I love the enormous new Crate & Barrel store here!

Very lovely...



Any new information on the target opening dates on the other stores? OR how about the hotel construction breaking ground info?



Thanks in advance!











Boulevard Hilton Homewood Suites:







Boulevard Westin Hotel-Galleria







webcam from University Club Tower:

[/list]



The Boulevard-Saint Louis is currently under construction and, when completed, this dynamic community will breathe new life into The Gateway City. The Boulevard will be a diverse mix of lifestyle shopping and dining, upscale rental apartments and condominiums, Class A office space and three public plazas highlighted with fountains, sculptures, seating, lighting and outdoor entertainment.

As visitors and residents stroll along The Boulevard?s main street, they?ll hear concerts in the performance plaza, smell food from street vendors, relax in sidewalk cafes and watch people enjoying this vibrant urban village.

The shopping and dining experience at The Boulevard-Saint Louis will be unlike any in the St. Louis region. The Boulevard's main street will be a diverse mix of nationally recognized lifestyle retailers and restaurants mixed with local treasures distinct to St. Louis. It will be a cosmopolitan destination that is reminiscent of European shopping districts.

Its first retailers and restaurants are set to open in fourth quarter 2004 including:

Missouri's first:

Bombay Kids

Crate & Barrell

Maggiano's Italian Eatery

and:

Jared

PF Changs

Ann Taylor Loft

and a whole lot more.

Does anyone know whether or not Yen Ching will be around after the new hotels are built?



Also, are there any plans to repave Brentwood from Clayton to 40? For such a center of high-end retail, the road looks like crap. Of course, the lights on Lindbergh and Clayton outside of Plaza Frontenac are mis-timed and the roads need a coat of asphalt there, too, so I guess I won't hold my breath.

Any word on when the Westin will break ground? Also, are both of these hotels being built or just one?

jonkleinow wrote:
Also, are there any plans to repave Brentwood from Clayton to 40? For such a center of high-end retail, the road looks like crap.

they won't think about repaving until all of the construction work is done. then they will do it.

It is the same building just from a different angle. I have no idea about any construction timeframe, if at all though.

MattnSTL wrote:It is the same building just from a different angle. I have no idea about any construction timeframe, if at all though.

Hopefully, soon. The land seems to be already cleared for this project to begin. I can't wait....and I would rather see a Westin there over a Hilton Suites hotel because of name prestige.



Also, off topic, anyone know what happened with the Meridian at Brentwood project, the 14 story building that was suppose to be built right next to the Best Buy and Sports Authority? Its been two years and they still have not torn down that Purina building.

^I've been wondering about that to.

New development across from Galleria will include two hotels

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)

September 10, 2004

Author: ERIC HEISLER

Of the Post-Dispatch

Estimated printed pages: 2



* Project could be sign that hospitality construction is rising.



A local developer plans to build two properties - a Westin Hotel and Hilton Homestead Suites - across Brentwood Boulevard from the St. Louis Galleria in Richmond Heights.



Mullenix Cos. of Brentwood originally planned to build a single hotel at the site, on the southeast corner of Brentwood Boulevard and Clayton Road.



But after working out an arrangement to lease space for parking nearby, Mullenix found a way to fit two hotels on the site.



The developer hopes the project, at the doorstep of one of the region's top shopping malls and close to the office towers of downtown Clayton, will draw business travelers and tourists.



"We call this site Main and Main," said Gregory Mullenix, president of Dominion Construction, a Mullenix subsidiary working on the deal. "You're sort of in between the Chesterfield and downtown markets, and you're playing off Clayton."



Along with other developments, the project - called the Fountains - could be a sign that hotel construction is starting to pick up again after a few dismal years.



The project is part of a flurry of commercial redevelopment that's reshaping the older communities around Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in central St. Louis County.



Just to the south of the site, Pace Properties is building Boulevard-St. Louis, which will mix retail, office and apartment space into a town-center setting. A planned MetroLink stop will bring shoppers and other visitors to the projects.



The Fountains will rise on a corner that today is a hodgepodge of older commercial development and abandoned space. The project is scheduled for completion in 2006.



Richmond Heights picked Mullenix to redevelop the property in late 2002 after asking developers to submit proposals. Mullenix beat out a plan proposed by Pace.



The project also had to survive a court challenge in which two property owners at the site sought to prevent the power of eminent domain from being used to acquire land for the Fountains.



An initial plan would have built a Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the site. Mullenix, however, later negotiated with the nearby University Club tower to lease land for a parking garage. The developer also proposed extending Francis Place through the property.



That allowed Mullenix to fit two hotels - the 119-room Hilton and the 209-room Westin - on the site, Gregory Mullenix said.



Transportation improvements at the site will probably be funded through a transportation development district.



A preliminary development plan for the project was approved by the Richmond Heights City Council this week. The developer needs only to get the go-ahead from the city's planning commission on its final plan.

Caption:

Post-Dispatch Graphic / map - PLANNED WESTIN HOTEL AND HILTON HOMESTEAD SUITES

Caption:

graphic and map

Memo: REAL ESTATE

Edition: Five Star Late Lift

Section: Business

Page: C06

Index Terms: commercial real estate;hotel construction plans;Richmond Heights commercial development

Copyright (c) 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Record Number: 1000088265

? Several stores to open in July at Boulevard-St. Louis



Ryan Heinz Of the Suburban Journals



The first phase of construction of the Boulevard-St. Louis is rolling along, with several stores expected to open in July.



Also, the first of the development's apartments will be ready to lease during the first week of June, said Rob Sherwood, managing director of Pace Properties.



When completed, the Boulevard-St. Louis will feature more than 225,000 square feet of retail space; several restaurants; 500,000 square feet of office space; 74 "luxury" apartments; and condominiums.



The development is off Brentwood Boulevard across the street from the St. Louis Galleria.



Sherwood said construction of phase two of the project would be similar to that of phase one. Since phases two and three are still in the planning stages, Sherwood did not reveal more details.



Instead, the focus remains on phase one, which will cost more than $60 million to complete, Sherwood said. Currently, four stores are open at Boulevard-St. Louis: Crate & Barrel; Jared Gallery of Jewelry; Bombay; and Bombay Kids. Sherwood said the Chinese restaurant P.F. Chang's will open June 13.



David Reary, Richmond Heights building and zoning commissioner, said city officials anticipate Maggiano's Little Italy opening soon after P.F. Chang's. Also, Reary said, the city is about to issue a conditional-use permit for Anne Taylor Loft. Last month, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional-use permit for Kayak's Coffee. Meanwhile, the parking garages that are part of phase one construction are completed and operational.



A grand opening for Boulevard-St. Louis is scheduled for July 28 through 31. At that time, Sherwood said, the current number of businesses in the development should have more than doubled.



Construction is expected to begin soon on a median on Brentwood Boulevard in front of the development. Sherwood said the median will include trees, seasonal flowers and other landscaping. Construction of the median has been put on hold while waiting for St. Louis County to issue a permit.



Also, Sherwood said, Pace Properties might wait on median work until after the opening of P.F. Chang's and the grand opening of Boulevard-St. Louis. Regardless of when it starts, Reary does not expect construction of the median to affect traffic too much.



"It's hard to imagine there wouldn't be some temporary disruption just during work," he said. "But once it's complete there will still be the same amount of lanes, so it's actually hopeful that it will have a positive effect on traffic."



Another store listed on Boulevard-St. Louis' web site is Strasburg Children, which is scheduled to open in July. Sherwood said several other stores would soon sign leases, and exterior construction for phase one should be competed by the middle of June.



Reary said the development is still a work in progress, although it is beginning to stir up some excitement.



"What we're beginning to see already is the realization that it's drawing people here that would maybe not normally come to the area," he said. "And in a short time, when they have the major exterior construction complete, it'll start receiving even more people."

Concerning the matter of a Metro station and Boulevard/Galleria.



Isn't the new Metro station going to be east of I-170? How accessible will Boulevard and the Galleria be?



I ask these because Grand Center is a distance from the Grand Metro station, and inconviently located under a bridge. Brentwood Blvd. is also a very wide roadway and difficult to cross if possible. Driving Brentwood is terrible enough.

Boulevard St. Louis will have better MetroLink accessibility than Galleria, since closer to the station. But ironically, it's Pace Properties (Boulevard St. Louis) who is pushing for medians on Brentwood Boulevard, which, if pedestrian refuge areas are included, could help accessibility from MetroLink to the Galleria.



Ultimately, the Galleria should consider building its own lifestyle center extension of the mall, a mini Boulevard St. Louis if you will, linking the mall near the Cheesecake Factory with Brentwood and Galleria Parkway. Some choice surface parking spaces would be lost, but the shopping experience and walkability between the two developments as well as Metrolink should outweigh that concern.



At the very least, St. Louis County Highways and Traffic needs some pedestrian enhancements along Galleria Parkway, especially under the I-170 bridge and crossing Brentwood. From there, it's the Galleria's responsibility to make some internal sidewalk connections to its mall entrances, if the mall won't build out to meet Brentwood Blvd. as suggested.

Are there still plans to open at least one hotel at the Boulevard?



I see what might be a hotel in one of the renderings on their website, but there is no mention on the site of future hotel plans.

Omaha Steaks will open their first St. Louis location here.

I am really excited about this development. Mostly because of the transit stop. Carfree people in St. Louis are going to have incredible shopping at their fingertips. The convention industry must be excited since they will be able to market this incredible array of shopping to people staying downtown. During my last visit to St. Louis, I stayed at the Rennaisance Grand (it was great!). The hotel channel went on and on about shopping in St. Louis. They showed people arriving by cab at Plaza Frontenac & Galleria, etc. Now they will be able to say, "Fabulous Galleria & Boulevard shopping are moments away by Metrolink". I have a friend that works in a downtown DC hotel and guests are always asking for directions to take Metro to big inner surburban shopping areas like the Galleria. It is going to be great and will be one more thing the convention industry can market. As far as I am concerned, everything on Metrolink is an extension of St. Louis City. That is how it looks and feels to someone unfamiliar with the boundaries.

The last I heard, access to MetroLink in that area was rejected by local developers/owners. Maybe they've changed their tune.

If they restrict Metrolink access to Boulevard/Galleria, it would be a tragic mistake, incredibly short sighted! Hope this isn't true.

How would they cut the access, there is a station being built at Galleria Parkway, which will allow pedestrian access over to the mall area? If they want to walk, shoppers should be able to get over to the whole shopping area with no trouble.

Two points:

First, I agree with Southslider about the Galleria. Although they would lose some surface parking spaces, a nice addition to the mall might be a strip of retail stores that would sit in between the mall and brentwood. If the mall is worried about losing parking spaces, they can build new garages south of Famous Barr, which migh actualy increase the parking capacity in the area.



Secondly. I worry that the metrolink station is poorly placed. While it can provide access to the bldv. and to the Galleria and the proposed shuttle will help, really it does not present an atractive or pleasurable walk too or from the mall. First, you must cross under 170, and as we all know people lothe crossing under highways. Secondly, you must cross Brentwood, which has more traffic and is even harder to cross than Tucker. Yes, the metrolink might help bring shoppers, but i think the poor placement of the station will hurt is potental.

Ya, I think putting the station right behind the Boulevard would have been the best placement. I think the station right on the other side of I-64 will be really successful though, because the walk should be a little more friendly over there. Although not as much as it should be.