abandoned (ex Chocolate Place, SanSai, and now the full Arcade building at street level are empty), the Orpheum shutterd, a bunch of nothing at the Locust and 9th corner. The bright spot is Culinaria itself* and Sauce on the Side, with the Pita place a runner up.

Sen Thai was never in OPO.

* Why can't Culinaria create a more inviting entrance? It's two regular-size doors. For crying out loud, you own the entire building. Open it up.

bprop wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

Sen Thai was never in OPO.

San Sai was.

debaliviere wrote: ↑

Jun 19, 2017

bprop wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

Sen Thai was never in OPO.

San Sai was.

Oops, my misreading.

bprop wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

aprice wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

As for the gallery, I'm actually impressed with how much use they get out of it,

It appears to be completely empty and abandoned. All the art is gone. Are they still getting use out of it?

Do you usually refer to university facilities as "empty and abandoned" during the summer?
During the School year, yes, there was a new collection each month. That new collection always had some Friday night gallery opening event. A Webster musical theater program was held there in March. I'd say it was used at least once a month for other Friday or Saturday night events.
No this is not ideal, but downtown STL isn't necessarily strapped for retail space. The Paul Brown retail bay that was used as Paric's construction trailer is a more than fitting space and has been sitting empty since Arcade construction concluded. A block and a half east, the old Quiznos space has been sitting empty since at least when I moved here in 2014.

The best part, that gallery can be converted to retail space at any time, but don't even begin to think there's demand for it. I'm not sure what downtown you're walking through.

aprice wrote: ↑

Jun 19, 2017

bprop wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

aprice wrote: ↑

Jun 16, 2017

As for the gallery, I'm actually impressed with how much use they get out of it,

It appears to be completely empty and abandoned. All the art is gone. Are they still getting use out of it?

Do you usually refer to university facilities as "empty and abandoned" during the summer?

If they look empty and abandoned, yes. Extra points if the abandonment coincides with the shuttering of the other ground-level storefront next door.

bprop wrote: ↑

Oct 10, 2017

I guess this is more Paul Brown news - but the only retail tenant on that block (8th/9th/Pine/Olive), a decoration store, is going out of business - in the space that used to be Espresso Mod. Any potential tenants?

So we're not counting Pitas And More? Not retail per se but still important for street life.
I say this because there's hardly any ACTUAL retail anywhere.

There's a reason for no retail:

CRIME

whitherSTL wrote:There's a reason for no retail:

CRIME

Is there much crime downtown? I feel like there's not much crime downtown.

moorlander wrote: ↑

Oct 11, 2017

whitherSTL wrote:There's a reason for no retail:

CRIME

Is there much crime downtown? I feel like there's not much crime downtown.

Yeah I don't understand the crime thing at all for Downtown. I'm a Downtown West resident (just a little West of Tucker), but am out near Culnaria/the Baileys restaurants all the time at varying times and never have an issue. I used to get harassed by homeless a lot, but every since Larry Rice shut down, it hasn't been an issue.

aprice wrote: ↑

Oct 11, 2017

bprop wrote: ↑

Oct 10, 2017

I guess this is more Paul Brown news - but the only retail tenant on that block (8th/9th/Pine/Olive), a decoration store, is going out of business - in the space that used to be Espresso Mod. Any potential tenants?

So we're not counting Pitas And More? Not retail per se but still important for street life.
I say this because there's hardly any ACTUAL retail anywhere.

I used the word retail specifically because it was the last retail tenant. If you want to count the pita shop as retail, I'm not in a position to stop you. Do you want to count banks also?

^ otoh almost all of those assaults were simple assaults with no injuries.... most late at night and probably a number bar related. Simple assaults are tracked by SLMPD on their crime reports but are not FBI Part One violent crimes. These things happen everywhere in downtown entertainment districts.

In general, I think it would be a leap to say there is more serious crime in our core downtown CBD during normal business hours than others.

moorlander wrote: ↑

Oct 11, 2017

whitherSTL wrote:There's a reason for no retail:

CRIME

Is there much crime downtown? I feel like there's not much crime downtown.

I don't think crime is the only and #1 reason for a lack of downtown retail. I am sure it's a part of it.

But you forgot: Jobs leaving the area, thus fewer daytime people, retail is struggling overall because of online companies, the taxes are higher in that area...etc.