I talked with the Pyramid people today about these new lofts they are getting ready to work on. They are located directly across from Merchandise Mart. Apparently the building construction is similar to Banker's, with heavy timber construction. Pricing, amenities, interior look with the timber should all be very similar.



Does anyone have any information on this development or the building itself? The guy i talked to said floorplans are almost finished.

fountboy wrote:Does anyone have any information on this development or the building itself? The guy i talked to said floorplans are almost finished.

I am curious to see if Pyramid will leave the remodelled Art Deco facade/entry.



Pyramid is redeveloping four buildings in that area (Bankers Lofts at 901 Washington, Curlee Building at 1001 Washington and the Dorsa Lofts at 1007 and 1015 together. They are reportedly going to redevelop this area in three phases. The first phase involved the Bankers Lofts with the second and third phases involving the Dorsa Lofts and the Curlee Building respectively.

I would think that they'd have to restore the building to its original appearance to qualify for tax credits and to expose the windows on the second floor. That green cladding goes up pretty high on the building.

It might be nice to see Pyramid keep the facade as is. It make the street more unique. Not everything needs to be red brick.

The guy I talked to said that Dorsa Lofts may actually be ready to move in close to the same time Bankers is finishing as well. I believe its a bit of a smaller project. The builiding that houses their showroom, Curlie Building?, is all office space and is finished already.

fountboy wrote:The builiding that houses their showroom, Curlie Building?, is all office space and is finished already.

Yes, a few of these buildings Pyramid had purchased already had office space and current tenants. All with leases in various stages, which would be expired by 2006.

The color green is an added mix to the street but it also is not as polished as the Met. Square's granite. The lower facade is rather spooky and forboding--Bad vibes~. As shown in Urbanstlouis's post the picture displays that the only windows on the first floors are the doors. Bleak.

If they had to keep the building's original appearance, then they would remove the green front - that's not part of the original building.

Does anyone have any idea what the ground floor interior will be like after renovation or what are their plans for it? I really hope they try to preserve the INCREDIBLE masterpiece that exists.This space is one of the best 1940's surreal fantasy showplaces I have ever seen.I realize the green and cream terracotta w/ those awesome copper planters is not original,but very few examples exist in St Louis and IT MUST BE PRESERVED!! There is historical significance in the 1940's renovation designed by Meyer Loomstien that should qualify for tax credits.

it would be MUCH cooler if they preserved the late 30's/40's art deco style than to try to replicate or go back to what was originally there. For one, there really isn't much to go on from what was the original building. Two, it would show that St. Louis is FAR more progressive, architecturally, keeping the art deco design, which is , in it self, rare and original, being close to 70 years old.

Thanks for the info Fountboy.We don't want this interior to end up like the interior of the Hadley Dean building.

The interior of the Hadley Dean Building was restored to its original condition. I'm not crazy about the whole Egyptian motif, but at least it's original.



Even though I love art deco, I would rather see the paneling removed from the Dorsa Building.

Agreed about the interior of Dorsa. I love it, in its space-age-fantasy glory, and it needs to be preserved as is. All those wonderful lines and smooth edges, like Tomorrowland in St. Louis! The deco stylings of the exterior facade make so much more sense when the interior area is added to the context. It is unique and, while not original, is important to the history of the building and that of the Washington Avenue garment/fashion industry, imo, as it captures a moment in that heritage.



Also: I might be wrong (and, someone please tell me if I am), but the name Dorsa... doesn't that refer to the business that inhabited the building during its "art deco"/mid-20th Century guise? Is Dorsa that original name of the building or occupants? I'm not under the impression that it is, but if Dorsa is the era the developers want to make a point of architectural reference, then the I suppose that is an argument for the facade.

DeBaliviere wrote:The interior of the Hadley Dean Building was restored to its original condition. I'm not crazy about the whole Egyptian motif, but at least it's original.



Even though I love art deco, I would rather see the paneling removed from the Dorsa Building.

The interior of the Hadley Dean Building first level was not really restored... it was largely obilterated! Only a small area of the glorious Egyptian motif glasswork remains, near and around the elevators. As I understand, much of the additional area was dismantled, materials thrown in a dumpster when the adjacent space (originally the lobby?) was readied for Mosaic. If that's true, it is a travesty.



Regardless, what you see here (http://www.decopix.com/New%20Site/Image ... _lobby.jpg) does not exist in this form today.

I found an article posted online at Ecology of Absence dated July 26, 2005.

It discusses the two facades and has a few photos of the exterior as well...



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<A HREF="http://www.eco-absence.org/stl/dorsa/">Dorsa Building - 1007 Washington Avenue</A>

Posted July 26, 2005 on <A HREF="http://www.eco-absence.org/">ecology of absence</A>



Preserving the Dorsa Building at 1007 Washington Avenue presents a challenge: which building does the historically-minded owner save? There are two buildings here, at least on the level of ornamentation: there is the original 1902 red-brick wholesale warehouse with terra-cotta ornament designed by the noted St. Louis firm of Eames and Young, and then there is the stunning 1946 Art Moderne slipcover facade designed by Sascha Schnittman with stylized interior spaces, designed by Meyer Loomstein.



<A HREF="http://www.eco-absence.org/stl/dorsa/">>>> read more</A>

So, it sounds like Pyramid is gonna keep the Art Moderne facade. Good news. It really is cool, and it ads a bit of variety on Washington.



I'd sure like to see the interior lobby you guys are talking about. Anyone have an image?

yes, I have images.but I don't know how to post them

Does anyone have any current information on this project? I know it's supposed to go public sometime within the next couple of months, but haven't heard anything more specific than that.

I spoke with Pyramid the other day. All they could tell me is this fall, probably in Sep or Oct they would have their info out.

I was planning to attend the open house from 5-7 on Thursday 9/15. I only heard from a friend so I don't have any further particulars.

Ask and ye shall receive. I'm going with another friend of mine who is looking for a loft downtown. I'm told this will be very similar to the Bankers building. If that's true, this building will go very quickly. So bring your checkbooks on Thursday.

I was in the office today, and since I may not be able to make it to the showing thursday, I asked to check out the floor plans. They look pretty cool, every unit it looked like will have at least 1 red brick wall, even the interior units, since Dorsa will be made up of 2 buildings joined. Looks like floors 3-6 range in size from 1400-2000sf give or take, with floor 7 being penthouse Im guessing. The finishes and amenities and everything are basically the exact same as Bankers. I asked about pricing but they won't have actual pricing til the day of. But in general they are going to run $155-160/sf base. All units face either all Washington Ave, or all north since Dorsa is sandwiched in the middle of a block. When you all go thursday, check out the unit in the middle of the North facing side, the living area is going to be sticking out 3 sides glass, real cool.



Be ready to write some checks if you are interested, these puppies are going to fly off the shelves like a"Tickle Me Elmo" at Christmas time. My guess is by the end of the housing tour this weekend, incl Thursday, 1/2 of the units will be reserved.

fountboy wrote:I was in the office today, and since I may not be able to make it to the showing thursday, I asked to check out the floor plans. They look pretty cool, every unit it looked like will have at least 1 red brick wall, even the interior units, since Dorsa will be made up of 2 buildings joined. Looks like floors 3-6 range in size from 1400-2000sf give or take, with floor 7 being penthouse Im guessing. The finishes and amenities and everything are basically the exact same as Bankers. I asked about pricing but they won't have actual pricing til the day of. But in general they are going to run $155-160/sf base. All units face either all Washington Ave, or all north since Dorsa is sandwiched in the middle of a block. When you all go thursday, check out the unit in the middle of the North facing side, the living area is going to be sticking out 3 sides glass, real cool.



Be ready to write some checks if you are interested, these puppies are going to fly off the shelves like a"Tickle Me Elmo" at Christmas time. My guess is by the end of the housing tour this weekend, incl Thursday, 1/2 of the units will be reserved.

fountboy, do you remember how many lofts there were per floor? Also did it look like the second bedroom actually came finished off with walls or did it look like that would be an additional option? Thanks.