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PostJul 18, 2017#176

Looks like the kitchen in the BlueCondos
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom ... 941#photo1

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PostJul 18, 2017#177

Looks like a New York City apartment kitchen. Which makes sense as the building was designed by a prolific New York City apartment building architect.

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PostAug 15, 2017#178

aprice wrote:
Jul 17, 2017
Does anyone have any insights into the actual occupancy rate in CWE? I know this is naive but... my friend lives in Parc Frontenac and has 4 empty units on his half of the building on his floor alone. They're empty, unlocked (great for storing bikes when I visit) Just curious if this is a CWE trend or not. Yes, I'm sure it'll pick up in August but still a bit surprising.
The update no one wanted: all of the empty units on his floor filled this past week. The two we met were both WashU Med, of course, hence the August move-in.

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PostAug 15, 2017#179

^ Who wouldn't want good news? Thanks for the update!

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PostJan 17, 2018#180

I wish something would be revealed for this lot.

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PostJan 29, 2018#181

^ I read your blog about this on buildingstlnews.com, I presume the developer is not talking about this or at least hasn't recently?

And someone mentioned the Montgomery Tower, there was this in the PD was few weeks back:

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ ... 836db.html
At least one developer is interested in some of the Port Authority land.

Joel Montgomery Jr., who owns several commercial properties on Central Avenue, has been eyeing the county-owned parking lot just to the south for years.

His company’s website even describes plans for a mixed-use project with several hundred thousand square feet of office space and a hotel by combining his family’s land with the Port Authority-owned parking lot. A tentative agreement with the county to solicit developers for the combined site has since expired, he said.

A plan Montgomery put forward in 2014 for a 33-story apartment tower using just the land he owns on Central Avenue is on hold while he waits to see how the other apartments hitting the Clayton market perform.

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PostJan 29, 2018#182

pdm_ad wrote:^ I read your blog about this on buildingstlnews.com, I presume the developer is not talking about this or at least hasn't recently?
The developer has not talked about anything recently and my connection inside of Koman, who was working on this, quit to go work for some company up in Chicago. So I have no idea what is going on. Unless we were all duped and nothing was planned here (that is my biggest fear).

PostDec 14, 2018#183

This project was trashed at the beginning of 2017 (February 2017). Koplar hopes to build a tower here at some point but opted out this time around. So, the waiting game continues.

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PostMar 23, 2019#184

I would love to see a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects on the Koplar site. It doesn't have to be super tall, even one in the range of 15 storeys would suffice and probably be more economicly viable.

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PostMar 23, 2019#185

southcitygent wrote:
Mar 23, 2019
I would love to see a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects on the Koplar site. It doesn't have to be super tall, even one in the range of 15 storeys would suffice and probably be more economicly viable.
In a perfect world the Koplar building would be be a bit taller than 100 to form a nice peak between the 100 and Chase building. A starchitect designer would be fantastic. $ sq ft is always the issue. Seems like this site is a bulls-eye candidate for such a development. Studio Gang has definitely raised the design expectations for any other park-facing structure. A good thing.

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PostMar 23, 2019#186

^I completely disagree with "doesn't have to be super tall" on that site. That lot is the most prime lot for a tower in the entire metro and whoever ends up developing it should be held to an expectation of a premier project. A project like 100 should be the starting point of conversation for this site.

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PostMar 23, 2019#187

newstl2020 wrote:
Mar 23, 2019
^I completely disagree with "doesn't have to be super tall" on that site. That lot is the most prime lot for a tower in the entire metro and whoever ends up developing it should be held to an expectation of a premier project. A project like 100 should be the starting point of conversation for this site.
Super Tall? This isn't Grant Park or Central Park frontage. I'm talking 50-100 feet higher than 100. Aesthetically this would give the park facing skyline a graceful sweeping tempo. 40 stories would be fantastic.

PostMar 23, 2019#188

southcitygent wrote:
Mar 23, 2019
I would love to see a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects on the Koplar site. It doesn't have to be super tall, even one in the range of 15 storeys would suffice and probably be more economicly viable.
A Super Tall building is actually an architectural definition which applies to a building 300 meters (984 feet) or taller. Big time international architects are not interested in designing 15 story high rises. Such projects typically need height to balance the increased design and construction costs.

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PostMar 24, 2019#189

This 39-story tower designed by Stern for Minneapolis would be pretty sweet on that corner:


PostMar 24, 2019#190

...although my first choice would be NYC's 60-story "Jenga" Tower.


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PostMar 24, 2019#191

STLinCHI wrote:
southcitygent wrote: I would love to see a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects on the Koplar site. It doesn't have to be super tall, even one in the range of 15 storeys would suffice and probably be more economicly viable.
A Super Tall building is actually an architectural definition which applies to a building 300 meters (984 feet) or taller. Big time international architects are not interested in designing 15 story high rises. Such projects typically need height to balance the increased design and construction costs.
Right, but southcity didn't say "A Super Tall". He just said doesn't have to be super tall, which by STL standards would probably mean anywhere north of 28-30 stories.

I agree that something in the range of 15 stories would be great there - in line with the Parc Frontenac and Montclair on the Park (by Rosario Candela who RAMSA drives their style from).

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PostMar 24, 2019#192

Why does this thread keep bouncing between One Hundred and the Koplar Tower? Are moderators moving the posts?

Anyway, the idea of a tower here wasn't far fetched up until a few years ago. The idea was studied but ultimately didn't move past the planning stage due to the fact that the numbers couldn't work. 15 stories is too stumpy for this corner and anything over 42 floors would be too excessive if going by One Hundred's height per floor. That would equate to a minimum 161FT for a 15-Floor building and 450FT for the 42-floor building. Plus, higher rents can be asked for on higher floors as you move away from road noise and can see further. You don't get that luxury with a 15-floor building unless you are above floor 8 or 9 ESPECIALLY at Lindell and Kingshighway.

The next development cycle will at least bring a proposal for this property as Koplar is waiting to see how leasing at One Hundred goes and if financing can be fully secured for the hotel on York. Further, the Holiday Inn renovation to Hotel Indigo will need to be carried out first to see if the demand for upscale hotels is there when both Indigo and AC come to market. If all goes well in those categories, look forward to an apartment, condo, and hotel mixed-use tower at this corner and not a single usage. If one usage is determined to be more viable than another, Koplar may roll with that.

It all comes down to market demand. Right now, the market doesn't warrant a new highrise in the Central West End as the market is waiting to absorb One Hundred. Leasing went well at the Orion, Euclid, and Citizen Park but will the same apply to One Hundred which will certainly fetch higher rates? We will see and depending on how that goes and if the market holds up, this building will be proposed but it won't happen if residential isn't deemed viable.

I may have repeated myself but it is what it is.

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PostMar 25, 2019#193

chriss752 wrote:
Mar 24, 2019
The next development cycle will at least bring a proposal for this property as Koplar is waiting to see how leasing at One Hundred goes and if financing can be fully secured for the hotel on York.
I thought construction started on the York site?

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PostJan 14, 2020#194

I am hopeful another building of similar size will rise on the lot just to the north of this building soon.

Maybe it could be another "green" Studio Gang design. Imagine that.

This one is planned for SF.  https://studiogang.com/project/mission-rock


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PostJan 14, 2020#195

^Youneverknow. MAC Properties seems to be expanding rapidly in STL; I keep seeing their name all over the place. Maybe they could get Kopler to finally sell, or maybe partner with them on that lot. 

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PostJan 15, 2020#196

stlnative wrote:
Jan 06, 2020
From this picture you can see the boxiness of Kingshighway/Lindell. First and foremost the corner building needs to be as tall as 100 if not taller. But would I also think the strip could use something funkier. Zaha Hadid comes to mind:






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PostJan 15, 2020#197

^
^^
^^^
I totally understand the decision by the moderators to move these posts from the One Hundred thread to here, but man I really got my hopes up when I saw "3 unread posts" for this thread.

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PostJan 15, 2020#198

I vote for Barcelona's Torre Agbar by Jean Nouvel:


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PostJan 15, 2020#199

It is tough to see another signature go tower up until the next economic cycle unless something else big happens in terms of a major jobs announcement in my opinion, say a corporate client fills 909 Chestnut again and or major tech/biotech/healthcare firm announces a big CORTEX expansion.  At end of day, you will need enough tenants to have enough demand for the higher rents.   

I don't think St. Louis is there in terms of demand for another signature tower but could be completely off base if One Hundred is filled, One Cardinal Way is filled and their is enough people inquiring that it convinces bankers and investors that make it happen before someone else breaks ground, whether it be in Clayton CBD, 300 Broadway and or Two Cardinal Way.   

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PostJan 16, 2020#200

^I get what you are saying. Economically probably on point and a realistic look based on the historical proclivities of the metro.

Keep in mind though that to fill a ~450' to 500' tower you are essentially looking for 400 people in a region of ~3,000,000. A "major job announcement" etc. really isn't necessary at all for 10-15 of these towers to go up throughout the city. There are plenty of jobs at salary levels to support that already here. It's more of a mindset/want factor of the current populace. Coming up on a major generational shift in wants/needs with boomers retiring while also coinciding with a global urbanization trend as well is going to have significant effects on development around the country. The younger cohort currently coming into their earning primes is also showing a distinct break from suburban living.

If 400 people earning >100K a year decide they want urban living in a building, that's the demand for another tower in the neighborhood of One Hundred.

400 out of ~3,000,000.

(Yes I know there's far less adults than the metro populace and even less earning enough to support high end tower development. Simply illustrating an overall point.)

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