Rome Wasn't Built in a Day....

"Little Francis' teacher called home last week to talk to Francis's Mom & Dad about the progressive slide in little Francis' grades.  

"Darling Francis!" exclaimed his mother, "he can do no wrong!"  "Do something, Father!"

Mother and Father thought hard for nearly a minute before they confidently placed the blame where it truly belonged;  on anyone but Francis."  

Anyone with any longevity in Downtown St. Louis understands four consistent truth's with the St. Louis fear mongering media:   

1.  "Downtown is Failing" is an acceptable answer to any problem.   

2.  No other community faces the same level of scrutiny.  

3.  Responsibility rarely falls where it should.

4.  Use the truth as a last resort.

Seeing the news last night how Harry's was closing was obviously a disappointment.    When it opened, I remembered it was considered one of the top pick up bar's in the area for folks slightly older than me (now around 48-50 years old).  It was a classy place with good food.   Maybe Harry cited all the reasons for closing, and they news channel just cut everything out except his "Downtown is struggling" cliché.   When Harry's opened 23 years ago, Washington Avenue was a dive.   Old warehouses, rave parties and the 3am club scene for the young people, the slightly older, 'yuppies' went to Harry's.  

Now the world has changed.   

We can only hope that the 48-50 year olds have found their first and maybe 2nd or 3rd spouse by now.  The internet has changed how society communicates and online dating / social media has largely taken the primary reason that many people went to the bars back in the 80's and 90's.  My pals in bands tell me all the time, how we live in the different world, which is good, because I'm not in the bars to see for myself.  Harry's was becoming obsolete.  

This really shouldn't be anything earth shattering.  This has happened ever since restaurants really came into being.  A concept gets tired, stops performing, maybe some management or staffing problems take place, or some other outside factor like traffic changes or massive competition.   Sometimes, like young Francis, the place just isn't that good, or the business plan was to blame.  One of my other favorite restaurants on Watson rd, Stellina's recently shuttered.   Rather than blame Lindenwood Park, I would say that there were too few tables and not enough privacy.  I saw it coming, but enjoyed the business while it lasted.  

Like all of downtown, blame Ballpark Village.   That's fair.    Ballpark Village is a fresh concept by players with good strategy, good design, great location and deep pockets.   A tough competitor.   So tough, in fact, that they're blaming it for a closure in KIRKWOOD.  

With J. Bucks, it closed in Downtown.   It also closed in West County (2009) and in Clayton.  The sky is falling strategy used like a club against downtown didn't happen there, and the journalists in St. Louis really have to get real.  

THE BOTTOM LINE is that Downtown will always have challenges, but that growth and development are still going on and things will take time, but the direction Downtown is heading will continue to amaze.  

Downtown Living Tour Today!

The 2013 Downtown Living tour is being held today starting at the luxury apartment building, Park Pacific at 1223 Pine.  

The Premier Team will be consulting prospective downtown buyers at the Syndicate Condominiums Penthouse at 915 Olive St in the heart of Downtown.  That upscale building has some of the most favorite amenities in all of downtown, with multiple roof decks, business center, onsite manager, fully appointed club room with kitchen, media room, artist workshop, dual art galleries, covered parking for everyone, plus access to the 9th street garage for additional parking and access to the Culinaria grocer.  Its the Syndicate Condominiums that define the word 'community' when it comes to downtown living.    

This years tour, as each year progresses, is more laid back than the last year with a theme of visiting only occupied units.  Our first Downtown Living Tour was in 2005 when relatively speaking, downtown St Louis was in shambles.  

We used to have an informational tent at street level and direct people to all our listings.  For several years, we put that tent next to Flannery's because the vacant building next door really looked creepy.  That building, like so many others, was transformed.  In this case into the Fitness Factory, now a sort of centerpiece for downtown residents.  Looking back, anyone involved in downtown can certainly say its come a long way!

One other thing about the tour that I remember was the energy and excitement for the number of projects going on.  In 2005, the Moon Brothers Carriage Lofts and the Ventana were announced on the day of the tour, in 2006, the Meridian was announced and tours of the vacant building were held at the tour before it was even closed on by the new developer.  For those in the know, there was always a lot of discussion with the mostly suburban crowd attending the tour about all the great things being built and conceived to make our downtown world class. As the years changed, so did the types of projects and scope of work.  

After the loft boom, getting a construction loan to redevelop a loft building was virtually impossible.  Since the Roberts Tower had already been started, it seemed to be the last building to be built, but at the prices it would take to justify the construction, prospects of completion were bleak.  Even a solid, reliable community institution like the St Louis Cardinals couldn't get the construction financing they needed to start Ballpark Village.  Projects were still completed and rental lofts and stylish apartments, the MX Exchange, and both the CityGarden and Old Post Office Plaza were completed during the scary days of the recession.  Despite the worst financial crisis since the great depression, Downtown St Louis continued to move forward, earning a distinction as the fastest growing neighborhood for young, college educated professionals.

It should be interesting to see how today's tour unfolds.  The drama and hype of the days when loft developer's ran the show are over, and left in their wake is a stable neighborhood that still has room to grow and thrive. 

Stop by and see the Premier Team at 915 Olive at the Syndicate Condominiums for a list of all our stylish downtown listings!  

Tour registration is $20 today.

Introducing Mayfest STL

This year marks the first Mayfest, being held Downtown at the Ballpark Village site.  I've been looking forward to it for a while.


In years past, we had Rib America downtown in May, but this even sounds even better.  There's going to be Food Truck Alley, which sounds like fun.  Sort of like the Food Truck Fridays held in Tower Grove Park on the 2nd Friday of the month.  

On a side note, before my first "Food Truck Friday", the concept seemed to me like a mall food court.  Lots of options, lots of lines and crappy food.  What I've found is that the food is awesome and affordable.  The lines are there, but having it in Tower Grove Park, or in this case, Downtown at Ballpark Village is a blast as long as the weather cooperates.


There's also going to be a Louisanna Delta-Style Crawfish boil.  I'm not sure what to expect there, but Cajun Food is great, so it should be a nice addition.  


MAYFEST STL also has a great line up of bands.  War, Foghat, Superjam and several other local acts.


This type of event couldn't happen where it is if the vision of Ballpark Village was realized as planned.  Based on the DSLRA meeting with Cordish back in December 2006, the development completed would give the area a strong level of activity when the Cardinals aren't in town.  This weekend (with the Cardinals in LA), could be a test drive for what that might be like.

Get Down to the Ballpark!

Last month we were able to list the Ballpark Lofts! A Blue Urban project, these lofts were long thought to be sold out within 1 day. An NFL style draft was a great concept, but did, combined with the recession, didn't work out past the theory. As downtown specialists, never heard until recently that there were some units that didn't close that had come back on the market.

So today, the buildings completed. The units are spectacular, many having views of the stadium, Stan Musials statue and the Gateway Arch. Spring training starts next week, and in a short time the area surrounding Busch Stadium will take on a new life as it does every year.

We're holding the lofts open today for the first time and we have a special buyer's incentive! Any unit reserved today will receive a custom paint package at closing!

The open house will be from 12pm to 3! We hope to see you there!