urbanSTL

^What's 300 S Broadway on the market for?

newstl2020 wrote:^What's 300 S Broadway on the market for?

$7 million was the figure reported in the last article which, incidentally, is exactly what St. Louis CC paid for it back in 1984.

And to build there, you'd have to add in $1.5 to 3 million for remediation and demolition, plus the added cost of excavation, foundation removal, and high-rise construction on a very tight space with no staging area, and with two occupied, century-old buildings sitting directly on the property line to the south and east, all of which could easily be north of $10 million.
That does not include the added insurance cost to cover the risk of damaging said buildings and liability for all of the millions of baseball fans passing by, or the indirect cost to neighbors and community of closing Clark Ave. and at least one lane of Broadway for two years...

I was told that the sale of this building could be finalized at some point this month. Design-wise, it is possible, not saying it will be, that the new proposal will carry the same design as the previous proposal but be shorter. 

How much shorter, do you know?

The scope is in the 20s but that could change. Maybe this Winter we will see designs

Hopefully 10 floors of parking and 4 floors of residential.  Urban poetry.  /s

Remember how the developer for this project was like "OMGZ we totally can't save or rebuild the existing historic facade at the base of our new tower! That unpossible! Here's an intentionally cheap- and ugly-looking facsimile to demonstrate our resentment toward you all!"

Edmonton, Alberta:


http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228759&page=3

urban_dilettante wrote: ↑

Apr 06, 2020

Remember how the developer for this project was like "OMGZ we totally can't save or rebuild the existing historic facade at the base of our new tower! That unpossible! Here's an intentionally cheap- and ugly-looking facsimile to demonstrate our resentment toward you all!"

Edmonton, Alberta:


http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228759&page=3

I think their point was- yes it can be done but at what cost.   also half of the facade at 300 S Broadway was build in the 19080s and made to look like the other half 

^ i don't recall ever seeing an estimate though. most developers would like to get away with spending as little as possible, i'm sure.

in any case, the '80s half is high quality and looks almost indistinguishable from the historic half so i don't see it as a detriment to authenticity. if anything it should make preservation easier.

urban_dilettante wrote:^ i don't recall ever seeing an estimate though. most developers would like to get away with spending as little as possible, i'm sure.

in any case, the '80s half is high quality and looks almost indistinguishable from the historic half so i don't see it as a detriment to authenticity. if anything it should make preservation easier.

I have the document that specified the estimated amount. I’ll have to dig it up.

One of the most elegant examples of this approach is the Hearst Tower in Manhattan, which is built on and within a 6 story historic pedestal. But cost didn't seem to be the first or second or perhaps third concern with that project:

Maybe because in Manhattan the ceiling for commercial and or residential rent is 10 times than the ceiling here. And I don’t think the average building construction worker makes 10 times more than here

imran wrote: ↑

Apr 07, 2020

The simplest, most cost-effective and conscientious 'solution' is to re-use the existing building and work through the barriers to build on one of the adjacent parking lots . 

Not trying to rake up the entire discussion on whats for sale and ballpark views from balconies though. Personally I hope the pandemic will be a lifeline for the existing Isaac Taylor building (and the sympathetic addition).

I wonder if the building is even under contract anymore.  I can't imagine they would move forward on anything here at this point given all the uncertainty.

I would think the Cardinals could find a great use for the existing building, eventually, but the current owners probably want it demolished too.

wabash wrote:One of the most elegant examples of this approach is the Hearst Tower in Manhattan, which is built on and within a 6 story historic pedestal. But cost didn't seem to be the first or second or perhaps third concern with that project:

That’s probably my favorite mashup.

shadrach wrote: ↑

Apr 07, 2020

Also wondering...the structure in Edmonton is 4 (4 1/2) stories while here it’s taller. Curious if each floor adds structural complexity regarding preserving  the facade. Don’t know but asking.

just based on my eyeballs it appears pretty similar in height to the Edmonton example. maybe even slightly shorter. i'm actually not sure whether the Edmonton facade is historic or replica/new construction.

300 S. Broadway looks to be about half the size of the Edmonton structure, though. i would think that would make it quite a bit cheaper to preserve.

Building has been sold to someone locally. They plan to renovate the building as mixed use.

Good deal.  Seems like such an obvious solution.

Bamboo Equity Partners has acquired the former St. Louis Community College building in downtown St. Louis.

Bamboo, a Creve Coeur-based real estate investment firm, closed on the deal on Wednesday, paying $3.6 million for the 93,000-square-foot historic, vacant building one block east of Busch Stadium at 300 South Broadway. Ed Backer of Intelica CRE, Bamboo's sister brokerage firm, represented Bamboo, and John Warren of Cushman & Wakefield represented St. Louis Community College.


"This was a once in a lifetime deal to be next to one of the most iconic stadiums in the world," Bamboo founder and Managing Principal Dan Dokovic said. "Cardinals baseball is a religion here and to get the opportunity to be this close ... that's what excites us."

Dokovic and Principal and Managing Director Alice Benner declined to share plans for the building but said it will be renovated into a mixed-use building and will not be torn down.

"There's no reason to tear down the building. It's beautiful," Dokovic said.

I'm really glad to hear it's being preserved. Yes, apartments looking into Busch is cool but so is the Arch view from the stadium. Biggest lesson from all of this: we need to change policies that make habitable buildings less valuable than a parking lot. 

I wonder what mix of uses they envision. 

Nice to hear this news finally get released. I think saving this building is good for the area as it promotes the development of a 2 Cardinal Way or a reimagined Cupples X. 

Based on what I've been able to gather from this, it will be a special development and there WILL be a sightline into the Stadium. Although I haven't been able to gather information regarding the interior atrium here. My assumption is it will remain and be repurposed, but we'll see. Also, this is "mixed-use" in terms of apartments and retail space. 

Renderings and detailed plans should be available in the next few weeks.