Thursday, April 02, 2009

See you at the Plaza

Downtown St LouisWhen we started working downtown in 2004, selling it wasn't much of an option. You either had an appreciation for the urban landscape, or you didn't. Despite the ongoing progress, the area was still desolate. The closest thing to a useful public plaza was the gathering of homeless folks in Lucas Park. The downtown population stood at about 9600. Half of which was below market rate housing and 92% was rental. Despite all that, there was hope and plans for the future.

As downtown continued to develop, it seemed as if each time a large project was completed, that a piece of the puzzle was set in place.

Today and through the weekend the Post Office Plaza will be having its grand opening. The ribbon cutting, scheduled for 4pm will undoubtedly be a crowd pleaser. There is entertainment and children's shows tomorrow.

For some reason, the work that's going on to enhance our public space downtown is exciting. In my travels, places that have nice urban plazas adjacent to a good mix of retail, entertainment, commercial and residential spaces seem to add a positive energy to the city. What appears to seperate this space from the many other spots around downtown is that its location fits the density profile of a good urban plaza. Time will tell.

In the mean time I'll be enjoying the festivities this weekend.