Build It and They Will Come

The most stable blocks in Downtown West are moving towards a new level of completion. At 1224 Washington, the Roberts Galllerie & Lofts construction began this week.

An era ended this week as the Downtown Childrens Center vacated its location beneath the Knickerbocker Lofts to move down Washington into the newly completed Motor Lofts building. Our kids started at DCC a few months ago and love it. The new facilities have lost the "urban funk" feeling, which seems to have everyone pretty happy.

The vacancy puts that space into the hands of Kevin McGowan & Urban Blue, which will definately put the space to good use. (Never to be relied upon) word on the street is that a restaurant and 3 retail spaces will result.

Also, at the opposite end of the block, Riley Waldrop purchased the old Marte's Shoe store and plan on converting it to more boutique style clothing and accessory stores.

The street traffic and presence on these two blocks can definately support this type of development and added retail, particularly as residents continue to take advantage of some of the great deals on lofts. It's exciting to see these key locations being developed, I can't wait!

Thankfully Downtown

Holidays have lots of traditions. That's especially true for downtown.

Usually, my Thanksgiving traditions were pretty much limited to listening to Alice's Restaurant on KSHE and then heading off to the family feast.

This year was different.

The morning festivities started with the Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is an ongoing event. Not being much of a parade person isn't an excuse when there are little ones involved. The boys went crazy over the parade. We pulled up next door to the Hilton at the Ballpark for my selfish need to be close to Starbucks. What impressed me the most was participants attempt to pretend it wasn't cold outside. Miss Soulard was dressed like it was a warm summer day. Her face told the true story. She looked miserable. We saw Santa then hit the road (he was appropriately dressed).

Our next event was a bit more challenging. Hosting a feast for 23. What made it more complicated was the home it was to be held in is still under construction. Thanks to our friend in the Kingbee building, we were able to use her space to host the family.

Hosting 23 people from around the metro area, most of which have never been in a loft was interesting. Our thought when we announced that we were moving the celebration downtown was that people would be hesitant. "The ONLY reason they're coming (into the city) is to see your new house!" my mother-in-law explained. We were delighted by the actual response though. Everyone was thrilled to be downtown. Being inside a loft excited the whole bunch.

Between dinner and dessert, we piled into 3 minivans and pressed further into the city to visit the downtown Macy's. A tradition that my elders couldn't stop talking about. "We used to always come to Famous Barr downtown to see the windows", I heard several accounts. My thoughts recalled the articles I've read through the years regarding the decline of downtown. For years and years, our region revolved less and less around the downtown area. An article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch in 1997 (2 years before the first loft condo building was completed) said that if our region was going to compete in the 21st century, that we would need to address the problems with our downtown.

When we got to Macy's, there was a pretty good crowd traversing from window to window around the store. The window displays were well done. The response was good too. Keeping track of the 9 kids in our vans was the priority, by this time they weren't to excited about forming an orderly procession from window to window. Hearing the positive remarks about downtown development was nice, but being able to say that so much more is on the way was even better.

Happy Holidays!

Ready, Set, Bowl!

Some thought it wouldn't happen, some thought it would never get done. But for all you bowlers out there, and everyone else, the Flamingo Bowl is finally coming!

Set to open December 14th, Joe Edwards told the St. Louis Business Journal that he already has booking requests. Also, he said he was doing it out of a love for St. Louis.

Downtown Bowling means more to downtown than just another bowling alley. It means one more thing we can do downtown without having to travel. Priceless!

We'll see you on the lanes!

Demand Continues to Expand

The downtown loft market continues to surge. So says Lisa Brown, real estate reporter for the St. Louis Business Journal in this morning's edition. Interesting timing, really. The article headlines the fast pace and talks about the Syndicate building. The Syndicate is scheduled to start closings within the next few weeks, Dorsa has already begun closings. So between the surge in existing loft sales that has taken place in the past two months and longer range sales that should consumate before 12/31, we are on pace to nearly double the sales downtown from 2006.

What slump?!?

Ok, so there's still a few developer's with mounds of unsold inventory. Despite the value and the recent uptick in sales, existing lofts are still sitting on the market. I do applaud the Business Journal's latest article for its positive perspective. As we hear all the time, or maybe that's just me, the St. Louis market is in pretty good shape considering the mess elsewhere.

Because we're finally taking advantage of our urban core (anywhere else this repository of 19th Century architecture would be priceless) we're ceasing to be the forgotten city. Real estate articles in the mid-90's, St. Louis wasn't even a city under consideration, now we're starting to regain our standing in the world.

PS. It's good to see we didn't make Forbes list of 20 MOST OBESE CITIES!

Leadership Downtown

As a business leader and downtown resident Mike Finan has made his mark on the Loft district! Mike was drawn to downtown 4+ years ago when he relocated from Kirkwood. He just finished rehabbing a condo in downtown Kirkwood but still wanted more of an exciting, urban feel. He explored downtown and came across the Louderman Lofts by Loftworks. For him it was home. He was Sold on Downtown!

In October of 2004 Mike began his business UMA( located @ 1100 Locust, with UMA Dot Spot is just two doors down at 313 N. 11th street.) The concept for these stores emerged out of frustration with trying to locate affordable accessories that reflected a modern sleek look for his own loft. UMA is a contemporary store that offers unique home accessories not found elsewhere in the St. Louis area. UMA has evolved in a variety of ways. It now is 3X the original size having 5 employees & 2 store fronts. The accessory line has grown & reflects a variety of edgy items such as a hammock chair, wall mounted wine rack, hand sculpted sconces for coats and much more. They have incorporated trendy Blu Dot furniture not found locally that has high design but a moderate price & Tivoli audio systems that hold great sound and are technologically advanced. Mike is always introducing fresh items that are unique to the area.

When asked about the affects of the highway 40 shut down, Mike states that it may change his customer base a bit, but many shoppers come in on the weekends so he expects continual growth. His clients are loyal & he feels the 40 shut-down might actually increase foot traffic downtown as many work & play in the city.

Along with his business growth & success he loves life in the city. He says that while the growth is amazing, he can still walk down the street and be greeted by many. Mike stresses that downtown continues to get the added stores & commerce it needs to become a residentially friendly neighborhood. He alludes to the much rumored Schnucks Market that has ownership of a local garage and supposal plans to open in the future. There are tons of great restaurants, banks, dry cleaners, shops, city grocers & much more now and slated in the future. If downtown doesn’t have it, the surrounding city does! Home Depot, Target, Walgreens & more! Everything is within a few miles or just a short drive away. Mike feels as a downtown resident his job is to shop in the city. Supporting our local commerce is what will make the City of St. Louis thrive and grow.

It was a privilege to meet with Mike so I could talk to him about the city & help share his experience. He had a vision and has been very successful in his business as well as being a constant supporter of downtown. If you have not been by UMA I encourage you to stop in to see what is available. You will find great home accessories and holiday gifts for your loved ones. You’ll be compelled to return over and over again!

Downtown Sculpture Park

More green space is coming to downtown St. Louis. According to an article by the post dispatch the city’s Preservation Board gave unanimous approval for the 20 Million Dollar sculpture park that will be created on the gateway mall. A group called the Gateway Foundation, a private agency that has placed art installations around the region, is paying for the project. This project will help create another aesthetically pleasing outdoor space in downtown St. Louis. It will be near the new Old Post Office Plaza.
Investment in green projects, such as this sculpture park are useful ways to attract business and residents to the region. St. Louis has a special taxing district called the Great Rivers Greenway District which, according to its website, uses a 1/10th of 1% sales tax to work“for a clean, green, connected St. Louis region. To deliver its mission, Great Rivers Greenway is spearheading the development of The River Ring, an interconnected system of greenways, parks and trails that will encircle the St. Louis region, enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors." The Chouteau Greenway

My take on the tour

The Downtown Living tour seems to be like taking a drink off a fire hose; both for the participants as well as the workers. According to the Downtown St. Louis Partnership's Matt Schindler, there were over 1200 people registered. There was many more not registered, just walking the route looking at open houses.

One thing that those in my profession look for is the number of people who want to buy (or rent) downtown. They gauge the success or failure of the tour based on the number of true "prospects."

I disagree.

The best thing about the downtownt living tour is that it gives so many of the people who don't want to live downtown a perspective on living that they may not experience otherwise.

Getting the general public to see what downtown living is all about is important! Occasionally I hear about people wanting to live downtown and getting flak from parents, co-workers etc. The tour is for these people. We need to continue to encourage people to check out the urban lifestyle whether they are ready to climb aboard or not. So many people in St. Louis still
look at downtown living as such a novelty. It's scary how slow some people are at accepting changes.

As for the prospective buyer's, I'm more afraid than happy for them. The loft tour really is like getting a drink from a firehose. Many of the people we met were overwhelmed this weekend. Overwhelmed and caught in the hype is not a good position to be in when making such an important decision.

One positive note though, the loft district is finally looking like it's growing up. Most loft districts start out with the young and creative class building up and preserving the city, followed by the more mature owners coming in behind to add stability and clout. If this tour was any indication, the more mature buyer has found out about downtown. My guess is that they'll be coming soon.

Tea For Two

So I am really excited with the changes I see along Washington Ave. I was told that I must stop by The London Tea Room located on the 1st floor of the Ely Walker Loft @ 1520 Washington. I was impressed with the friendly staff & selection of drinks & foods. The teas are unique and have a true European flair & there is something for everyone, even the non tea drinkers. I also enjoyed a very tasty sandwich & a chocolate molten dessert that melted in your mouth!

This is a fresh concept down in the loft district. It feels like home and a place that downtown residents will love.

Attached to the tea room they have a huge furniture showroom. This store was ironically located out in West County and they moved to the city. In speaking with one of the designers they stated they have a large list of clients from all over including Central West End, the Loop, and Even Illinois! The furniture concept is unique and has a strong European edge. You really don’t expect this fresh surprise to be located in the heart of St. Louis’s Loft district. It is great to see that the stores are catching on & they feel that their growth lies on Washington Avenue.

If you are down around town stop in to this unique addition to the loft world! It’s certainly an enjoyable experience!

Help Your Neighbors!

We will be participating again this year in the Downtown Living Tour on October 13th and 14th and we need help!

In the past, downtown residents have helped out by working with the Downtown Partnership to staff developer's showrooms. Help Your Neighbors! We're looking for people willing to spend a few hours talking with tour attendees about downtown living and the awesome community that we have in the urban core. There can be stories written about how supporting the existing loft market will do more for downtown area now.

Drop us a line! We'd love to have you!

Free Public Transportation

Commerce Bank and Metro are bringing free public transportation to St. Louis, at least for a day. Throughout the month of October you can pick up a free metro pass at any Commerce Bank location in St. Louis City, County, or the Metro East. The pass will allow the use of Metrolink and Metro Bus for a whole day, anytime throughout 2007. Don't know where to begin using Metrolink or MetroBus? Go to Metro's home page, they have a feature called "Trip Finder," which allows an easy search of the best way to get anywhere in the St. Louis Region, when you need to get there. Just plug in the origin point, the destination, and the time of departure. "Trip Finder" will figure out how to get there and how long it will take. Highway 40 will be shutting down soon. This is a good opportunity to see how public transportation in St. Louis works. While your using Metro, think about ways the system could be improved. How could it be more efficient? Where else, would you like downtown to be linked to via public transportation?

Downtown Residents, Unite!

Tonight at the Dubliner is the quarterly residents meeting of the Downtown St. Louis Residents Association.

When buyer's walk around downtown looking for a loft home, lots of questions come up. Is it safe? What development is going on? How stable is the neighborhood? What is the appreciation?

Participation in DSLRA is all about these questions and placing the influence of the residents on what happens downtown. Plus, the added benefit of involvement, is the benefit of being a part of the tight knit downtown community instead of just living in it.

The meeting starts at 7, but Two of the downtown aldermen will be present, so show up early. Help DSLRA help YOU!Flyer

Meeting Agenda

Corporate Relocation, Downtown Style

Centene Corporation announced its plan to move to Downtown St. Louis and into Ballpark Village.

In hearing about the original plans of Ballpark Village, it seemed that there was a missing piece. Cordish and Cardinals exec's talked about the site attracting people all year long, not just during baseball season. They also mentioned that the towers that seemed to excite so many were really optional, and that they would be built as part of the protracted development AFTER all the parking, retail and entertainment was established. At the time, it seemed as if we needed another element, like a corporate headquarters. Having a few, or maybe 1200 more people showing up for work, dining in the restaurants, using the space will undoubtedly help such a monumental project to really establish itself into the area.

There's certainly going to be those who agonize over the fact that approximately $102 million worth of subsidies are a part of the $250 million overall deal. I tend to agree with the mayor on this one. This move, assuming it comes together completely, is one big piece of the urban renaissance taking shape. The payoffs for the region and the city will surely outweigh the costs.

Now we can focus on getting pro-soccer and the NBA!

The Train, The Train!

Downtown has lots of meetings. One important one is scheduled for this week regards the prospective expansion through the city from north to south. At this point, we're just talking about a study. Community involvement is key. The meeting is in south city tonight and downtown on Thursday. Click Here for the Meeting Flyer

Show us and be a part of our strong steps forward as we establish a world class public transit system in St. Louis.

The Economic Web of Downtown St. Louis

Downtown St. Louis used to be a pretty dreary place. The places that I walk today with prospective loft buyers are the same streets I walked as a much younger college kid looking for a wild night out. When I walk downtown today, the first thing I see are, like many people, loft buildings with big banners and ads enticing people to embrace an urban lifestyle in St. Louis. Unfortunately, to many, only these lofts seem to stand out as a single lonely blip on the radar of what's new in town.

But wait, could there be more? Can St. Louis have more than just a few loft buildings and a big steel arch?

Fifteen years ago, with the population of residents downtown at anemic levels, the downtown economy pretty much boiled down to the 80-90,000 people commuting in to work daily, the St. Louis Cardinals, and a few late night clubs. Factories were mostly shuttered, and retail was pathetic. Tourism existed, but why? The entire downtown area folded up at 5pm.

Dramatic plus that our urban renaissance has created is that the glut of class "A" and "B" office space downtown has disappeared. Buildings once open at barely surviving capacity have been reinvented as lofts and hotels.

The ongoing increase in population downtown has prompted a new need for services and retail that doesn't close at 5pm. This need has been slowly changing the downtown streetscape to a blighted appearance to that of a trendy metropolis.

Some major key investments by the community was the building of Americas Center, Edward Jones Dome, and Scottrade Center. Despite having a world class convention center, most large convention committees try to assess the area surrounding the convention center as well. Conventioneers complained of no life, sparse restaurants, and very little entertainment.

Bringing both residents and retail into our downtown area has helped our convention bureau to generate a buzz about our town and to lure the type of large scale events that are coveted by cities across the country.

With residents, housing, retail, entertainment and tourism all on the rise, what comes next? The final piece of the puzzle is more commercial. Fifteen years ago, any merger involving a downtown business or even lease renewals seemed to have a familiar tone. Businesses and jobs were abandoning the city for St. Louis county, or worse yet, outside of the region completely. With a more positive environment and housing among the most affordable in the nation, companies can begin to eye downtown St. Louis as a strong contender to start or move their business in. Just within the past 6 months, St. Louis is experiencing the obvious benefits of our improving community. Currently AG Edwards and Wachovia are merging and instead of another St. Louis based corporate headquarters leaving town (TWA, McDonnell Douglas, etc.) the retail security division of Wachovia is moving here. We have already experienced the influx of more new residents into the St. Louis community. Another possible situation with Centene in Clayton, considering a move out of the region, is also considering a move Downtown.

The real gift is that this cylce can continue to repeat itself until our downtown is the thriving downtown that it once was.

Dinner and a ball game!

JBuck’s business is booming at the new downtown location! And what a better spot to open a place… only 400 yards away from the ballpark! What took so long?? The downtown location has many great features. The roof top dining area is great place to have a private party and can be rented for any occasion. The main dining room has many of the buildings original features such as original pocket doors and original flooring.

Here is a little fact about the restaurant named JBucks. Ted Geiger the owner of the restaurant approached Jack Buck many years ago with the idea of opening a Jack Buck “themed” restaurant. Mr. Buck at the time was not too keen on the idea, stating he felt he would have to be there all the time. Well Mr. Geiger did not take no for an answer. He went to Jack’s daughter Julie and asked her knowing a father could never say no to his daughter! Well Jack finally came around and said “yes” as long as it would be named “JBuck’s” J standing for Jack, Joe and Julie.

Now the restaurant is as well known as the name it represents one of the world’s best broadcasters! Kudos to The DSLP and Mr. Geiger for bringing yet another fine eating establishment to the ever growing downtown area!

Too Big For One

The vision for Lofts in the Lou was simple. To have a site that promotes the downtown renaissance, looks at pressing issues to the downtown community, and offers insight on real estate matters that one seeking to buy or sell in downtown St. Louis would find helpful.

Downtown's storied growth in the past few years is taking some pretty large strides right now. It's been overwhelming. Where can we even start?

My real estate team, consisting of Lisa Grus, Dean Ritchie, and Howard McAuliffe, decided that it was time for them to get involved in sharing their views and adding it to the vision of what this blog is about. Starting today, look for an expanded point of view and hopefully more useful information about the awesome downtown neigbhorhood.

Help the Balancing Act

According to the mayor's blog post, the city's TIF commission will be meeting soon to discuss whether new developments should receive the benefit of Tax Increment Financing.

I'm not sure why, but I tend to be a sucker for giving public money incentives to people trying to make better use out of our city and its property. I know the downside and I know some downtown residents that can think of better uses for their taxes.

I'm also a sucker for our civic responsibility and a good meeting (The city is hosting one next month). There may be lots of time to talk after the decisions are made, but the right time would be at the meeting. Show up!

Beauty and the Beast

Two subjects that often come up in my day to day work with loft buyer's in St. Louis: The subprime mortgage meltdown and the number of new construction lofts downtown.

Interestingly, the two subjects are related.

The beast is that loft buyer's that sign contracts for new construction often times have a significant wait before the finished product is available. The lending industry is always changing its guidelines. It's a daily thing, but lately it's become more dramatic.

When I reserved my loft at the Dorsa, I worked under the assumption that I would use 100% financing via a conventional loan and then a "piggyback" 20% loan. Who knew. Today, "piggyback" loans are part of the banking industry's steping away from the sub-prime lending business.

The positive thing, as a rule, is that most loft buyer's have exceptional credit and can still qualify for this type of lending. One lender I spoke to today that works a lot downtown said that some of the larger banks were offering incentive discount financing to counteract all the negative hype.

The beauty. Where do we start?

As a rule, traditional bank underwriting says, "If it makes sense, do it." That type of conventional wisdom gave way to the lending mantra of the new millenium, "If it doesn't make sense, do it--or else our competition will". This overindulgence by banks seeking growth and profits is not just about home buying as the news media may have us thinking. Easy money has been a big part of the business world as well, especially in the world of merger's and aquisitions and development.

In development, getting financing is viewed that the plan provided has been reviewed and is acceptable. That it will be a good project since the bank approved the idea and is giving the money. In our era though, banks overly eager to lend has put developer's in some places where they have inventory that they can't sell. The plan just didn't live up to its vision.

Prior to the recent media outrage over subprime mortgages, lenders quietly started tightening up on their standards. Developer's used to require only 25% of the building to be reserved before construction lending began. Now developer's are faced with having 40% UNDER CONTRACTS. Hopefully along these lines the contracts will be scrutinized a bit more carefully as well. Having the developer sell units to themselves or their dead relatives shouldn't fly.

In last weeks St. Louis Business Journal, a decent article described the supply and demand of lofts downtown. The only problem with the article, was that it played to they hype, and it failed to recount the recent history of developments in St. Louis.
Out of the 1528 units projected to be completed between 2008 and 2010, how many of these projects will succeed with the tighter lending practices? How many will be delayed by 1-2 years? How many will be revamped into a more marketable Class A office space?

Looking at the city's development website, or past copies of the "Downtown Report" published by the Post Dispatch, we see lots of projects that are slated to be completed but due to the market, are pushed off or cancelled all together. Pyramid principal John Steffen was quoted as saying that "the final decision (on whether a project is residential, condo, commercial, etc.) will be based on market demand."

The bottom line is that the so called credit crunch is a GOOD THING! It may sting for a bit, but the result is financial responsibility and sanity, and that's just what the doctor ordered.

A Good Shortlist to Make

I got a call from a telemarketer today. When asking about business questions, he commented that he was interested in becoming a real estate investor. Currently in LA, he asked what the local market was like.

Apparently it's not that bad.

Forbes magazine published their list of top seller's markets and based on thier criteria, St. Louis made the top 5. Not bad at all.

Of course, a buyer's or seller's market can be as specific as a single block. St. Louis has generally been a good safe bet in terms of real estate investment values.

Thoughts on homelessness?

The mayor's blog has a mini poll that may be of some interest to the downtown community.

Of interest to me was that a majority of people didn't favor a "crackdown" on charities that feed homeless in public places.

It seems that this question may be handled differently by the majority if the public park in question was one they took their kids to, or was located across the street from their home. Also the wording, "cracking down on charities", that just sounds wrong, doesn't it?

The rennaisance downtown will recieve a substantial boost when the city finds a way to move the public feeding at Lucas Park. After all, we may not be able to completely eliminate homelessness, but should we be showcasing it?

Participate in this poll though. The voice of downtown should be heard.

St. Louis Downtown Living Tour and Kayak Extravaganza

Some people like rain. They say that it helps things grow. After the downpour and intense wind destroyed our display tent, we thought about throwing in the towel. Who would still be around?

Yesterday's tour seemed to go into hyperdrive after the rains. We moved inside the Jewel Lofts entry at 1511 Washington and went to work.

This year I was impressed by the number of boomers that were wanting to be downtown. The Jewel Loft Condominiums, just being released, seemed to have a large collection of people with serious interest. More to follow on these spaces, but in general, the size and quality of finish of these "soft lofts" stand out from what else is available downtown.

The tour seems to be less and less about the neighborhood and the completed lofts than it used to be. I remember when the partnership had to ask residents to be a part of the tour--which is what many other areas still do. Now the tour is more like a jaunt through the many showrooms looking exclusively at new construction.

One comment that stuck with me from yesterday was from a downtown resident that said that many of the participants knew only of thier project but virtually nothing about downtown St. Louis. That may be the case, but this tour I'm seeing that there is less and less being put into "window dressing" for the area and more and more that downtown is standing in it's own light. Plastered pictures covering up board ups has been replaced by new restaurants and retail and, of course LOFTS.

The tour starts today at NOON. The weather should be clear. I hope to see you there.

St. Louis' Loss

St. Louis lost a friend yesterday. Marti Frumhoff, a colleague and part of the driving force of the St. Louis renaissance passed away.

She was one of my hero's, and will be sadly missed by all--whether we knew her or not. That's just the type of person she was.

Services will be held at Central Reform Congregation tomorrow (5/18/07) at 1pm.
5020 Waterman Ave.
Saint Louis, MO 63108
Phone: (314) 361-1564
Fax: (314) 361-2842

Virtual Memorial page

St. Louis Loft Sales in April

It's about time to start taking my carpal tunnel treatment. Sales have been a bit crazy in the past few weeks, rightfully so. There isn't a better feeling than spending time downtown in the spring and summer. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Of course, highway construction could have a bit to do with peoples buying decisions. As lane closures and gridlock continue to build, the "downtown living bug" could reach epidemic proportions. Either way, the spring selling season is upon us and home sales are on the rise.

Here are the loft sales for last month:

1709 Washington #502----------------------------$153,000
2035 Washington #407----------------------------$164,940
2035 Washington #408----------------------------$166,572
2035 Washington #202----------------------------$167,024
1136 Washington #208----------------------------$171,000
2035 Washington #308----------------------------$172,099
1136 Washington #712----------------------------$190,000
2035 Washington #208----------------------------$190,300 YEAH JH!
1136 Washington #400----------------------------$197,000
1136 Washington #410----------------------------$218,000
1136 Washington #704----------------------------$229,000
1123 Washington #503----------------------------$229,900
1123 Washington #508----------------------------$231,000
703 N 13th #404 --------------------------------$265,000
721 N 17th #401-------------------------------$278,500 WHO ROCKS THE PARTY?
1123 Washington #218----------------------------$290,920
400 S 14th #1218--------------------------------$391,500
1121 Locust #302--------------------------------$425,825

Average Price per Square Foot=$178.63

Dear Young Professional,

"I have a question for you - I'm a "young professional," as we are often called, and am considering buying a loft downtown. My main concern is that if I want to sell the place in a few years in exchange for a place in the burbs, there won't be a market for it with all the new lofts that are being developed and the limited sales at this point in time. As the closest thing to a resident expert, what are your thoughts?"

My thoughts are varied. First of all, the fear that downtown St. Louis will be developed beyond sustainable population levels is a misconception. Downtown development is market driven. While the real estate market has been slower in the past year, most developments that have offered a good product for a reasonable price have continued to sell. Developments that are over-priced or lack certain features have struggled. My primary thought is BUY SMART! A good value will hold up regardless of what the market is doing.

My second thought, as a real estate professional, is that home ownership of any kind generally doesn't usually yield a positive return on investment within just a couple years. Our lofts have been an exception to that general rule for the past few years, particularly if they are purchased as "pre-construction." The only problem in that scheme is that most 1st time buyer's are wanting to buy to have a place to live and can't wait the year plus time frame for a pre-construction building to be completed.

Overall, my thought may seem biased, but work with a specialist (buyer's agent). The development companies that build lofts almost always have a sales force that is more than willing to assist you in buying THEIR product from start to finish. A skilled Realtor will usually expose a buyer to all possibilities downtown including new construction. This is free, and as a process, it seems to educate the buyer about the entire market. I generally listen to a buyer and really try to get them to evaluate all areas too. We've worked with potential loft buyer's that end up using us to buy homes in St. Charles or elsewhere in the St. Louis area. Sometimes prospective buyer's decide that renting for another year will work.

Lastly, after living downtown, the thought of trading a loft for a place in the 'burbs will make you nauseous. You'll probably decide on a house in one of the other fantastic city neighborhoods instead.

Entertainment Tonight

Postcards have been popping up around downtown for the 10th Street Block Parties. It's been kind of low key. Since the weather was so bad, it's inception was rained out and pushed to tonight. It will be in the City Grocer's parking lot at 10th & Olive from 5-8pm. Stop on by.

Calling All Green Thumbs......And Everyone Else!

Spring in Downtown St. Louis is fantastic for (at least) two reasons. Awesome Cardinal baseball, and the gardening work of Urban Roots/Gateway Greens. With the past few weeks of downturns in the Cardinal Nation, we're really going to have to rely more on the gardeners.

This weekend is the date!!!

I got a letter from Mayor Slay asking for money yesterday, and found the website today to contribute the more valuable and more rewarding thing: TIME. My favorite word is BOTH.

As Mayor Slay mentioned, our work to help beautify the city by planting a few gardens has a positive effect on our economy, our own experience, and most importantly, REAL ESTATE VALUE!!! Let's all get out and plant. CYA there!

Downtown's Dump

Yesterday I was downtown with some clients and saw something disturbing. A Jefferon County sherrif's deputy was dropping someone off at the New Life Evangelistic Center along with their belongings.

Whenever I have heard St. Louis City officials address the topic of homelessness, they always mention that we should encourage other areas to establish services to assist the homeless so that they all don't have to come to downtown St. Louis.

I would encourage all readers of this post (both of you) to drop the following people a line. In reading the Jefferson County web page a bit, they discuss the same crap that any other county website does, providing services to residents and the like. In this case, the service is a ride in a police car across 2 different county lines so that the service becomes our problem.

All this aside, Downtown is still the place to be.

Jeferson County Sheriff

Oliver "Glen" Boyer

Jefferson County Commissioner

Chuck Banks

St. Louis City Population Slant

The downtown lofts were mentioned in a NY Times article that generally seemed to have a negative slant on our little urban renaissance here in St. Louis. What a shocker.

In question was whether the city population is dropping.

The writer seemed to be framing the piece to imply that because St. Louis had goofy report from Morgan Quitno Press, had police officer's involved in allegedly criminal activity (taking World Series tickets from scalper's) and schools that have lost accreditation--that people have continued to flee from the city.

The writer had the same critical style of the Post Disgrace writer that tried to trash the downtown neighborhood a few months back. Saying of city officials "Their optimism is based on a flurry of downtown development since 2000, including hundreds of loft condominiums, boutiques and restaurants." While the downtown neighborhoods have really been the crown jewel of St. Louis development, the development in Lafayette Square, Central West End, DeBaliviere Place, Benton Park, Tower Grove, McKinley Heights, Fox Park, Old North St. Louis and many other areas has been equally impressive. Areas that were riddled with "For Rent" signs today are owner-occupied, and examples of urban renewal.

When I think of the prospective drop in population, I think of the loss of the many residents of downtown's Ford Apartments and the much smaller population that will replace the former residents in when the building is re-opened as large luxury condominiums.

The rebuilding process taking place in most neigbhorhoods continues. Are we really loosing in the population game or do we just have another disgruntled Met's fan?

It's true. City services such as police and public education need to continue to improve. From what I've seen, it won't be long.

PS. For a shirt with the above emblem, visit STL-STYLE online

Fallacies of Public Perception

I recently got a great comment from a nameless fellow blogger that seemed to be a perfect example (despite the massive run-on sentence) of some of the misinformation that I hear too often about downtown real estate.

Prices are dropping too! I know you're on the inside, but I'm one of those young up and comers so to speak that these lofts are suppose to target, yet no one I talk to would move downtown including me and I work downtown and look at these everyday.

I consider prices dropping to mean that something actually sold for more than it will later. Buyer's who visit lofts with me can attest to my beliefs that some lofts are overpriced. In 2005, there was a fork in the road, so to speak, where a group of developer's continued on doing what they had been doing for the past several years regarding new construction pricing. (See my post back then, Loft Pricing: 401) A newer group of loft developers sort of tested the market that year with limited success. What the heck, it was a boom year. Why not?

What happens in St. Louis real estate? The market rate seems to slowly increase.

To say that the prices are dropping to me means that the market rate has dropped. That happens with gas, bananas and beer, but not usually real estate. To see artificially high "list prices" drop does not mean that pricing has dropped. It just means that someone is trying to get real.

Point 2, Are lofts being built for the next generation? My answer would be officially, "sort of, but mostly not."

To me, some of the developers that are really trying the "youth marketing" thing are the same ones that are over-pricing, under-sizing, and not doing as well in the numbers game.

Despite all this, the urban renaissance in St. Louis marches on.

A good source of real estate blogs.

Winter Loft Sales Pick Up

Looking at loft sales in January and February may not really look like much. 21 Sales. Big Deal.

All things considered, it's a pretty solid winter.

Think about it-most closings for January and February occured due to house shoppers in December. While "the holidays" really only make up a day or two, business life pretty much ends by mid-December. The focus for many is on office parties, travel and gifts. Despite that, we kept relatively busy these months. Other than the penthouses at the Banker's Lofts and a few Marquette units, most buildings that were MLS listed had already had most of their closings by the end of December.

The market is has already turned the corner into the Spring, but here are the winter sales as listed in the MLS:

2020 Washington #401----------------------------$170,000
1720 Chouteau #202------------------------------$173,000
2020 Washington #313----------------------------$179,000
1136 Washington #209----------------------------$179,000
1136 Washington #612----------------------------$182,000
300 N Broadway #1504----------------------------$194,650
1123 Washington #310-----------------------------$196,000
1136 Washington #610----------------------------$203,000
300 N Broadway #1008----------------------------$209,900
1123 Washington #510-----------------------------$214,240
2020 Washington #406----------------------------$217,500
1123 Washington #504-----------------------------$219,000
300 N Broadway #1101----------------------------$231,900
300 N Broadway #1102----------------------------$235,900
901 Washington #305-----------------------------$274,506
703 N 13th St #407--------------------------------$310,000
315 N 11th St. #902--------------------------------$349,900
400 S 14th St. #1018------------------------------$444,900
901 Washington #704-----------------------------$497,150
901 Washington #701-----------------------------$530,871
901 Washington #703-----------------------------$776,539

Grease is the Word

In the press downtown, City Museum really gets its due. Maybe I just don't read enough news about the area, but one thing I never really hear enough about his how fantastic the Art Loft Theater is.

Last year I saw Batboy and vowed to attend the theater for every production. I failed miserably.

I finally got back last night and had a blast watching the play/musical Grease. When the movie Grease was came out back in the 70's, my interest in Theater was limited to Kiss and Ozzie Osbourne. The stage version was so much more than what I remember from the movie. The cast was fantastic. The script was hysterical.

Once again I vow to get to the next production, The Clockwork Orange in April or May. I can't say enough about one of downtown-wests greatest assets.

Y2K

I finally was able to attend one of the meetings of the housing committee of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership yesterday. We joined the partnership going on 2 years ago, and for some reason that commmittee wasn't meeting, or didn't need new members or something strange. It was good to be present to hear what the discussion is about.

There was a banker, a developer, a builder, a commercial realtor, me and my assistant, and the folks from the partnership--a fairly diverse group.

We talked about our good occupancy and sale rate, we talked about the Downtown living Tour, we talked about the special Downtown section of the St. Louis Magazine. What really got the bulk of discussion is the new development coming online this year.

Kevin Farrell, at the partnership said that in the next year, with all the new construction going on, there will be almost 2000 condos available for pre-sale in the downtown area. Wow! Should loft buyer's be concerned about a "glut" as the Post Disgrace would have us believe?

The interesting thing about construction is it's financing.

Construction fincnancing has its own requirements that protect the lender and its investment. Our discussion at the meeting touched on the point that lenders are looking to firm up those requirements even more in the coming months. What is required to really get going on one of these monumental construction projects is solid sales base: something like 30% of the lofts must be under contract in order for the bank to begin disbursements for construction to begin. More benchmarks in sales and occupancy are sometimes thrown in to the process down the road too.

All these bank stipulations protect the banks, but they also protect the neigborhood and the consumers from the "over-building" myth that has been propagated by downtown naysayers since lofts were first introduced into St. Louis.

Downtown "Government Day"

The Downtown St. Louis Residents Association will be holding a meeting with the Mayor on Tuesday March 6th--6:30pm at the Tap Room. Don't miss the opportunity to represent downtown, meet the mayor, and make sure that the matters affecting downtown residents are voiced in this special opportunity.

Beyond the meeting with the mayor, as most of us know from the all of those hideous, non-real estate signs out there, that it's also the day of the primary elections. The 6th Ward, which makes up a substantial chunk of the Downtown West, will be holding an election for a new alderman. The current alderman for the 6th Ward, Lewis Reed is challenging for the Aldermanic Presidents post. It will be an important day for all the residents in the city to show up and participate.

From my position, I see how so much of the progress all over the city has taken place because of the businesses and investors that are willing to invest in the city neighborhoods. Sometimes what the headlines don't pick up is the countless hours our public servants work, the ideas and leadership they share, and the direction they continue to see for our city.

Tuesday is the day to "Suit Up and Show Up" and hopefully make the best choices for our continued success.

Politics of Deception

The rash of articles trashing the real estate market and more recently the mortgage business has been bizarre.

Every day this week an article in the Wall Street Journal has discussed how mortgage defaults are on the rise and that banks are not lending as much to the "sub prime" market.

Fine. Big Deal.

Yesterday the article was about how lending may even get more stringent to in the alternative markets.

Of course, the emphasis of the article was how this will continue to cast a dark cloud on the real estate market.

My only problem is that this series of articles has done absolutely everything to take the focus off the major slide the stock market is taking this week (remember, Dow Jones is the publisher of the Wall Street Journal).

Interesting though. I have a closing today that almost couldn't happen. Why? The all three title companies were too busy (read: lots of real estate deals closing).

The "East of Boyle" Phenomenon

Next week's issue of the St. Louis Business Journal will focus its special section on the topic "Highway 40: the Price of Progress."

I'm intrigued by this topic. People have been talking about the subject for months. Many look at 2007 as the year of reprieve. We thought all along that the contruction would "really" begin this year. Not just a few lane closures here and there, but the road would seriously be closed.

Many professionals thought that 2007 would be a busy year because all the people sitting on the fence from last year. In the city, East of Boyle, I predict a population surge.

City living has been the new trend, but this year will see the final shuffle before the highway shuts down. It will be interesting to see what the Business Journals take is for this regional event. My prediction is that I'll keep hearing what many of my recent buyer's have been saying, "just make sure I'm east of Boyle."

Fundamentally Flawed

There was a pretty big stir created the other day about downtown living when Cordish Company's plan for the new Ballpark Village was presented leaving the residential condos as an optional component in phase 1, based on market conditions.

Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair, wrote a follow up article loaded with misguided speculation from within the real estate industry. All sources mentioned had one thing in commmon; none of them work in the downtown loft market. None of them sell lofts, and most likely, none of them live downtown. One person quoted was a developer from a competing neighborhood.

The overall slant to the article was a popular misconception; that there are too many lofts. The fact that some developer's are holding an inventory or that some projects struggle was presented as if it's a bad thing. When I work with buyer's downtown, they get my free analysis of pricing, and unfortunately not all lofts are priced where then need to be to sell.

My bottom line: Downtown's growth and renaissance over the past few years is a WONDERFUL THING! While the post disgrace may try to stir up controversy as a way of boosting its plummeting sales, it shouldn't be a concern. The downtown real estate market has growth, appreiation and constantly improving services.

Downtown Sales in December

Around Christmas, I always found myself watching Miracle on 34th Street with my family. A Santa that buy's real estate is something I can really get into.

This December, Santa's gift to the downtown real estate market may have been a decent drop in the interest rates and the end of all the bubble nonsense. Who know's?

Here are the sales as reported on the MLS for the month of December.

1123 Washington #402-----------------------------------------$154,900
2020 Washington #303-----------------------------------------$166,500
1136 Washington #310-----------------------------------------$177,000
1709 Washington #600-----------------------------------------$184,900
1720 Choteau #305--------------------------------------------$185,000
721 N 17th St #402---------------------------------------------$217,700
1136 Washington #406-----------------------------------------$218,500
1619 Washington #304-----------------------------------------$234,900
2201 Locust St. #410------------------------------------------$235,588
901 Washington #603-----------------------------------------$251,865
901 Washington #506-----------------------------------------$254,752
901 Washington #611-----------------------------------------$290,000
901 Washington #702-----------------------------------------$355,265
901 Washington #501-----------------------------------------$355,677
901 Washington #609-----------------------------------------$384,207
901 Washington #401-----------------------------------------$399,279
1123 Washington #203-----------------------------------------$423,345
1123 Washington #203-----------------------------------------$450,000
1136 Washington #906-----------------------------------------$525,000

Check out all the details here!

2006 Market Data Pierces Bubble Myth Downtown

In 2006, Scottrade bought the naming rights to the Kiel Center. I think the stock brokerage industry may have bought most of the media too. All the talk of the real estate bubble finally bursting forced its way into the psyche of prospective homebuyer's everywhere. They say all's well that ends well, and that really describes our downtown real estate market for the year 2006.

Year--#Sold-------$/Sq Ft----Ave.Days on Market-------Ave.Price
2006----221-------$164---------------93--------------$223,063
2005-----121----------$156-----------------209-----------------$256,678
2004------84----------$141-----------------233-----------------$187,976
2003------53----------$135-----------------170-----------------$214,890
2002------25----------$121-----------------248-----------------$186,674
2001------19----------$104-----------------194-----------------$233,908


The above data was taken off the local multiple listings service. This service, of course, doesn't include all the downtown sales in this past year, or in any year. I do agree with the trend that more lofts are selling and downtown population continues to increase.

My personal experience this past year was working with fewer first-time home buyer's and more mature and experienced buyer's. While there has been a great deal of talk about the I-64 reconstruction amongst buyer's, it seems that fact hasn't been the primary motivator of our typical buyer. As this year continues and lane closures begin, I'd be suprised if the number of buyer's with traffic concerns didn't increase exponentially.

One interesting piece of data that isn't included above, was that the average size of unit dropped from 1690 sq ft to 1453 sq ft. This is undoubtedly because of the number of smaller new construction units hitting the market this year. That trend should continue as The Adler Lofts and Ventana lofts near completion.

Look for more Downtown St. Louis Loft information throughout the year. Exciting things are going to happen.

Downtown St. Louis Partnership Meeting sets record

Today's meeting of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership and BOMA reportedly had a record attendance this year. The banquet room at the newly renovated Ballpark Hilton was packed. Never before has the topic been so pertinent to so many people. The highway 64/40 re-construction project doesn't seem to bother the people who have already embraced urban living. The majority remaining is running scared.

The meeting today seemed to cover mostly information that has already been made public. Of interest was the question and answer period where there seemed to be great support for incorporating plans for another Metrolink extension along with the highway plan.

The way I see it, with so much money going into this project and it having such a long term effect on our region, why not include mass transit? Avoiding the issue seems short sighted.

All and all it was a good program. The schedule and details presented can also be found on the MoDOT website.

False Advertising

There's been a trend in real estate advertising lately. Even though its both strange and anoying, I've been hesitant to criticize my fellow realtors.

There has been an increasing tendency for people with little or no sales in the downtown area to advertise themselves specialists in lofts or downtown experts.

As a realtor, I can look up the number of sales an agent has made downtown within a minute or two. While we were hesitant to proclaim any special knowledge of downtown, after several million in loft sales, it seemed appropriate. What's hard to understand is how anyone would advertise as a specialist in an area that they've never worked in.

There may be some that think this is about a fear of competition. The idea of more realtors entering the downtown market is really exciting to me actually. It means that there are people trying to learn the different variables that we have to deal with downtown that aren't a part of suburban real estate. It also might mean the end of hearing stories of realtors trying to dissuade thier clients from looking downtown by saying, "you don't want to go down there." Lastly, it means that when the developer's find other areas to develop, that there will be a community of professoinals available to keep the real estate market moving downtown.

To all the aspiring "downtown specialists," lets keep it real.

Dog Park on Hold Again

We're going to have a dog park, OK! Sometimes delays can be a good thing. Aparently there's a collaborative plan by a few residential developer's that would support infrastructure improvements around their developments. The plan is through a State program called MODESA Lucas Park, where we thought we could build a dog park, is one of the locations. The plan sounds like a great thing and I'm really excited about it. The hope is that being a state funded project doesn't limit the scope or timeframe of what could be done.
We'll be having another dog park meeting sometime in mid to late January to regroup and see what we can do to get something going now. In the meantime, we are in contact with developer's involved with the MODESA plans and might have some positive influence on what these developments can bring to the downtown community.

Tragic Accident at Syndicate

This morning a client forwarded this to us. What a terrible shame. Our prayer's go out to the family of this man.
News video of Syndicate accident.

Downtown Sales Surge-Interest Rates drop

With the Holiday's fast approaching, one wouldn't think that we would be experiencing a spike in sales activity downtown.

Of course, home sales have always been more impacted by the interest rates than just about anything. Rates have plummeted of late and are hovering around the lowest rates of the year. Weekly rate averages.

During a "Buyer's market" the supply is usually good too. So with plenty of selection, rock bottom interest rates, and lots of motivated seller's, Now is really a great time to buy.

Cheap Publicity

A couple of months back, we all heard that the Nationwide Crime statistics were available from Morgan Quitno Press in Kansas. The reason we all heard was because they had innacurately listed us as the most dangerous city in America. What a joke.

Granted, we all want to see crime reduced. With all the clean up going on throughout the city, and the large influx of people moving into the city, we all expect a positive impact on safety.

The bottom line though, is that the reports released during the World Series games in St. Louis were not an accurate portrayal, and were basically an attempt to sell books. Channel 5 sent out a reporter to ask a few questions. The televised interview really shows one thing: these reports should be the work of trained criminologists, not used to sell books.

Enjoy.

Here's the video of the interview.

Ultimate Model: Ballpark Village

Last nights meeting at the Cordish offices was an eye opening event. The past year or so, coverage of Ballpark Village has been informative but not adequate to give me a real feel of the neighborhood.

Our meeting was another example of the hard work of the Downtown Residents Association and their efforts to help people get knowledgable about downtown.

The meeting was led by Chase Martin of Cordish, and Bill DeWitt III of the Cardinals. I loved the way they described each block and street within the village as having a different focus. Starting with the "family block" at 8th and Clark to the "Live Music Block", to the "Cardinals Nation Block" and what they were looking to do to keep the village alive during offseason months. I found photos of the model online here.

Our interest being mostly the large residential component, I found that Phase 1 of Ballpark Village will include between 250-350 residential units and will be completed by approximately 2009. According to the current plans, these will be units above the currently planned retail. The three towers wouldn't be started until after the footprints of the buildings are complete. These tower's would house the bulk of the residential. After the meeting we discussed the residential component--which due to the mass of amenities in the area--would be priced higher than anything we've seen thus far downtown.

With Park Pacific being sold at $250-350 per square foot, we can only assume that a place in Ballpark Village won't be a value. I pressed for a figure, but left with the sound reasoning that they didn't want to release any number until a realistic construction estimate could be made. So we'll probably be waiting a while.

Value or not....I've got my place picked out already.

Food For Thought: The Rams on Monday Night

It's looking like the Championships are going to be limited to one this year, which is plenty. As I was watching the Ram's miss tackles and the referee's miss calls, I thought about some of the "mixed use" zones being developed downtown. If the Cardinals missed the playoffs this year and the Ram's were 9 and 3 and going into the playoffs, would the Ballpark Village idea be on life support with the Bottle District moving forward at full speed? Of course, the Ram's really don't have anything to do with the Bottle District except proximity to the dome.

There have been different renderings of the Ballpark village released to date, but tomorrow a model will be unveiled at the Cordish offices downtown. I plan to be there. I saw a flyer posted for it over the weekend. The meeting will be at 6pm Sharp at the Boatmen's Building (800 Market). Look for details here tomorrow.

Looking for a new post?

Lately we have been working to find some help. Based on the news media, you'd think all the real estate professionals would be scanning the help wanted pages. That doesn't seem to be the case.

Just after the loft tour, our assistant flew the coup. We need someone else and have been talking with people from all over. It's really a trip. So if you're out there and have an interest in real estate, downtown, or lofts, drop us a line at info@4SaleStLouis.com and attatch a resume. We'd love to hear from you!