Dicing 
Up
Downtown

We've waited years for the City Alderman to come up with a plan to limit the number of wards in St. Louis.   One of the big factors that's driven me nuts for years is how the reasonably small downtown loft district neighborhoods were separated into 4 different wards.   So basically, the downtown neighborhood was politically marginalized.   All of downtown could vote against a candidate, and they'd hardly count for anything because the bulk of the ward was located elsewhere.

With this downtown marginalization happening for years, our hope was that as the ward boundaries were re-drawn, that Downtown would finally get the representation it needed and deserved.  

Even if downtown was split up, but the loft district area (roughly 11 blocks north of Interstate 64/40 from the riverfront to Jefferson Blvd) was located in one ward, I'd be satisfied.

What's being proposed is that the main residential areas in Downtown and Downtown West, yet again, are split into 3 parts, continuing the tradition of marginalizing Downtown voters and, marginalizing the issues that affect downtown the most.   

Weigh In......

Downtown residents PLEASE speak up and voice concern in one of the ways below:  

http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/aldermen/redistricting

Comments and questions can also be directed to 314-622-4114, by email to redistricting@stlouis-mo.gov or by mail to Board of Aldermen, 1200 Market St., Room 232, St. Louis 63103 Attn: Redistricting.

Vision Limited

STL Celebrates End of WWII on Washington Avenue

Kudos to Nick Pistor and the Post Dispatch for addressing the maintenance problems of the Washington Avenue streetscape in sunday's paper.  It highlighted the games that go on behind the scenes between the City and public utilities and how Washington Avenue's 'special' features are the victim.  To sum up; the agreement for a public utility to tear up the city streets is accompanied by an expectation to patch up the street, but not the extra effort and expense maintaining 'zipper and stitch' paving and 'runway lighting' down the middle of the street.  

What's particularly frustrating about the article is the reality that the city streets department was interviewed, Downtown Inc. CEO was interviewed, and the Neighborhood Association was interviewed.  The impression that the city leadership isn't concerned that the massive investment in Washington Avenue was evident, possibly due to the writer, and maybe its just the way it is.  No inclusion of comments from one of the many alderman for the downtown area or the mayors office was used.  Reading between the lines, this could be one of the many problems with downtown's lack of an exclusively committed alderman.  With downtown split between multiple alderman, the area just isn't important enough to any one of them to fight for what is necesary to keep things looking good.  

The article also addresses the lack of vision in the planning.    Not having funds set aside for maintenance is a common theme.   Its common knowledge that its easier to get millions for a new road or bridge than getting smaller amounts for maintenance and repair of what's already in use.

Hopefully this conversation keeps going.  

The last thing we need is a light shined on a problem downtown but no further action.  Between the neighborhood and Downntown STL, Inc., STL City leaders need to know that this issue isn't going away.   

Homeless Town Hall Meeting Tomorrow Night -- Be There Loft Dwellers!

In 2004, we started working downtown by listing a really cool loft at the Knickerbocker Lofts. 

At that point, the downtown neighborhood was a doormat.  There seemingly was an editorial slant that people living downtown were arrogant and whiny; called "loft dwellers" they were presented negatively.  Problems in other areas had neighborhood feedback and referred to residents, concerned citizens, or home owners.  

Other than the media bias, the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods seemed were the dumping grounds for the area.  Visitors to the neighborhood would urinate on buildings and drop trash and think it was ok.  Even worse, Downtown St Louis seemed to be the solution to all other areas vagrancy problems.  It wasn't uncommon to see police cars from outside the city dropping off "new downtown residents" to shelters around the neighborhood.

Our listing at the Knickerbocker gave us a front row seat for some of the problems downtown;  especially that of homelessness.  

In those days, Lucas Park was the scene of most problems with the homeless.   Being homeless itself isn't what bothered the residents downtown, but public urination, public intoxication, public bathing in park fountains, pan-handling, drug dealing, sleeping on park benches, loitering and illegal feeding stations were problems that wear on people.  Downtown residents were looking for a change.  That's where the media bias came in.  Any effort to address the problems associated with the homeless created a classic battle between the "haves" and the "have nots", both in the press, with City Government and with the Police.  City government was even more complicated in that the Downtown Neighborhood has three different Alderman and the neighborhood was seemingly on the 'outskirts' of all three wards.  Lastly, population was a problem.   Downtown wasn't very populous (about 3500 folks), so it was easy for various entities to view any problem as minor since it didn't involve many people.  Thankfully, things have changed since 2004.

Homelessness and its side effects are still downtown.  The voice of the downtown residents and business owners have been heard by the city and downtown continues to improve.  

Now the Downtown Population is around 14,000, and the voice of the downtown residents continues to be important.  

Tomorrow night there is a meeting where the voice of downtown residents will be particularly useful.  

Downtown Hall Meeting
9/17/2013
Christ Church Cathedral 1210 Locust Street
7-8:30pm


According to the flyer, there will be a brief presentation followed by a town hall discussion.  
Without downtown residents at meetings like this, the meetings can be largely dominated by folks with their heart in the right place, but with little realistic perspective on what the homeless problems are and worse off, no concern for the well being of Downtown St. Louis neighborhood.  

So for those of you who care about the continued improvement of the downtown area and the increase in downtown real estate values, plan on being there.  Especially if you are willing to participate in the discussion.  What we don't need is a one sided discussion without the voice of the downtown residents.

Quarterly DSLRA Meeting Wednesday!

Curb Appeal for Downtown

Something we've noticed about major downtown developments is that their often times seems to be very little public awareness or talk about the project until its done.  And why should there be?  Unless someone is the developer, owner, or financier, they aren't involved and the long term project tends to carry less publicity unless there's something controversial.  Even then, as is the case of Northside Regeneration, there's talk and controversy, but still few hard facts about what will be done.

CityArchRiver could possibly be an exception.

So far, as a public project, there's been more open houses and meetings.  They've got me excited.  Now, the plan is to form a citizens board to assist in carrying out the plan.

What's really nice about that is that civic minded DOWNTOWN RESIDENTS, as well as citizens from the surrounding area can share their time to ensure the project is completed in the best interests of the community.

My fear is that good folks from Chesterfield, Arnold, St Charles (where they didn't even put the tax measure on the ballot) or elsewhere will dominate the decision process with a largely pro-tourist bias.  The Downtown neighborhood has the most to benefit, we need some downtown residents to participate!

Visit the CityArchRiver website to get an application for the Citizens Advisory Committee and build Downtown St Louis' curb appeal for your home today! 

Printable Application?  Click Here!

Post Election Politico

After election day, the last thing I want to see for a long time is a political comercial.  Despite my wishes, the Annual Downtown Residents Association Meeting will be on Wednesday, and one of the attendees (or more, not mentioning any names) is just beginning his run for office in next years election.  

The topics of the evening appear to be updates on many of the exciting things going on Downtown, but nothing new.  The topic, Revitalization of Downtown St Louis, is something we sort of take for granted.  Its almost cliche.  There have been strong, consistent forces at work for over a decade to turn around the St Louis Downtown, starting in 1999 when Clarence Harmon's administration launched DOWNTOWN NOW.  

With the economic and commercial real estate slow down starting to fade more into history, projects that have been in formation for years are coming out of mothballs and being reformed for today's world.

Watching these Downtown St Louis Residents Association meetings go on for years, the interesting thing is that the meetings content can be useful, productive, and extremely important at all times.   For whatever reason, having the Mayor as a guest seems to pull up the attendance.

Two large, but less publicized topics to be addressed that I want to see is the development of the Chemical and Arcade Buildings.  Interestingly, the Syndicate Trust project was a collaboration of a Minneapolis developer and St Louis based Loftworks.  Steps away, we'll now have two other Minneapolis area developers investing into the St Louis area.  How well these projects are handled will have a major impact on the Downtown St Louis are for decades.  A good mix of vibrant street level retail and updated office or residential in these locations will serve as the anchor for the downtown economy.  We should hear some information on those places Wednesday.

This downtown meeting is a must.  Not just to sit and listen, but to build synergy in a neighborhood where residents participate in the success of their surroundings.

Downtown Residents MEETING TONIGHT

Residents downtown that have any interest in keeping the Downtown neighborhood a vibrant, fun place to live should be at Christ Church Cathedral this evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm for the DSLRA Town Hall Meeting!

Downtown business owners should be there too.

All the Alderman should be there, as well as a Visual Study presentation, some information from the Partnership For Downtown St Louis and the Police.
RESIDENTS UNITE!

Cassilly Memorial

I went to Downtown St Louis back in the spring of 1996 to see an art show at this "weird museum" downtown.    It was my first experience in seeing the City Museum and my first chance to see a downtown loft.  We've been back to the City Museum with kids, to list the lofts, to rent them and with buyer's, but I never had the opportunity of meeting the late founder Bob Cassilly, or know much about him.   Working in the same neighborhood and benefiting so much from his contributions to the area, it was nice to see such a long article in this months (January) St Louis magazine about the life of Bob Cassilly.  The online article isn't the complete 4 page article that's in the magazine.

Normally, when someone contributes so much to an area, there are ceremonies and notoriety that comes along with it.  The absence of that almost makes it seem like Bob was taken for granted.  That could be the case, but from the article and everything else, it seemed that type of recognition was avoided while Bob was alive.

1.  At this point, my first wish is that City Museum stays what it is and somehow the vision for Cementland is completed.  It may take years, but in seeing what contributions have been made downtown and elsewhere in St Louis, its just what the doctor ordered for the north riverfront area.

2.  My second wish is that we honor the persistent requests of rock legend, Carlos Santana, and build a statue of Miles Davis.  I would say wish #2 should be to build a statue to honor Bob Cassilly, but Carlos Santana has been asking for St Louis to recognize Miles Davis for 2 decades.

3.  Build a statue of Bob Cassilly.  This request goes to the Partnership for Downtown St Louis and to the Downtown St Louis Residents Association.  Someone needs to pick up the ball.    Why this seems urgent to me is that if it doesn't happen Downtown, it will somewhere else.  From reading the magazine article, Bob seemed to have roots all over town:  Kirkwood, Lafayette Square, Webster Groves, Dogtown.  His work was all over town, and across the country.  

  

We can do better than this!

.    

State of the Market: 2011, Coming Soon!

My annual market review is a pretty deal at LoftsintheLou.com, so what can I do to prepare.   A day at the City Museum, of course!  Other than several stiff drinks, nothing helps me to forget the real world better than hanging out with kids at the City Museum.   


Suprisingly, the real estate market is busy now.  Usually things slow down quite a bit at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This year we were running all the way up to the later holiday.  Despite that, the idea of showing all the loft sales for the year makes me nervous.


Back in the glory days of downtown real estate, I remember telling other agents that my seller's were "motivated".  That's a generic way of saying they want to do a deal.  


I say that about all my listings.  


In reality, I didn't know what 'motivated' meant back then, when seller's were making money, selling lofts they owned for a few months or more.  2011 was the year of the motivated seller.  


Of course, being the year of the motivated seller wasn't all that bad.  From 2008-2010 these same sellers may have been waiting to sell, and just rented their place out, or maybe went into foreclosure as they just didn't see the market rebounding quickly enough.  In 2011 some St Louis loft owners just lost patience and decided to sell......whatever it took.    Prices will reflect that.  


We've also seen some banks go this year.  


At the end of 2010, the bank that owned the remaining Dorsa Lofts went under and the FDIC took over where they left off in selling the remainder of the building.  The FDIC is a motivated seller.  Prices were slashed.  They weren't messing around.  The building was such a great deal, that it sold out quickly, which was good for the building and for Downtown.  


Some of the other bank owned sales were priced low.  Too low.  One that comes to mind was a 2 bedroom 2 bath in the Terra Cotta Lofts that went on the market on July 3rd.  Despite being on a holiday, the unit had 3 offers on it within days.  It was priced a hideously low $124,900.  I understand foreclosures, but that space had no business being priced that low.  


The rental market was the real hot spot in Downtown this year, with the completion of the Laurel and the Park Pacific.   Adding several hundred new rental units to the Downtown St Louis market had very little impact on demand or rental rates.   It did, as it always does, seem to give a shot in the arm to many of the Downtown businesses with more popularity and more residents.     I anxiously await the opening of the National Blues Museum at 601 Washington sometime in 2013.   The first event of the future Washington Avenue venue was last August and was a fantastic time!  We had a staycation planned Downtown for that weekend, and had given up on the Cardinals for the year, so the Bluesweek was the high light of the weekend.  


Another hot spot for 2011, on a personal level, was being interviewed by the St Louis Business Journal,  Post Dispatch and also for an article on "How to Buy a Loft" in Time.  


Of course, didn't I feel like a jerk when the Cardinals I had left for dead came back and won the Fall Classic?  Talk about great events and a shot in the arm for Downtown.  

So as soon as we can close out the books for downtown real estate in 2011, look for my breakdown of sales for the year here at LoftsintheLou.com.   For a quick look at what's available in the St Louis real estate market, including great deals on foreclosures, visit our new and improved site at www.4SaleStLouis.com.

Holiday Cheer!

'Tis the Season to shop downtown!  

With the Republican debates going on and almost nothing else taking on so much of the news cycle, its tough to talk more about the economy.  One thing that will help the economy is for the people who support downtown the most, its residents, to consider the shops and restaurants downtown as possible holiday gifts for friends and family.

A gift card to Mango would make me happy!  Santa (above) may have bought those pants from Eve's Apple Vintage by the Meridian.  Some artwork from the new 10th Street Gallery would really make someone's Christmas bright.

Having worked downtown for a while now, I've always noticed how excited residents get when a new place opens up close by, and how disappointed if it doesn't make it.   Vote with your feet and help downtown businesses have Happy Holidays too!

At It Again.....DSLRA

Yesterday when I was waiting to show some Syndicate Condos, I was really impressed with the latest publication produced downtown by the Downtown St Louis Residents Association sitting in the lobby.

DSLRA is best if you participate, but between their new hard copy publication and their facebook page they do a fantastic job of PR to help people get an idea about some of the benefits of downtown living.

Different neighborhoods need associations for different reasons. In the 'burbs, maintaining common ground or lobbying a municiple government, but in downtown, there's a special reason: not everyone knows how or why to live downtown. As much as I hate to admit it, living downtown is still a novelty to some. Having a strong residents group gives new residents an oppotunity to plug in to the area and find out whats going on. It puts the veteran urbanist together with someone living here for the first time, and having two good PR sources, shares that message with the person "on the fence" about living downtown.

When we have open houses, we run into lots of folks "thinking" about living in Downtown St Louis. DSLRA is a great place to send them.

One problem with DSLRA that seems to be difficult for many small organizations is the rotating voluntary leadership. Sometimes the group is visible, active and thriving. After a while, leaders step down and new folks step in that aren't as motivated or savvy. Momentum is lost, members drift away.

Its exciting to see things picking back up, especially since downtown population contintues to grow.

WAY TO GO DSLRA!!!