We Need An Outsider....

 

Thanks to Time Magazine, for being able to see Downtown St. Louis and the many tremendous improvements as reason for inclusion as one of the Worlds Greatest 100 Places!

While I'm still anxious to see the traffic control barricades taken out of downtown,  I still get excited about the changes we've enjoyed in downtown St. Louis.   

It took an outsider to help me see the beauty in our urban core too.   I remember sitting in an office and meeting someone who moved to St. Louis from Florida.   I remember thinking, "why would someone do THAT?".   Typical suburbanite.   I'm glad I asked, because they had an answer, and it wasn't the standard.   Many times the answer is, "I met a girl from here... or my job moved me here.   Just the fact that she had an answer should have impressed me, because she knew more about my own city than I did.   It wasn't until that experience that I believed someone would want to live in the city.    It just hadn't occurred to me.

I'm excited about the things the folks at Time mentioned and more.   The website, St. Louis is a World-Class City  has more to say.  The Time article mentioned Brickline Greenway, which is still mostly in the works, but the work being done to expand trails in and around St. Louis is one of the most exciting things.   Interestingly thought, when I talk to many St. Louisan's, they aren't aware of the plans in the works to create trails from Downtown to Forest Park, and Forest Park to River des Peres, Clayton, U-City, Creve Coeur and even St. Charles County.  These are plans that have been going since 2000, and momentum has been increasing every year.

The past year has been a seller's market in many areas of St. Louis real estate, which I'm beginning to like because its in seller's markets when the boundaries of "the good areas" get pushed outward;  developers and buyer's start investing in areas that they wouldn't take on during more buyer-friendly markets.   Downtown's largest resurgence; from 2001-2008, took place in a seller's market, and residential redevelopment was the primary cause.  Currently downtown remains one of the few areas that isn't as much of a seller's market, but that won't be the case for long.  With all the great things being done in and around downtown, even St. Louisan's will find out.