Sunday, June 03, 2007

St. Louis Downtown Living Tour and Kayak Extravaganza

St. Louis LoftsSome people like rain. They say that it helps things grow. After the downpour and intense wind destroyed our display tent, we thought about throwing in the towel. Who would still be around?

Yesterday's tour seemed to go into hyperdrive after the rains. We moved inside the Jewel Lofts entry at 1511 Washington and went to work.

This year I was impressed by the number of boomers that were wanting to be downtown. The Jewel Loft Condominiums, just being released, seemed to have a large collection of people with serious interest. More to follow on these spaces, but in general, the size and quality of finish of these "soft lofts" stand out from what else is available downtown.

The tour seems to be less and less about the neighborhood and the completed lofts than it used to be. I remember when the partnership had to ask residents to be a part of the tour--which is what many other areas still do. Now the tour is more like a jaunt through the many showrooms looking exclusively at new construction.

One comment that stuck with me from yesterday was from a downtown resident that said that many of the participants knew only of thier project but virtually nothing about downtown St. Louis. That may be the case, but this tour I'm seeing that there is less and less being put into "window dressing" for the area and more and more that downtown is standing in it's own light. Plastered pictures covering up board ups has been replaced by new restaurants and retail and, of course LOFTS.

The tour starts today at NOON. The weather should be clear. I hope to see you there.