^Okay, the hooks amuse me. Always nice to pay your riggers a small homage. 
I've been waiting for an update...but how is there not some sort of crane on the Sandcrawler site by now? Perhaps there is some delay, because based on the last progress photo I saw, I'd think the foundation must be complete and steel would be rising by now...
Construction appears to have been halted for some time now. Whenever I go by, there’s no work being done. And if there are guys on site, there’s only 2 or 3.urbanitas wrote:I've been waiting for an update...but how is there not some sort of crane on the Sandcrawler site by now? Perhaps there is some delay, because based on the last progress photo I saw, I'd think the foundation must be complete and steel would be rising by now...
One of those renderings shows a curb cut and driveway from Duncan Ave. to the garage between 4210 and 4220 Duncan. Another seems to indicate that will be plaza space with benches and landscaping...chriss752 wrote: ↑Jul 31, 20204210 Duncan interactive renderings...
https://irisvr.com/library/shared?code=D6HGW8
I really hope the latter is the more recent.
Strange. Who is the GC, Tarlton?chriss752 wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020Construction appears to have been halted for some time now. Whenever I go by, there’s no work being done. And if there are guys on site, there’s only 2 or 3.urbanitas wrote:I've been waiting for an update...but how is there not some sort of crane on the Sandcrawler site by now? Perhaps there is some delay, because based on the last progress photo I saw, I'd think the foundation must be complete and steel would be rising by now...
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It's slowly creeping along. This last week I noticed progress with concrete / foundation prep along Duncan. Any slow down could easily be COVID related too. If a subcontractor has to quarantine a crew because an employee tests positive, that could quickly have a domino affect on the entire timeline. Now, if the site looks exactly like it does today one month from now, then I'd have concerns.
Yes. It’s Tarltonurbanitas wrote:Strange. Who is the GC, Tarlton?chriss752 wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020Construction appears to have been halted for some time now. Whenever I go by, there’s no work being done. And if there are guys on site, there’s only 2 or 3.urbanitas wrote:I've been waiting for an update...but how is there not some sort of crane on the Sandcrawler site by now? Perhaps there is some delay, because based on the last progress photo I saw, I'd think the foundation must be complete and steel would be rising by now...
Hopefully this is the case. I walked by today and there was no one on site.Laife Fulk wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020It's slowly creeping along. This last week I noticed progress with concrete / foundation prep along Duncan. Any slow down could easily be COVID related too. If a subcontractor has to quarantine a crew because an employee tests positive, that could quickly have a domino affect on the entire timeline. Now, if the site looks exactly like it does today one month from now, then I'd have concerns.
Aside from that, I hadn't been down to Cortex since I returned to St. Louis, had a couple errands to run so I walked through on my way to and from the MetroLink. The new station looks great, as does the greenway.
I still quite like the new CWE canopy, but one to match this would have been even better:
With the neuroscience building crane:
I like these way-finding signs too:
Couple random Cortex shots:
More concerning than the lack of progress or work, is the apparent total lack of equipment, at least from what can be seen in the above photo. That would imply a longer delay than some positive COVID tests or whatever...Laife Fulk wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020It's slowly creeping along. This last week I noticed progress with concrete / foundation prep along Duncan. Any slow down could easily be COVID related too. If a subcontractor has to quarantine a crew because an employee tests positive, that could quickly have a domino affect on the entire timeline. Now, if the site looks exactly like it does today one month from now, then I'd have concerns.
Neither the building permit or garage permit were ever issued, that I can find. And the building and site grading permits were cancelled on 7/28 and 7/31, respectively. That would certainly explain the delay.quincunx wrote: ↑Feb 04, 2020$44M building permit application submitted for 4210 Duncan. $2M permit issued Jan 24 for foundation. And a $16M permit application for structured parking.
Maybe they are making some major revisions to the plans. Those could certainly be COVID-related, for better or worse...
Still annoyed they couldn't build the station around the tracks as they were (nice and straight), or at least build it next to the northern track so the tracks didn't have to shift to the north as much. Still annoyed they razed the little building at Sarah. Looks to me the curve in the tracks could have been a bit to the west. Still annoyed they sacrificed the utility of multiple entrances to the station for the security of the single entrance.
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It’s strange to cancel a permit for plan changes. Usually you just file an addendum. Colliers still has it listed on their site
That depends on how significant the revisions are. It would be strange to cancel a permit for any other reason, at this point.dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020It’s strange to cancel a permit for plan changes. Usually you just file an addendum. Colliers still has it listed on their site
ThanksdbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2020We’ll find out soon. Got someone looking into it
Could it be that site grading is done for all intents and purposes so therefore permit was cancelled or how the city closes out the permit? Not sure the permit procedure once a site is actually graded in accordance with requirement.
Putting the project on pause for economic/covid reasons/lacking a commitment letter from tenant and therefore delaying building permits for vertical construction makes a lot more sense to me on above conditions. It would explain the lack of equipment on site, start of utilities and vertical construction since their isn't a sub basement or underground garage if not mistaken. Another way to put it, they took the speculative action of committing some dollars to the project without a tenant but broke up the work in such a way that it could easily put on pause prior to actually building construction..
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Grading/foundation work is on a different permit.dredger wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2020ThanksdbInSouthCity wrote: ↑Aug 25, 2020We’ll find out soon. Got someone looking into it
Could it be that site grading is done for all intents and purposes so therefore permit was cancelled or how the city closes out the permit? Not sure the permit procedure once a site is actually graded in accordance with requirement.
Putting the project on pause for economic/covid reasons/lacking a commitment letter from tenant and therefore delaying building permits for vertical construction makes a lot more sense to me on above conditions. It would explain the lack of equipment on site, start of utilities and vertical construction since their isn't a sub basement or underground garage if not mistaken. Another way to put it, they took the speculative action of committing some dollars to the project without a tenant but broke up the work in such a way that it could easily put on pause prior to actually building construction..
The cancelled permit is $44,000,000 general construction permit.
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I hear you about the depot/tower on Sarah. I actually made a little noise to some other folks in the Wabash Railroad Historical Society, since that was a Wabash structure. I was hoping we could at least maybe try to document it. Or see what was there. (Probably not much.) But it was late enough in the game when I found out it was coming down and there's a fair few folks in the WRHS more than a little afraid of our fair city so nothing came of it. There just aren't that many Wabash structures left. Every one we lose hurts. Even the tool sheds at this point, and that was no tool shed.quincunx wrote: ↑Aug 24, 2020Still annoyed they couldn't build the station around the tracks as they were (nice and straight), or at least build it next to the northern track so the tracks didn't have to shift to the north as much. Still annoyed they razed the little building at Sarah. Looks to me the curve in the tracks could have been a bit to the west. Still annoyed they sacrificed the utility of multiple entrances to the station for the security of the single entrance.
That said, SC4Mayor,
Thanks for the shots, and that blue scheme on Metrolink is really growing on me.
Cripes I hope the Sandcrawler doesn't end up nixed. That's too cool.
^ I really, really like the blue scheme. Hope it works its way into the rest of the system soon. (Edit, I assumed you were talking about the signage and wayfinding...I now realize you were probably talking about the train sets lol, either way I agree!)
I drove by the 4210 site today and while I didn’t see any activity...the construction gates were open this time which leads me to believe someone was around. Maybe in the site office or something.
I drove by the 4210 site today and while I didn’t see any activity...the construction gates were open this time which leads me to believe someone was around. Maybe in the site office or something.
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I think I'd like the blue scheme more if it didn't look horribly outdated when paired with the older running stock - just screams "late '70s" to me. It'd look fantastic on some newer, sleeker trains, methinks. Already looks pretty good on the buses that have it.
4210 is paused until they get more Letters of Intent. The investors were fine with doing spec office in Cortex prior to Covid, but now they want to know the building will have enough tenants to move forward.
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That's too bad. I hope they get the tenants quickly in spite of everything. That's a really neat project . . . and biotech could perhaps be a hot industry for a good while.
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Reasonably optimistic on 4210 coming back online by Ventas. First off, the site is built out for construction to continue. Second, the area is nearly 100% occupied with a premium on rentals. They'll get letters of intent. Third, it's a company-specific issue, not anything having to do with Cortex. I'm looking over Ventas' stock (VTR), and it has gotten the ever-living crap kicked out of it this year. When Covid-19 came in effect, their stock hit it's 2008 low after just recognizing a momentum upswing. Almost immediately, it went from 62.99 to 21.62 and is now late-day at 40.47. Hell, I'm kind of impressed it made it back this far. They're still paying dividends and remain a viable company, but they sure have been rocked. Fourth, they likely will be building a good chunk of that building to accommodate laboratory space, which can't be replicated on a work-from-home basis. So long as they focus a strong chunk of that building on essential real estate, like laboratories, then 4210 will be back online in the reasonable near term.
Sucks all the same.
Sucks all the same.
^ I feel the same way. Cortex's office vacancy rate is nearly 0% (or at least was prior to all of this).
Here's a little BJ blurb about it:
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... 5#cxrecs_s
Here's a little BJ blurb about it:
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... 5#cxrecs_s
The future of a $115 million office development at the Cortex tech district is unclear after a major building permit was canceled. Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR), a Chicago-based real estate investment trust, was developing a $115 million, 320,000-square-foot office and lab building at 4210 Duncan Ave. in the Cortex innovation hub in St. Louis city that was to be completed in 2022. Lease rates were projected to be $29 to $31 per square foot, according to marketing materials.
But records filed with the city of St. Louis show a $44 million building permit application for 4210 Duncan Ave. was canceled on July 28. The project's general contractor, Tarlton Corp., a Cortex spokesperson and the project's leasing agent, Tony Kennedy of Colliers, all referred questions to Ventas. Ventas did not respond to requests for comment. But in a May financial filing, the company said it paused some development projects that were not "substantially underway" in addition to trimming planned 2020 capital expenditures due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The filing does not state which projects the company paused.
The 4210 development was to build on the success the Cortex district has seen in recent years with near-zero office vacancy, a new hotel and its first multifamily development.
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Cortex to Tower Grove connector project got the federal funds ($5.60m) officially approved by East West Gateway today. Next step is design and construction to start in 2022 or 2023 and opening sometime in 2024 (if it goes all according to plan).
Unfortunately these are slow because EWG is always taking applications for construction funds that are 2-3 years out. Once a while a current year project will fall through and if someone in those outer years is ready to pounce they can get it
Unfortunately these are slow because EWG is always taking applications for construction funds that are 2-3 years out. Once a while a current year project will fall through and if someone in those outer years is ready to pounce they can get it