urbanSTL

urban_dilettante wrote: ↑

Sep 01, 2020

^ but this is not "theory". it's an absorption ranking that (surprise, surprise) makes KC look good. is there an accompanying article that actually discusses anything, like all the other articles that have been posted in this thread?

Renters Fled Pricey Coastal Cities After the Onset of the Pandemic Less Expensive Regions of the Sun Belt and Midwest Fared Better

Get Ready for the Great Urban Comeback
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ty/615484/

Get Ready for the Great Urban Comeback

Visionary responses to catastrophes have changed city life for the better.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/ar ... ty/615484/

Off the top of my head:

• New construction will include vastly improved air circulation systems
• A new generation of people have been exposed to joys of walking and biking
• Street closures for dining (IE Euclid) have been pretty successful and will likely continue to grow in popularity
• Commercial real estate office market collapse may eventually have good effects on STL region as less people care about work proximity. STL doesn't have a main CBD anymore as the jobs are sprawled around the region. If I worked in St. Charles and only had to commute once a week as opposed to everyday, I wouldn't think twice about living in the city. I assume this would work both ways, but I can easily see the city being the ultimate winner in a shift like this.
• Takeout window culture is growing and dining rooms were already shrinking before COVID. I can see a lot of destitute former chefs and restaurant owners starting up cheap and low square foot takeout kitchens with some really creative food.
• On the other side of the coin, patio culture is also going to continue growing. People have always liked a restaurant with a good patio, but in COVID times the patio is the only thing keeping these businesses afloat.

The Guardian - Asphalt roads make city air pollution worse in summer, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... tudy-finds

Many cities put in a lot of effort in attracting “young people” (35 and under?) but these types of people should be the focus and mainly because unlike young people they have monies

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/hom ... ac00c.html

^ I actually have a mounted deer head from Schwarz Taxidermy that was my grandfather's.  Small world.  Hard to imagine that as a commercial space.. wish there were some old pictures.

Many cities put in a lot of effort in attracting “young people” (35 and under?) but these types of people should be the focus and mainly because unlike young people they have monies

It's a two sided coin. Attracting young people is  brings new money and population to the region. STL City hasn't done a good job of retaining these people though as they move on to other regions or simply leave for the counties when it's time to have kids.

I will say that the city has been trending in the right direction when it comes to family retention. Schools have been improving and I am anecdotally seeing more and more families on the street these days. 

I can see South City becoming an empty nester paradise one of these days. Golf cart culture is something that should be embraced and advertised.

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Sep 20, 2020

Many cities put in a lot of effort in attracting “young people” (35 and under?) but these types of people should be the focus and mainly because unlike young people they have monies

https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/hom ... ac00c.html

The problem with focusing only on empty nesters is that the quality of certain public services such as schools will not be a priority for these residents. Because they have money, they tend to be disproportionately powerful in local politics. I can see why they would rather prioritize public spending with police/public safety to the expense of other areas.
I would also imagine that the 1% income tax does not help in attracting empty nesters. 

Well the good thing is a large pool of them already work in the City and are paying the e tax.

When it comes to schools you want to attract high income empty nesters, sure they don’t care about schools but they’ll be paying higher property taxes and don’t take seats at schools

Something really interesting is going on in the United States right now. No, not that. Yeah, that’s interesting, but not that either. What I mean is that rental asking prices are tanking in superstar cities (and have been in decline since many of them peaked in summer 2019). At the same time, more affordable mid sized cities (particularly in the Midwest and South) are seeing the exact opposite. Rental asking prices are soaring. Curious as to people’s thoughts because SF rental asking prices have decreased by 24% since their peak 15 months ago. St. Louis rental prices have increased by 13% y/y.


https://www.zumper.com/blog/rental-price-data/


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SeattleNative wrote: ↑

Oct 02, 2020

Something really interesting is going on in the United States right now. No, not that. Yeah, that’s interesting, but not that either. What I mean is that rental asking prices are tanking in superstar cities (and have been in decline since many of them peaked in summer 2019). At the same time, more affordable mid sized cities (particularly in the Midwest and South) are seeing the exact opposite. Rental asking prices are soaring. Curious as to people’s thoughts because SF rental asking prices have decreased by 24% since their peak 15 months ago. St. Louis rental prices have increased by 13% y/y.


https://www.zumper.com/blog/rental-price-data/


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Supply and demand.

urbanitas wrote:

SeattleNative wrote: ↑

Oct 02, 2020

Something really interesting is going on in the United States right now. No, not that. Yeah, that’s interesting, but not that either. What I mean is that rental asking prices are tanking in superstar cities (and have been in decline since many of them peaked in summer 2019). At the same time, more affordable mid sized cities (particularly in the Midwest and South) are seeing the exact opposite. Rental asking prices are soaring. Curious as to people’s thoughts because SF rental asking prices have decreased by 24% since their peak 15 months ago. St. Louis rental prices have increased by 13% y/y.


https://www.zumper.com/blog/rental-price-data/


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Supply and demand.

Which means we have new demand coming from somewhere, right?


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SeattleNative wrote:

urbanitas wrote:

SeattleNative wrote: ↑

Oct 02, 2020

Something really interesting is going on in the United States right now. No, not that. Yeah, that’s interesting, but not that either. What I mean is that rental asking prices are tanking in superstar cities (and have been in decline since many of them peaked in summer 2019). At the same time, more affordable mid sized cities (particularly in the Midwest and South) are seeing the exact opposite. Rental asking prices are soaring. Curious as to people’s thoughts because SF rental asking prices have decreased by 24% since their peak 15 months ago. St. Louis rental prices have increased by 13% y/y.


https://www.zumper.com/blog/rental-price-data/


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Supply and demand.

Which means we have new demand coming from somewhere, right?


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Kids who grew up and moved to the coasts coming home? I’m not sure how else one can explain the explosive growth in Des Moines Chattanooga, Lincoln, etc. There is no way these places are suddenly high on the radar for non-natives.

You’re probably see kids stay home city instead of going to college town and choosing to rent with friends instead of staying with parents.

And for those that did go to their college town they’re probably renting instead of staying in dorms

I was rooted in Chicago for two decades.  I returned to STL almost 3 years ago.  I know many people who've left there to return home.  Especially the last 5 years.  Des Moines, Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison, Indy, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne and Minneapolis.  Most of these people were in Chicago for awhile.  I could see this happening nationwide.  A city can be so big/dense it becomes dangerously claustrophobic when tension is added to the mix.  That's Chicago.

dbInSouthCity wrote:You’re probably see kids stay home city instead of going to college town and choosing to rent with friends instead of staying with parents.

And for those that did go to their college town they’re probably renting instead of staying in dorms

While this is probably true, I don’t know that it’d move the needle a ton. And the same would be happening in superstar cities as well.


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The case against skyscrapers (that is, anything over 10 or 12 stories):

"Wasteful, Damaging and Outmoded: Is It Time to Stop Building Skyscrapers"?

 https://getpocket.com/explore/item/wast ... ket-newtab

framer wrote:The case against skyscrapers (that is, anything over 10 or 12 stories):

"Wasteful, Damaging and Outmoded: Is It Time to Stop Building Skyscrapers"?

 https://getpocket.com/explore/item/wast ... ket-newtab

In my opinion, it doesn’t make much sense to build anything taller than that in slow growth regions where land is plentiful. But they’re needed in Manhattan.


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"Cities are either on the brink of disaster, or they will recover just fine in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both are predictions that urban planners, developers and academics have tossed around when assessing a post-pandemic future, but the question remains: What will happen to cities as we know them today?"

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/de ... sm/587291/

imran wrote:Parkside Street View_1.jpgWas killing time looking at images of newer projects with townhome looks. Even though this rendering for Parkside in DC is faux historic and even faux granular, I think it is really well done.  Would fit right in around Lafayette sq for eg.

What they’re doing on the west side of the Expo project is interesting. Townhome facades for the apartments there. I like this more historic look, though!


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^What would it take to get real granular and built to last contemporary to replace faux-useful toothpick and glue projects?

I wonder about that often. Maybe these folks know.
https://www.incrementaldevelopment.org/

imran wrote: ↑

Oct 22, 2020

Parkside Street View_1.jpgWas killing time looking at images of newer projects with townhome looks. Even though this rendering for Parkside in DC is faux historic and even faux granular, I think it is really well done.  Would fit right in around Lafayette sq for eg.

I was recently visiting some family in the Hudson Valley and happened to have lunch in the Sleepy Hollow riverfront. High end condo construction is booming in small towns like that due to commuting distance to NYC.  A lot of the developments had this faux-townhome look and I thought they looked really good (very expensive too):
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0771538 ... 384!8i8192