Urban Open House!

Sunday night was a great experience!   5:30 dinner at Sen Thai and a walk to the dome for the Rolling Stones.   Downtown was alive and kickin' and it was great to experience.

It's this kind of excitement in the streets when I remembered our DOWNTOWN EVENING OPEN HOUSES as a great way to show off our downtown listings when people are already there;  working or playing.   

This THURSDAY!  The RED HOT Cardinals have a day game at 12:15pm and our Evening Open house at 4:30pm gives time for a bite to eat and a visit to this fantastic loft!     The construction crews will have just left the new soccer stadium 2 blocks away.   See for yourself, what it's like to stick around downtown and enjoy the vibe!  

Check out the listing!

 

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.

100% Participation Required

Downtown residents and all St Louisan's should be at the Ferrara Theater tonight at 6 for the public presentation of the Arch Grounds plan update. 

Considering the Ferrara Theater only seats 14,000, it may be a challenge, but a good opportunity to get acquainted with the community.

The meeting was announced  last week.  The public interest in something so important to the future of St Louis is disappointing.  I know the story though. St Louisan's want to get home to have a quick dinner before American Idol comes on, still working like me, or whatever.  What's clear though, is that the public response to changes in the original plan, and knowledge of the finances of the project are key to completion.  Its how we may be judged as a community, and it does affect our opportunity for growth in the future.

I was talking to a transplant buyer recently who had made the comment about St Louisans being more negative about St Louis than anyone else.  (I did run into a fashion designer several years ago that challenged that assertion).  The way we see it though, is that some folks just miss the boat when it comes to being a part of a process, then stand back and complain about the results after the fact.

DON'T MISS THE BOAT!!

6pm Tonight, January 25th
Ferrara Theater - America's Center
701 Convention Plaza
St Louis, MO 63101


Looking for a Downtown Loft For Sale, Visit our new St Louis Lofts page at 4SaleStLouis.com!

Enjoy Downtown, Workers!

Next Friday will be the Downtown St Louis Employee Apreciation Day. I'm a fan of the concept. Everyone in life obviously has their own perspective, and in watching the Downtown St Louis rebirth over the past several years, the one perspective that doesn't always change quickly is that of the downtown worker.

Years ago, a long time downtown worker was at a party we were attending. I was pumped up about downtown. They seemed drab. "Oh yeah...I remember the last time they tried to change things (talking about when St Louis Centre was built)." While there was a very cool influx of new residences and lots of other new plans, the overall landscape still hadn't changed much. This was in 2005.

At the time, we didn't see many veteran downtown workers climbing onto the downtown bandwagon. The typical buyers were looking
for an edgy neighborhood. Of the folks that worked downtown, most were recent grads that had just began their careers.

As time marched on, so did downtown
progress and the addition of the many things that make it the fastest growing St Louis neighborhood: new restaurants and businesses, more updated homes (both owned and rented), new public spaces and commerce.

At the same party each year, I run into the same veteran downtown worker. While she still doesn't live in a St Louis loft, her attitude about the progress downtown has changed from complete skepticism to appreciation for her improved surroundings.

The Partnership for Downtown St Louis have a great message to all the downtown workers with this years Downtown Employee Appreciation Day and many of their other efforts: ENJOY DOWNTOWN!

Props to CityGarden

On Mother's Day, I went to the art festival at Laumeier Sculpture Park in Southwest St Louis County. Since I'd just hung out for a while in CityGarden the day before, it was hard not to draw comparisons and think about the possibility of an even better event being held adjacent to CityGarden in Downtown St Louis.

As you can see from my drawing, I've never been an artist, but for whatever reason, the sculptures at Laumeier have never really registered with me. Being the only sculpture park I'd ever been to growing up, it just made sense that I wasn't capable of appreciating art.

Fast forward a few decades, and here comes CityGarden.

The drawing shows the general idea I was having at the art festival for Downtown's version of the event. Close of Market Street and line the vendors up along the sidewalks. Depending up on the size, they could run all the way down the Gateway Mall, Kiener Plaza and CityGarden. Music could be right in the middle of CityGarden. Just a thought.


Its no suprise to me that CityGarden won the Urban Land Institute Competition as announced today. Not only are the sculptures interesting and inspiring, but the entire landscape is inviting captivating. I'd have been more suprised had it not won.

Congratulations to the City of St Louis and the Gateway Foundation on this shared achievement!

Clean & Green

Last week I was picking up a future loft buyer at the Hampton Inn downtown and noticed that activity was picking up at the adjacent Urban Garden 2200 Pine. Spring season is upon us and some of the coolest events to participate in are upon us. Operation Brightside and Gateway Greening team up for the Urban Roots project on May 9th and 10th. Getting out and beautifying the urban landscape does a lot for the neighborhood and the region in general.

Also on May 9th, Operation Brightsides clean up St. Louis Project Blitz will take place in Downtown.

Traditionally there has been a good turn out in Downtown for both of these events. There is also the opportunity to buy plants and donate to help make this year's event a success. Visit Operation Brightside or Gateway Greening for more information.

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!