urbanSTL

^ I was thinking the same thing.  Hopefully it's not just more parking, but substitute parking for some of the other more visible/closer spots.

Wow, the crime in downtown STL last 48 hours....why on Earth would a man with a wife and young kids EVER go down there???

whitherSTL wrote:Wow, the crime in downtown STL last 48 hours....why on Earth would a man with a wife and young kids EVER go down there???

To grab dinner, walk around the arch grounds, visit city garden... plenty of reasons to go downtown


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sc4mayor wrote: ↑

Dec 20, 2020

^ Considering the current state of movie going, I see no issue demolishing an abandoned theater wedged under a highway most people didn’t know was there.

I don’t know when it was built (80s?)...but it certainly wasn’t a historic building.  Though I do agree any new surface parking sucks.  On the other hand...I’d be fine with some here if it meant the lots closer to the Union Station shed could see some new action.

Lots west of the station behind Maggies would have to be targets to expand the US family entertainment complex.  LHM should add attractions a couple of years apart for the next 10 years.  Keep 'em coming back for more.  

whitherSTL wrote: ↑

Dec 21, 2020

Wow, the crime in downtown STL last 48 hours....why on Earth would a man with a wife and young kids EVER go down there???

Take my girls (6 and 8) down there all the time. So much to see and do.  City Garden, Soldiers Memorial, Union Station, Ballpark Village, Arch Grounds, City Museum, Central Library, Riverfront Trail, breakfast at Rooster, lunch at Bailey's Range... They love it.  We never feel uncomfortable or think twice about it.

The optics are bad but the reality is a far cry from the perceptions.  Regardless, these challenges come with a cost and I realize families that aren't as comfortable navigating the city will see it differently.

I also take my daughters (also 8 and 6) downtown fairly frequently (and more pre-covid). We've walked around the arch grounds and Busch Stadium, and visited friends who live on Wash Ave. We also always take the Metrolink downtown from the Delmar Park and Ride for Cardinals games; getting into and out off baseball parking downtown is way too much of a pain.

The Tucker Blvd cycle track/diet has been awarded federal funding that it applied for in August.  Should be official the next time the East West Gateway board meets (Jan 27th)

Brickline also applied for $1.5m ($6.7m project) from Taylor to Boyle and Sarah to vandeventer but GRG withdrew the application - idk why

The track had the highest score of the recommended projects

Awesome.  I really am not a big fan of the color temperature of new LED lights, but I did put in a CSB request as one of our cobra street lights has been out for what is probably 2 years now.  They replaced it the next day with an LED head and holy cow it is so much brighter than the old ones.  It really does change perception of safety for me.  Only wish they could just stick from CTO lighting gel on the outside or something to warm them up a little bit.

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Dec 28, 2020

Awesome.  I really am not a big fan of the color temperature of new LED lights, but I did put in a CSB request as one of our cobra street lights has been out for what is probably 2 years now.  They replaced it the next day with an LED head and holy cow it is so much brighter than the old ones.  It really does change perception of safety for me.  Only wish they could just stick from CTO lighting gel on the outside or something to warm them up a little bit.

Completely agree about the temperature. For example grove looks terrible at night. Although they upgraded my neighborhood and it isn't too bad as these new ones seem to be more directional and light up the road below them a lot more than the sidewalks and houses.

I also feel like the feds will have to do something about car LED headlights being too bright.

The Grove lighting has ruined the nighttime vibe on Manchester.  I feel it's detrimental to the neighborhood.  The 360 degree projection pours through front windows and messes with interior areas towards the front of bars and restaurants as well.  Big big mistake if you ask me.

flipz wrote: ↑

Dec 28, 2020

I also feel like the feds will have to do something about car LED headlights being too bright.

yes, please. it's f*cking unreal. but the auto lobby will derail any attempt at regulation. because America.

As for the Grove lights being to bright: they're awful but I think I've ranted about them on here before. I noticed last winter that Euclid between Maryland and McPherson got brighter lamps but you couldn't tell, in a good way. It was definitely brighter but they used the same warm temp. Perfectly done. 

I'm really not the biggest Chipotle or Qdoba fan, but these restaurants clearly have healthy followings. They're popular and people really like to eat there - especially on lunch breaks where customers can get their food quickly.

It is so strange to me that downtown St. Louis doesn't have either. Now, I understand that we're currently in the middle of a pandemic, so it's not like January 2021 is the right time to open one of these, but I'd really like to see downtown snag a location for one or both of these franchises at some point in the future.

KansasCitian wrote: ↑

Dec 30, 2020

I'm really not the biggest Chipotle or Qdoba fan, but these restaurants clearly have healthy followings. They're popular and people really like to eat there - especially on lunch breaks where customers can get their food quickly.

It is so strange to me that downtown St. Louis doesn't have either. Now, I understand that we're currently in the middle of a pandemic, so it's not like January 2021 is the right time to open one of these, but I'd really like to see downtown snag a location for one or both of these franchises at some point in the future.

Yes!  I've been saying the same thing!  There are a lot of quick chain restaurants that I'd like to see downtown.  Those are just two of them.  We have plenty of space...why is no one recruiting these chains?

It's inexplicable to me that downtown St. Louis leadership has not been able to attract a Chipotle or similar concepts. The very fact of this is a condemnation against any and all of their efforts to improve the neighborhood. 

When we finally move past COVID, it just makes too much sense to have some quick grab-and-go spots like this around our central business district. 

With a Chipotle located in the Power & Light District in Kansas City, I was kind of hoping that we would hear news of one opening in Ballpark Village, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen - at least for now. 

Similar fast but not terribly unhealthy restaurants were very popular in the food court at One Met Square (long-ish lines on weekday lunchtime)

Gyro Yiro was really good and a very similar concept.  And not a chain.  They still open?

I could really care less about a GD chipotle opening downtown - but i get your point that it's a sign to suburbanites that it's "OK" to be downtown. 

bwcrow1s wrote: ↑

Dec 31, 2020

Gyro Yiro was really good and a very similar concept.  And not a chain.  They still open?

yes.

Another thing that should be in our downtown - or in our city at all: places like Arch Apparel, who have locations in Brentwood.... and St. Charles.

I would think a location near Busch Stadium or on Wash. Ave. in Downtown West, not far from the new MLS stadium, would make a lot of money.

It's pretty crazy when you compare DT to CWE retail - just complete night and day. Whether it's fast casual (Bread Co., Shake Shack, Five Guys, Qdoba), Pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens, Medicine Shoppe), popular brick-and-mortar retailers (Lululemon, Bonobos, Suit Supply, Warby Parker), trendy workout studios (Orange Theory, Pure Barre, PLNK), book stores (Left Bank), grocery stores (Culinaria v. Schnucks, Whole Foods, Straub's and Fields Foods). CWE even has a Pharaoh's Donuts now! 

Not to rip on DT, which still has a wide range of casual and more sit down dining options, but it seems CWE has really emerged as the go to for any national or local retailer (even one like Arch Apparel) looking for a brick and mortar presents in the City. 

Not everything has to be downtown, that's true. 

But I do think there are some businesses that feel like they belong down there. Chipotle and a non-tacky St. Louis-themed gift shop kind of make sense to me. 

Also, agreed on STLStyle being better than Arch Apparel.