urbanSTL

dweebe wrote: ↑

Aug 10, 2020

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Aug 10, 2020

^ as I said, club at night. Have you never been to a club, it’s not a bible study club. Racist Brad never once complained about  Wheelhouse or Lucas Park.

Okay.

Just I guess they don’t have to follow pandemic rules?

Which rule?   Capacity limit is 75% of occupancy,  that’s like 750 for that place,
Masks on when not drinking or eating
Plenty of people with masks on and not eating or drinking.

Let’s get back to the meat and potatoes of Racist Brad, before Wheelhouse got closed for having mashpits & foam parties, did you see Racist Brad tweet about it? Nope.

OnTheEdge wrote: ↑

Aug 09, 2020

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local ... 9753e.html

Just noticed this^ Aug 6th STLToday article too.  It's a fairly lengthy/informative article, not sure if it contains any different details than the biz journal article since I don't have biz journal access.

I'm very glad to see someone going into that building. It's a really neat old structure.

That big void under the 7-Eleven parking lot was unexpected. It even looks like there are windows there in the basement looking out into the apparently inaccessible parking or whatever that once was.

The city code enforcement guy says they're going to rebuild.

^Interesting. 


Pine Street has a pretty steep slope there, maybe the loading docks in the back were under the store. But I don't know why the basement would extend past the front...

^I believe most of the old buildings lining Washington Blvd. have basements extending out under the sidewalk. Must have been a common thing back in the day. 

For the life of me I cannot figure out why the owner would want to rebuild after all the issues they had at that location. Sure they aren’t just leveling the existing structure since it burned?


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framer wrote: ↑

Aug 13, 2020

^I believe most of the old buildings lining Washington Blvd. have basements extending out under the sidewalk. Must have been a common thing back in the day. 

Yes, sometimes multiple basement levels. But I've never seen one on a single-story building. I think it must be a remnant of whatever was there before.

under the now burned out 7-11

^That is a surprising one for a building of that size, and it doesn't particularly look older than the building. Is it possible someone started a more ambitious project and it fell through? Or the building was originally intended to be something other than a small convenience store? It's a puzzler. A surprise and a puzzle.

The city code enforcement guy says they're going to rebuild. The owner is southland corp I have heard that the site is eyed for a parking lot.  For the life of me I cannot figure out why the owner would want to rebuild after all the issues they had at that location. Sure they aren’t just leveling the existing structure since it burned?  Thats more to what is going to end up at that site a flat lot.  I am sure there is no rush to build another junk store.  While chatting with the demo person of this 7-11 he stated that they just wanted the 7-11 gone just the same as they wanted the burned QT in Ferguson gone.  He also was the demo person for that QT. They want to get rid of the symbols of a less than prestigious moments for  the region.

Ferguson QT site turned into something much better and impactful for the community.

Yes  And lets support a nice coffee/lunch shop at the former 7-11?

It's right across from police HQ. There should be plenty of traffic. Make sure it's open during shift changes when folks are getting off work hungry. Put something there that people working in the area like and I would think you should do fine.

I think the problem is the optics of putting in a 'nice coffee/lunch shop" in place of an STL symbol of the BLM protests (regardless of the people who set fire to it were part of the actual protests).  Probably not a great look.

I mean, that 7/11 has been fairly sketchy for a long time.  And I wouldn't exactly love another one to rise in its wake.  Not sure what the best solution is here though.

I do wonder how the removal of the Pine/Chestnut exit ramps has impacted the potential profitability of that site.

Now that Pine is a local street, the visibility and traffic counts in front of that corner have to be pretty low for downtown.

And yeah, as much as more parking sucks, a rebuilt 7-Eleven would be awful. Constant cars barreling in, out and around, going way too fast and not bothering to yield to anybody. Vagrants urinating on all sides of the building at all times.

This is concerning:
https://www.kmov.com/news/watch-video-s ... 3d5d4.html

Couple things are happening here

I’ll start with this- as downtown resident for 3 years now and starting 4th year next month I have never nor do I feel “unsafe” downtown and as many of you know I walk all over downtown, old north, soulard every day.

What’s happening and why?    Covid has left many voids to be filled,  there is no events downtown, there is no extra 45,000 to 80,000 people on any given night for a baseball game/concert/convention etc.   when there is this kind of racing and stupidity is relocated to the riverfront but this summer the city placed huge boulders to block the racing and gathering down there

Gun fire-   Talk to any officer and they will point out the 2017 Missouri law that basically allows anyone to have a gun without a permit or anything.  It’s made policing dangerous .  Before you get into “criminals will get guns regardless of law” idk what that means.  What the current law means is that a 15 year old can walk around downtown with a visible gun and police can’t do anything until he breaks some other law .   This is an issue with one size fits all nature of rural MO legislature.

Until Covid is undercontrol and things back to some what normal, this will keep happening but it will also keep happening as long as rural and deep suburban MO controls the state

OnTheEdge wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

This is concerning:
https://www.kmov.com/news/watch-video-s ... 3d5d4.html

Residents of Wash Ave, what are you seeing every weekend?  Do you feel unsafe?  Much of this activity is under age.  It's completely out of control in a Wild Wild West sort of way.  OCW folks move in soon and will immediately encounter this crazy activity.  With Cardinal Baseball being absent, the entire DT area has become an open canvass for masses of youth to congregate and misbehave for weeks now.  The police are outnumbered and are not enforcing lawlessness or curfews.  All the development is just hanging in the balance.  I hope cold weather will dampen the activity, but there's certainly no guarantee it won't return in the spring.  I feel this needs to be addressed immediately or the impact will ruin any momentum DT has built over the last 20 years.  If the City can't handle the problems, who will?  National Guard needs to be a considered option.  Or, the City can stick their heads in the sand and just watch it all implode.        

STLinCHI wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

OnTheEdge wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

This is concerning:
https://www.kmov.com/news/watch-video-s ... 3d5d4.html

Residents of Wash Ave, what are you seeing every weekend?  Do you feel unsafe?  Much of this activity is under age.  It's completely out of control in a Wild Wild West sort of way.  OCW folks move in soon and will immediately encounter this crazy activity.  With Cardinal Baseball being absent, the entire DT area has become an open canvass for masses of youth to congregate and misbehave for weeks now.  The police are outnumbered and are not enforcing lawlessness or curfews.  All the development is just hanging in the balance.  I hope cold weather will dampen the activity, but there's certainly no guarantee it won't return in the spring.  I feel this needs to be addressed immediately or the impact will ruin any momentum DT has built over the last 20 years.  If the City can't handle the problems, who will?  National Guard needs to be a considered option.  Or, the City can stick their heads in the sand and just watch it all implode.        

The stupidest thing that can be done is having national guard brought in, it doesn’t work- for many reasons. 1 being is that they don’t know how to enforce local laws or deal with drag racing. What are they going to do? Chase someone with an humvee with no police lights through the streets of downtown?

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

STLinCHI wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

OnTheEdge wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

This is concerning:
https://www.kmov.com/news/watch-video-s ... 3d5d4.html

Residents of Wash Ave, what are you seeing every weekend?  Do you feel unsafe?  Much of this activity is under age.  It's completely out of control in a Wild Wild West sort of way.  OCW folks move in soon and will immediately encounter this crazy activity.  With Cardinal Baseball being absent, the entire DT area has become an open canvass for masses of youth to congregate and misbehave for weeks now.  The police are outnumbered and are not enforcing lawlessness or curfews.  All the development is just hanging in the balance.  I hope cold weather will dampen the activity, but there's certainly no guarantee it won't return in the spring.  I feel this needs to be addressed immediately or the impact will ruin any momentum DT has built over the last 20 years.  If the City can't handle the problems, who will?  National Guard needs to be a considered option.  Or, the City can stick their heads in the sand and just watch it all implode.        

The stupidest thing that can be done is having national guard brought in, it doesn’t work- for many reasons.  1 being is that they don’t know how to enforce local laws or deal with drag racing. What are they going to do? Chase someone with an humvee with no police lights through the streets of downtown?

Hey, I don't like the idea at all, but what are the other options to control this craziness?  I'm open to anything that can reestablish a feeling of safety DT.  Do you believe the City can handle the situation?  So far, the reality says no.  I certainly wouldn't advocate for chasing cars through streets, but breaking up these huge parking lot gatherings requires manpower the city doesn't seem to be able to provide.  What would you suggest?

I don’t think the City PD can handle it, this isn’t exactly the A team of police depts, I mean they get coked up and play Russian roulette with live rounds while on shift, so my bar is pretty low for this bunch to control crime or crowds.  There are 5 guys I was friends in high school currently on SLMPD and it is scary to me that these 5 passed any type of screening.  I don’t know what the answer is but NG isn’t it.  

You’ll have people say “polices hands are tied by politics” which is  really saying without saying it “do we really care if constitutional rights of some blacks are broken”   Because apparently police need to break law to enforce law, odd position. Than the same people get mad at Gardner for prosecuting those law breakers in blue

Totally thinking out loud here, but I'm encouraged by the BLM Movement that awareness and positive change can actually happen.  When visiting the inner suburban muni's (Richmond Heights, Webster, Maplewood, Shrewsbury) as of late I'm struck by the high frequency of BLM signs I see in yards.  I haven't looked at the numbers but I'm pretty sure these are high percentage white populations.  These are people who by-and-large are not directly affected by institutional racism in a negative way, and possibly even affected in quite a positive way by it from purely a bottom line standpoint, yet, they care about what's happening in their greater community and want to see change.  

Could the same not happen for the city in the form of reunification?  I think part of the correct answer for real positive change to happen, is for some sort of city/county reunification.  Easier said than done, and, call me an optimist, but I'm hoping people in the region see it as the real path forward and it can be something absolutely transformational for the region. 

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Aug 16, 2020

I don’t think the City PD can handle it, this isn’t exactly the A team of police depts, I mean they get coked up and play Russian roulette with live rounds while on shift, so my bar is pretty low for this bunch to control crime or crowds.    I don’t know what the answer is but NG isn’t it.  

You’ll have people say “polices hands are tied by politics” which is  really saying without saying it “do we really care if constitutional rights of some blacks are broken”   Because apparently police need to break law to enforce law, odd position. Than the same people get mad at Gardner for prosecuting those law breakers in blue

I agree.  It's a no-win cycle which has developed due to politics.  Meanwhile, the size of gatherings has been building week after week with NO interdiction since MAY.  DT's momentum is being crushed at the most critical time.  Specifically, the emerging "connection" between the stadium area and Soulard.  Current developers on S. 4th Street and farther south at 7th and Park have to be concerned.  Two Cardinal Way and Chouteau's Landing future development could be lost.  Unless this stupidity is stopped, DT South will not reach it's potential and the whole of Washington Avenue is also at risk along with Laclede's Landing residential development.  People will not move in or stick around with this kind of activity at their doorstep.  Why would they? 

I don’t think it’s dire to a point where cardinals or any developer would not proceed with a project. Cardinals are literally not going anywhere and the only option for them is to keep investing and building to push along their current assets. I think people in the development business understand all of this is a void being filled by Covid canceling sports and events downtown and it goes away when those come back