Catching Up on Downtown

The past month has been an exciting time in the history of downtown development.

Most exciting was the funding of the three projects at the end of last month; the Laurel, St Louis Centre, and the Park Pacific. There were so many valid reasons for the delays, but having these few projects resurrected is particularly valuable. Interestingly, when the real estate market started to slide and the economy tanked, it seemed as if real estate was the front and center cause of it all...then banking took the center stage. While the pieces were being sorted out, the biggest problem locally was the construction trades. It seems that the industry of new construction was severely bloated back in 2006 and that the difficulty in finding a "happy medium" is falling mostly on the many unemployed construction workers. So seeing financing go through and some of these people get back to work is a sight to see and hopefully a sign of new things to come as we continue to wait for Ballpark Village and other notable projects that could complete the transformation of our downtown.

The project below always seemed such a small part of downtown's transformation, but it started to become the symbol for the times as we were repeatedly promised its removal. I was at my boys school picnic when this was being celebrated. Thanks to technology and everybody wanting to capture this on video, I have my choice of perspectives. What's really cool is that its done and we don't have to hear people whine about it still being there.


This blog was on a bit of a hiatus due to some technical changes with the blogs host,which was a drag, since aside from all the new developments, LoftsintheLou.com turned 5 in May. Back in 2005, there didn't seem to be any sources of information on downtown that shined a light on the positive changes going on. Now there are many. Even having many, there still could be more. The shift in how the commercial news media portrays their stories for more drama and intrigue seems to paint downtown in a negative light more than other neighborhoods. There are also lots places where the negatives are primarily focused upon, that's good too. My only problem with the way things were in 2005 was that by only having the negative features of a community to see, some might get the idea that downtown St Louis isn't a great place to live.

So besides seeing the most popular eyesore in Downtown St Louis coming down, we can see the wheels of progress continuing to move forward DESPITE a global

recession. As the economy continues to pick up, we hope to see the downtown continue to prosper even more quickly than it is now.


Good luck to everyone participating in the Race for the Cure on Saturday!