Is It That Bad?

Back in my college days, Washington Avenue was the bomb!  The nightclub scene sort of migrated around between the landing, Wash Ave, and Central West End.  Most buildings downtown were essentially vacant except for warehouse space, some "true loft" dwellers, and the group of constantly changing nightclubs.  It was at that point, really a supreme low point in value, that Dave Jump started buying underutilized and undervalued buildings downtown. 

Watching the rennaisance downtown has been fantastic. 

In 2004, when we started working in the downtown residential real estate market, things were still fairly bleak.  Even with all the activity, many of the buildings hadn't changed in form or function since my college days in the early 90's.  Walking the streets with buyer's, we'd hear comments like, "it looks like you've still got a long way to go" as we passed by a boarded up building.  Some people were attracted to the idea of finding a diamond in the rough:  loft living amongst an otherwise deteriorating neighborhood. 

Now, despite a much nicer downtown, commercial values are dropping back down and Dave Jump appears to be speculating again. 

In talking with a former Pyramid Construction officer, the Jefferson Arms was going to really solidify the neighborhood as a rental building with a movie theater and street level retail.  Positioned at Tucker and Washington, the former "Jefferson Hotel" was one of the finest convention hotels in St Louis at one time, but hadn't received much attention since then when it was converted to the Jefferson Arms Apartments.  After the collapse of Pyramid, Sherman Associates, a partner in the Syndicate Development, was said to be aquiring the Jefferson, but the building ended up in foreclosure last summer.

In talking with the folks downtown back in the boom times, some folks idolized Jump, others demonized him.  I, like the article says, just saw him as a savy investor;  buying low and selling high.  Other than that, he stepped in to help save the City Museum at one point, providing much needed capital to keep the enterprise going.  Hearing he's the owner of the Jefferson Arms gives me a comfortable feeling for a few reasons, but mainly that he had a role in what has been a tremendous turn around of downtown.  Also, as a local business man, he has more interest in seeing the property turn around than its prior bank owner.  It seems like the Jefferson has sat vacant long enough, so it would be great to see the wheels in motion to make use of this old gem.

Laurel and Park Pacific get Help Soon

Interesting source of funds. 

Ever since the real estate market began to slow down in 2006, new people I meet get an overly sympathetic look on thier face when I tell them I'm a Realtor.  While things aren't 'what they were', things are still going.  Who I really feel for are the men and women in the building trades.  Unemployment in those areas are staggaring. 

The AFL-CIO Trust seems like a good way to help stimulate funds to get some of the union builders back to work, but is it sustainable? 

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2010/04/12/daily34.html

Loft Prices Surge

There are few things I hate more than the over-generalizations the media has been so graciously making about the real estate market in the past few years. Headlines like "HOME PRICES DROP" have been common place. It all goes back to the fact that news media has placed more focus on attention getting drama than on true reporting. I guess that sells more papers.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, JOIN EM! is what I say.

Looking at the sales for the first two months of the year, the number of sales increased and the average price increased by nearly $7,000, which is meaningless considering that doesn't allow for the size condition or location, but hey, "Loft Prices Surge" is a great headline, so there!

Also encouraging is that the number of sales jumped, and the days on market dropped by over 100 days. It underscores how bleak things were in early 2009.

Unfortunately the price per square foot has dropped. The good news, is that we are going to be seeing more short sales until prices raise to 2006 levels, and banks may be absorbing some of those drops as well as paying realtor commissions.

In truth, prices aren't really surging.  Some great deals are out there, and its best to hang onto your space and ride this market out if its possible. 

The data is below. Here's to the turn around!


             2009 Sales   Listing $    SqFt    Listing Pr/SqFt    CDOM      Sale $      Selling Pr/SqFt
                (12)         $190,244  1364      $147                314       $179,692        $139

2010 Sales                Listing $    SqFt     Listing Pr/SqFt   CDOM      Sale $      Selling Pr/SqFt
   (21)                      $197,090  1346      $150                207       $184,954         $132

Life As We Know It

Downtown St Louis saw an investment of 4.4 billion dollars in reinvestment between 1999 and 2008.  During most of that time, the acronym "FHA" used in conjunction with home loans was mostly unheard of (see My Day at the FHA part 1 and Part 2).  Having been developed during that time, there was no percieved need for loft buildings to be "FHA Approved" at that time.

FHA insured home loans have always treated condominiums different than single family homes, having an complicated approval process.  Once approved, FHA loans could be done on a building with "limited review," meaning that the underwriting was simplified and minimal information from the association was required to complete the loan. IN THE PAST, if a condo buildning wasn't approved, but was acceptable, it could go through the SPOT APPROVAL process, by which most loans downtown were done.

In life, the only guarantee is change.

In a past life, watching the ripple effects of government decisions trickle down often meant watching how the affected businesses would respond to the governments mandates.  When the FHA changed thier guildelines, it seemed as if they were trying to make things easier overall.  After all, why should EVERYONE wanting to buy a condo in an acceptable building have to go through a "spot approval" process over and over instead of just doing a bit more work and approving the whole building?  Their goal was to simplify the approval process, stating that any Direct Endorsement lender could do the approval.  What we're hearing is that these same Direct Endorsement lenders are passing the buck to condominium associations. 

In 2008, when I visited the FHA offices, I asked why a condo association or realtor couldn't just arrange for the approval.   My question seemed to be confusing.  "Why can't the lender just do it?" was the confused response.  Of course, knowing lenders, I couldn't think of too many lenders that wanted to go through the public service of having a whole buildng approved just to do one loan. 

The attached picture file shows the requirments needed and most of the buildings downtown should do EVERYTHING THEY CAN to try to comply with these requirements to get thier building FHA APPROVED!  

Looking at the requirements I have some questions.  More will be revealed when I get the answers. 

The basic fact that seemingly alludes condo associations is that the more difficult a condominium is to purchase, the longer it can take to sell and the stronger the buyer's chances of getting a better deal. 

While some buildings will have more buyers looking for FHA loans than others, it would benefit ALL buildings and downtown as a whole if condominium associations act now to get FHA approval for the next two years.

Downtown Farmer's Market?

Old Post Office Plaza was completed downtown, my feelings about it were that it could be a great part of the city, or not.

With the sculpture in it, I thought of the public plazas in Greece where Plato was taught by Socrates. I envisioned Tai Chi and farmers markets.

I've been hearing rumors about the later use and am hoping for the best.

My own neighborhood has a very nice farmer's market in Tower Grove Park that has become a weekly event for many of the neighborhoods surrounding the park (Shaw, Tower Grove South, Tower Grove East, Compton Heights & Southwest Garden). They've done a great job of not only presenting a nice market with entertainment, food and refreshments, but have also promoted the event to have a sizable following.

Having a farmer's market downtown really is a win-win. Lots of Downtown residents go to Soulard Market, but having the market move to Downtown could be a potentially good thing for Downtown workers and visitors too.

The real benefit of a Farmer's Market Downtown is the community aspect. Something needed downtown. Just a decade ago, downtown's residents were viewed more like a parasitic entity. News stories would refer to the "loft dwellers" and not the downtown neighborhood. Lots of community exists downtown, that's one of the major selling points to living there. It exists within buildings and at restaurants, bars and coffee shops. What a Farmer's Market could potentially do is bring the community out into the open.

When the Partnership for Downtown St Louis hired its new President, Maggie Campbell, I reviewed the news clips promoting her past experience. One of the items was a Farmer's Market. At the time, I figured that with Soulard Market being so close, that it wasn't likely for downtown, but did think about either Schlafly Tap Room's parking lot and / or the Old Post Office Plaza as being good locations.

Right now, things are just rumored.  The idea seems like it would work if it gets the support in needs by the residents. 

Bad News for the Cynics

For years, I was as negative as the best of them. St Louis was a town I was somehow stuck in and my feelings were well known. Growing up here, I just knew there was someplace else for me.

I'll have to admit, the changes citywide that have taken place, as well as my lifestyle and age, all have a fair amount to do with my change of heart. St Louis is still a work in progress.

Working as a realtor, we see lots of 'outsiders'. I'll never forget meeting my friend who moved here from Florida....by choice! Were they crazy?!? Who could leave the beach to come here? In the past several years, its less and less suprising to hear people moving to St Louis and really loving it.

This month, St Louis made the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2010 Dozen Distinctive Destinations. Visitors to the site can register and vote for thier favorite destination. There are some nice places, but St Louis has my vote.

Obviously, historic buildings aren't for everyone, and so everyone might have differing values, but as a person aware of the phenomenal collection of preserved and restored buildings throughout the St Louis area; particularly downtown. We've heard on this blog and many others about some of the same resources we've squandered over the years, but what we have left is certainly worth celebrating. Visiting the Old Post Office, Union Station, The Cathedral Basilica, The Fox, The Continental Life Building, and EVERY loft building downtown is something that can be taken for granted. Any St Louisan that hasn't visited those places and taken a tour should consider a staycation and check it all out. What's hard about St Louis in comparison to the other 'distinctive destinations' is that we just have too much to consider. The past decade and the Missouri legislature has helped our cause by creating incentives for the development of historic structures and districts.

Making the list is great, but as a St Louisan, show your support for the great things being done here and vote for St Louis as the top distinctive destination by visiting the National Trust website today.

Happy Happy New Year!

This past New Years Eve, like most people, I hoped for better times. Real estate this year has been heartbreaking. Going through the 92 sales that took place in the downtown area (according to the MLS), most of them were sold at a sizeable drop from when they were most recently sold. One loft we sold in 2006 was sold in 2009 for 18% less. That was more the rule than the exception this year. Buyers are the true beneficiary.

On a side note, Congratulations to Blue City Spaces. They seem to have reinvigorated their sales this year by offering incentives and maintaining an active social media campaign. Nothing like the years when Loftwork or Pyramid would close 50-80 sales a piece, but their 12 sales (per MLS) last year showed they are committed to keeping the project alive intead of moving quickly to refinance and rent the property. Hopefully that continues.

There are several other things that are interesting and reassuring at this point.

1. Last Year at this time, it felt that we were continuing our slide into the recession. The bottom had just dropped out of the stock market and banks weren't lending their own money. Now it feels like we are working our way out. I'm hearing signs that banks are starting to look at being portfolio lenders, rather than just being mortgage brokers. The massive job loss is coming to a halt.

2. Despite the downturn, the urban renaissance in St Louis marches on. St Louisans are continuing to decide that they want to be downtown. Population is on the rise. While sales were the lowest (92) downtown since 2004, the rental market is robust. Businesses here, while still struggling, seems to be holding up better than the region as a whole. New additions of the Culinaria and CityGarden seem to have energized downtown and added a positive element to the regions perspective on Downtown. Plans for the Avenida Lofts have been converted to a mostly commercial renovation which is ongoing. When we began working extensively in Downtown in 2004, one really had to have an imagination. Having a vibrant downtown where people want to be is more and more a reality. The continued activity even during this recession will continue to pull people in.

My long term perspective for Downtown St Louis is good. One of the things holding up many would be downtown residents is that they want to see housing prices recover on their big suburban homes before they sell and enjoy city living. That probably won't happen tomorrow, but we're working in that direction. The housing market still has some shuffling to do, but its happening.

Now it is more important that ever for Downtown St Louisans to work together and remain active in DSLRA. While the big projects like CityGarden get the headlines, the small community based programs and volunteering can also go a long way towards supporting the effort to continue growth and revitalization.

Most neighborhood associations put on some form of housing tour annually. While the Partnership for Downtown St Louis has taken on this role each year to mainly serve condo developers, that tour has been scaled back and virtually eliminated. In its present form, it still seems based too much around new condo or rental projects and not enough around the real community. It would be nice to see a real community based neighborhood tour grow into the void. Great things could happen.

Benefits of Foreclosures

Right now, I've had just about enough of foreclosures! Hearing that the Arcade Building is being foreclosed on was somewhat of a relief though and I'm not sure why.

Maybe its because of what felt like a big "land grab" back in 2004-2006 as rival developers postured to see who could stake out the remaining gems downtown. Prices for abandoned buildings rose as high as $30/square foot. This surge in buying somehow seemed to force development downtown much too quickly and at to high a cost for the then market to support. By itself, completing the Arcade may not have posed a monumental challenge at that time, considering that the Syndicate Trust underwent a similar conversion. Going back to that time though, Pyramid was unable to sell out the remainder of the Banker's Lofts and had 50% of the Dorsa Lofts to sell also. Both of these projects were priced at less than $150/square foot(base price) while the the Arcade shows a price of just over $200/ square foot for a unit that included parking.

The Post Dispatch article announcing the foreclosure blames the "nationwide housing collapse" for the foreclosure. That's as close to the truth as if the Culinaria purchased 4 times the amount of bananas it normally sells in a week and bumps the prices up 46% then blames the economy for the not selling. Ridiculous! I won't even touch the "housing collapse" comment except to say that a 20% drop in prices is hardly a collapse.

Like so many people following this buildings history and future, my hope is that someone with a viable plan can step in once the building is priced right. This foreclosure just might be the first step in seeing that process move forward. Map of 800 Olive shows the location in the heart of downtown adjactent to the Old Post office and Metrolink Station. My take isn't more condominiums, but rather a custom build out for a corporate headquarters along with a slight mix of retail and possibly some apartments or corporate housing. With such a phenomenal building and perfect location, who could resist?

Downtown North?

Remember when Ballpark Village, the MX Exchange and the Bottle District were all being unveiled and in competition with each other for the new hot commercial zone in downtown St Louis? Having downtown built out in every direction with great new places to go seemed far fetched, but exciting. How could it all come together.....could it all come together?

Obviously that answer was, " uh..NO".

This new bit of information was released today about some plans for the Bottle District site.

While the work HRI did on the Merchandise Mart Loft Apartments has been allegedly some of the worst construction downtown, somehow this new project is exciting. The area to the north of the downtown area can really benefit from some affordable loft style housing and its obvious that the 'big picture' for the Bottle District won't come together as one giant plan as previously announced. Building the area block by block will do. While the Art Lofts, City Museum and the Syndicate have some great amenities geared for artists, downtown has still been limited in the area of affordable yet updated homes. We'll see if this plan takes off. In this day and age, building an effective plan to obtain financing is a long shot contingent on many factors.

Lets just hope this plan includes soundproofed walls & floors!

Back in my younger days, I was an avid hiker. Hiking the Grand Canyon was the coolest thing for me, but one of the focal points was being able to dine at Phantom Ranch at the bottom.

Interestingly, most of the time, I didn't do it. Out of 4 hikes, I usually didn't have the time or money. One time it was in my plans, but I would have had to wait an hour for lunch, and I had another leg of hiking to do before nightfall. There just was a mystique about having a restaurant that was entirely supported by mule trains.

There have been talks about getting local control of the archgrounds so that we can make more of the space. On one visit with my (at the time) two boys, I saw crumbling improvements and a space that didn't seem to favor the current National Park Service management of the place.

Today, the Post Dispatch reported that there may be some changes on the horizon. The local control idea was dropped in favor of beaurocracy of the NPS. Sounds good. I think of the initial Arch Grounds being cleared in the 30's, the competition for the design in '47 and the arch completion in '66. A real plug for beaurocracy, huh?

The good news is that they are open to making the changes and taking a national landmark and really making it an experience.

As a child, we took field trips to places like the Arch, the Zoo, etc. I remember as a child thinking that the Arch and its associated museum were sort of lame. Some would argue that speaks more to my sense of entitlement than to the Arch. I wouldn't argue, but watching the downtown renaissance unfold over the past decade, I'm more inclined to think that we can do better with the Arch Grounds too.

My thought from here is to shout out to the public to PARTICIPATE!! Especially the creative types: architects, artists, visionaries, entrepeneurs. It seems that society often relies on the decisions of the "ruling class". One perk of the NPS is that they level the playing field and truly look for the best plans. That doesn't mean that St Louisan's should sit back and play the waiting game. Check for the news release once it's posted on the National Park Service news site and give some input. The community will benefit more from participation now rather than sitting back and criticizing later.

Where's Tonto?

The 2009 Downtown St Louis Residential Survey is out!

More amazing that there are no Native Americans surveyed as living downtown is that there are actually 5 people that think downtown has taken a step back. Ok?!? The only way I can concieve of that answer is if someone really relies on Highway 64/40 to get to work. Westward travel has taken a step back, and particularly in the last year. Thankfully we're rounding the stretch there.

Downtown residents are still fascinated by Reverend Rice, check.

Downtown residents would like some large scale retail, check.

Overall, downtown residents are happy about living downtown, check.

As a rule, the results of this survey still seem one dimensional to me. I'm curious if any homeless people were given this survey, or residents residing in affordable housing...

Its still a good survey, and hopefully its use will continue to build upon the growth of businesses seeking a downtown location.

Another Anouncement about St. Louis Center

As far as I'm concerned, Downtown St. Louis doesn't need St. Louis Center.

There was a day when an anouncement regarding a major development downtown would generate a buzz downtown and people would be talking. Now, either anouncements have become white noise, or we just don't care. There have been so many big plans unveiled, so many ribbon cuttings, and so many projects that have given us what we want in regards to an urban environment.

Indeed, based upon combined effects, this bit of news about the former St. Louis Center site sort of rubbed me the wrong way. The good news though, is that this is not really an anouncement or a ribbon cutting or even about tax credits. This is about money (approximately 17% of the total costs) which has been the sticking point on
all projects lately.

The Business Journal had its post on the matter as well. Both describe the opposition to the plan being mainly initiated by bribes from the building prospectively vacated by the moving law firm.

Of particular interest is how would the former St. Louis Center be re-developed. Prior plans called for condos and retail. It seems that both retail and condos would not be as easily financed and developed as they were in the past. The location would be phenomenal though and having residences spread further into downtown would add a nice element to the area.

Time to Get Out this Weekend!

This weekend is an awesome weekend to be in St. Louis! There are some great things to do and not enough time to do everything :( (unless you're the Funky Butt Brass Band)

My first pick is Taste of St. Louis downtown. It started today and runs through Sunday. Beyond the typical Foodie event, there's tons of Art and Music too. On my trips downtown I 've been watching them get ready for this for nearly a week now. I'll be disappointed if I can't make it over on Sunday!!

I'm mostly excited about another event, partially because its new and partly because its practically in my back yard. The Morganford Music & Street Festival is only one day, Saturday. On a side note, its exciting because I remember when this section of Morganford consisted of mostly board up run down ugly buildings with a 7-11 and a ratty car wash. Now the ratty car wash and 7-11 are surrounded by an up and coming walkable community. Grocer, cafe's, barbers, some great restaurants & bars and ending with the beautiful Marti's Garden ( a memorial garden for St. Louis activist and St. Louis City Realtor Marti Frumhoff).

I noticed that the Funky Butt Brass Band (a very cool local act) will be on Morganford in the Afternoon and then Downtown at 7:30pm. What a day! Since I'll be out of the area for the morning and most of the afternoon, I won't be able to make it until Javier Mendoza goes on at 7. Since they don't have a website, the fun is located at Juniata and Morganford in the Tower Grove South Neighborhood from 12pm to 9pm.

Lastly, the Historic Shaw Art Fair is not just another Art Fair. Growing up in the suburbs, I would attend art fairs on some vacant school parking lot and didn't get too excited. Going to the Historic Shaw Art Fair is nothing like that! Set in the street of Flora Place surrounded by gorgeous historic mansions, great entertainment and plenty of great HOMEGROWN ART, Its an event I attend annually. When the real estate market picks up, I look forward to an art buying spree there. Maybe next year :) This year I'll just have fun with my kids and start to scope out possibilities.

The Difference of Downtown

The Sunday Open House is a real estate tradition. All over the region and throughout the country one can see agents and their balloons dashing about on weekends to hold down the fort at an open house somewhere.

Holding open houses downtown during the weekend is a hit or miss affair. Like any event, there are many contributing factors to the level of activity. The largest segment of the people who use downtown, those that work downtown are almost entirely out of the picture. In general, people who commute downtown during the week aren't likely to want to visit downtown on their days off.

Looking at some other more established urban communities, we've found that some urban real estate companies have abandoned all together the notion of the weekend open house for a week night open house. What a concept!

Last year the Downtown Partnership held an evening tour. While the attendance wasn't through the roof, it was refreshing to be able to see people have the opportunity to get off work and check some lofts out before the trek into suburbia.

We'd love some feedback. Our first slate of week night open houses are being held next Thursday, September 17th. We'll have lofts open at the Railway Lofts, the Printer's Lofts, and 2020 Lofts.

Centenary Tower on the Block

Residents of the Terra Cotta lofts and Printer's Lofts should have a keen interest in the fate of the Centenary Tower building located across the street. A classified ad in the St. Louis Business Journal this week is advertising its foreclosure sale on September 23rd at the Civil Courts building.

The apartments located there were closed in 2007 because of mismanagement. Closing it was a good thing for the neighborhood at the time. Hopefully a new owner will be willing to re-establish the building as a positive part of the Downtown West neighborhood.

Look Forward to Fall

The field of real estate, like any other, is fraught with pre-concieved notions. I love watching HGTV, but one thing that television has a tendency to do is distort reality, even in (especially in) reality TV.

One notion I had early on in my career was that real estate sales are seasonal. That season, in my mind, would last from about April through August. Surviving from September through March would depend upon how busy we were during the so called "selling season". This myth, one that is widely shared, was the first to go.

The last few weeks seems to have picked up downtown. Some attribute it to the Culinaria opening, any number of positive factors can be added. Lots of pieces to the big puzzle are coming together in Downtown St Louis.

Reality though, is that real estate sales don't just happen in the summer. While sales are still lagging, they seem to have picked up from July and August, which are nearly as slow as January-February. In the past two weeks, clients have called with a greater concern about whether we should just "close up shop" and take their listing off the market for now. While that may be the right move for some, it isn't a rule. The interesting thing about the market is that activity in the range of $250,000 to $500,000 has nearly always been relatively slow during the summer months and picks up during the fall and winter months.

The bottom line, its still a great time to buy rather than sell. It's impossible to predict the future, but as the plans in motion to revitalize downtown continue to move forward, so will the presently fragile real estate market.

A "CAN DO!" Town

Something evident in St. Louis is our "Geographical Inferiority Complex" when it comes to development. Some say it's well earned. Others say its overstated.

Last week while traveling down Market Street towards the Gateway Arch and passed CityGarden. I was telling my sister, visiting from Albequerque, about how cool our newest downtown destination was. Her experience living in New York City, Phoenix and Albequerque prompted a comment about how controversial that type of project can be. That got me thinking. Here was a project that was being planned and completed over several years and not only was it not controversial, it didn't really seem to have much fanfare, positive or negative, until it was done (LoftsintheLou post from 10/2007).

What's better is that the talk of the town now is sprucing up the rest of downtown to keep up with those fantastic two blocks. The contrast between CityGarden and the surrounding blocks is blatant. Just today the St Louis Beacon published a good story about the movement underway to continue what was started or re-started with CityGarden. While any time development is proposed or discussed, one can't get their hopes up too much; not just St. Louis, but anywhere.

The good news is that the forward momentum of our little rennaisance continues to move forward in Downtown St. Louis. The enjoyment of our city will continue to grow and prosper. To all the doubters, "It Can Be Done!"

Culinaria Opens Tuesday

Looking at the week, the long awaited opening of the "new Schnucks" is a welcome milestone for downtown. Having a full sized grocer downtown will be great for the area and a long awaited convenience.

Growing up in suburban St. Louis, there was no grocer in my neighborhood. In fact, we drove over 2 miles to buy food. No one seemed worried about our inability to buy food.

For some reason not having a grocery store downtown was a lightning rod for controversy; even after City Grocers and several small markets opened, the controversy continued. It seems that the subject is appealing to the suburbanite base in our community. They like it. Aparently so does the Post Dispatch.

Today's article is titled such that a Tuesday's opening of Culinaria would test whether Downtown St Louis is "truly back".

This line of thinking is pervasive in "outsider's" downtown. Once while walking th e streets with a loft buyer downtown, they asked me if downtown was struggling because one restaurant had closed. Around that time, I posted on the subject and how business closings elsewhere didn't seem to cause the same negative bias. Today I was working in Suburban West County, and was not at all suprised to see many stores closing. My buyer's didn't ask why West County was faltering.

As a lifelong St. Louisan, I continue to be impressed with the growth and direction of the downtown neighborhoods. The popular negativity surrounding this positive phenomenon is a disappointing reflection on the negativity that our community has for positive change and our primary print news publications never ending inability to grasp the fantastic energy still helping downtown move forward.

Of course, when praising the progress downtown becomes the fashion, the Post, if its still in business, will be there to take some credit.

In the mean time, I hope to make it to the Grand Opening Tuesday. While I do applaud Schnucks for opening downtown, I would have been more impressed had they been willing to open up in the Century Building. It would have made a better grocery store than the lower levels of a garage. Of course, they are in the business of "We Make It Easy" and selling food--not renovating historic structures.

When its all said and done, I'm really curious to see what percentage of downtown residents stop driving to the grocery store.

See you at the Plaza

When we started working downtown in 2004, selling it wasn't much of an option. You either had an appreciation for the urban landscape, or you didn't. Despite the ongoing progress, the area was still desolate. The closest thing to a useful public plaza was the gathering of homeless folks in Lucas Park. The downtown population stood at about 9600. Half of which was below market rate housing and 92% was rental. Despite all that, there was hope and plans for the future.

As downtown continued to develop, it seemed as if each time a large project was completed, that a piece of the puzzle was set in place.

Today and through the weekend the Post Office Plaza will be having its grand opening. The ribbon cutting, scheduled for 4pm will undoubtedly be a crowd pleaser. There is entertainment and children's shows tomorrow.

For some reason, the work that's going on to enhance our public space downtown is exciting. In my travels, places that have nice urban plazas adjacent to a good mix of retail, entertainment, commercial and residential spaces seem to add a positive energy to the city. What appears to seperate this space from the many other spots around downtown is that its location fits the density profile of a good urban plaza. Time will tell.

In the mean time I'll be enjoying the festivities this weekend.

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.

Loft Deals Scooped Up

I bought my first home in February. It was strategic. My thought was, who in their right mind would be running around in the snow looking at homes. With a prospectively lower demand, supply constant, prices would drop.

This February, prices were favorable too. Still not as good as the media seems to think. A sports reporter talking to Cardinals 3rd baseman made the comment that his house bought last year had dropped 50% in value. He should stick to sports. Real estate values look great compared to stocks. Bucking the trend elsewhere, only one sale was a foreclosure. Several banks seemed to stop accepting offers last month due to the larger forces of government stimulus and equity transfers.

Two Units sold were new construction. Favorably priced, but still above the resale market, pushing up the average pricing.

Click Here to see the February 2009 St. Louis Loft Sales

Love To Hate

Checking out the STLTODAY.com site tonight, I happened to notice the bottom right corner of my screen had the most commented upon stories. Whaddya know. LOFT DISTRICT was #1!

The story isn't new, but the article was from today. The Washington Avenue Apartments are housing veterans that were formerly homeless through some St. Patricks Center program[Project HERO].

The whole deal sounds good except for two small things. 1. When a group of any potentially risky people move into ANY neighborhood, there will be concerns and complaints. Inadequate notice and information seems to have been provided. 2. There is plenty of space in the City of St. Louis, Downtown has an inordinately large percentage of the special services for homeless.

All & all, the program sounds well thought out and managed. Not being an expert on programs to assist former homeless people, I was impressed with the operation as it was portrayed in the Post Dispatch article. There were several restrictions (no sex offenders, no dishonorable discharged veterans) and other checks and balances (weekly sobriety checks, on site supervision).

Unfortunately not all parties were portrayed in such a positive light.

The news stories that have been on the wire for the past
few days have the central theme that Downtown residents are outraged about this wonderful program for the formerly homeless veterans. Ironically, aside from the news stations & paper, the subject hasn't come up in any of my conversations with downtown residents this week.

What really inspired this post isn't my opinion of social programs for veterans but the negative perceptions that seem to exist for downtown residents. Read the comments after the story, its hideous! After a couple minutes, I was thinking that downtown residents need to hire downtown PR Firm Fleishman Hilliard or Weber Shandwick to improve thier image. Sincerely! Now, reading the comments after PD stories often makes about as much sense as what my 3 year old tells me. But I really started to question whether such a negative perception is common and if so, what affect it has on the growth and prosperity of downtown. Based on many of the comments, I would say the perception of Downtown St. Louis residents is an unpatriotic affluent yuppie with a sense of entitlement and a hatred for their fellow man.

Interestingly, I never thought of St. Louis as a 'military town,' but in my experience assisting people buying and selling downtown real estate, I've worked with 8 active military clients in the past, with two active military clients currently working with me and a few veteran contractors that work for the military as civilians. Statistically, the military is the largest employer of my clients, so the assault on downtown residents having "never served their country" is bogus.

Another total false-hood is that downtown residents as a whole can't live near the homeless. Obviously this topic isn't new. My very first client downtown lived in the Knickerbocker with a view into Lucas Park. Then and now; I've heard it all. Summing up everything though, most downtown residents are more concerned that 1. a small percentage of the homeless feel that rules don't apply to them, don't appear to be trying to improve their situation and are simply BAD NEIGHBORS, and 2. that as a society in general, and in several cases specifically, services to the homeless can be illegally handled and poorly appropriated. As an observer, things seem to have improved drastically since 2004, especially the overall appearance of Lucas Park. [Thanks, by the way, to all the Selfish entitled unpatriotic commie yuppie jerk downtown residents that spent thier weekends picking up trash and cleaning up after the homeless in Lucas Park back in the Fall.] (Had my bride and I not been in the middle of having our 3rd child, we would have helped.)

The bottom line, thanks again, in no small part to the Post Disgrace, people seem to "love to hate" downtown residents. Unlike T.O., in this case there's no basis in fact. (They were even ripping on Downtown residents for not having a grocer nearby. What's wrong with City Grocers?!?) Interestingly, the article cited two downtown residents that had opposition to the project. Both had business interests in downtown as well. Then two people that were in the Project HERO. So apparently that's all it takes to really get people ticked off and hating downtown is 2 people out of 11,000. I can't imagine that 0.018% of the population anywhere else has controversial opinion the Post can write about. Good luck to the men in HERO. Enjoy downtown!

The Syndicate Motel

This weekend I left my home as some guy was hammering a sign at the corner, "RENT YOUR HOME FOR $5000 DURING THE ALL-STAR GAME". (My illustrious block captain has since removed the sign). The thought did cross my mind. Who couldn't use an extra Five Grand these days.

Then I got an email this morning from a client who had purchased a loft last year who had read the Post Dispatch story on how downtown residents are looking to cash in. "Can I rent my place out for the weekend?"

Having read through many condo by-laws, this subject is usually addressed early on. Having my own personal CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENT library, I thumbed through a few different associations. My question is where do they find people to write these things? Its almost like the same person writes it. "No Residential Unit may be leased or subleased for transient or hotel purposes or for an initial term of less than one (1) year for residential units;"
Each building had some form of that sentence.

The thought actually is scary what downtown buidings could be like if this activity were allowed. Hotels have 24 hour security, maintenance, and all kinds of administration to make sure that people can do what they came for. A loft building would be a whole different operation. It would be psycho!

Business is Business

Lately business hasn't been great. Not necessarily real estate, but any business. Consumer's are tightening their belts, businesses are doing the same, and a whole chain reaction follows. News of the present economic challenges are everywhere, why loftsinthelou?

Last week I was in two places I would consider prime business locations. At Meramec & Carondelet, adjacent to the St. Louis County Government Center and Courthouse in the heart of Clayton and at West County Mall in Des Peres. Noticing that J Bucks closed its West County Mall location and another restraunt closed at the corner of Meramec and Carondelet, it was a sign that the economic woes are everywhere. Even at arguably some of the best locations in the region, businesses are struggling.

Even some well managed businesses are failing. My rants are always about poorly managed companies or bad business plans. Some companies that are run successfully for many years just don't have the reserves to withstand the adverse climate.

What's the point? The businesses in Downtown need our support. Also, there still seems like there's a negative bias about the ability of stores to survive downtown and that when a shop closes downtown or moves out of downtown that its because of the area and not all the other factors.

One news source that seems to always represent downtown well is the St. Louis Business Journal. This weeks issue's special section "Doing Business Downtown" talked a great deal about some of the factors facing downtown.

One thing that was sort of annoying was an article talking about condo projects going rental. It does happen, but a quote from one developer talked about the tax credit advantages of going rental like they were really benefiting from the whole thing. Nutty really, considering the same developer had 5 or 6 mechanics liens published a few pages later for unpaid bills to a contractor. Condo buildings that have gone rental have done so ONLY to avoid eminent foreclosure. What would have been an improvement would be if they also addressed the implications that these developers actions had on their owner occupied units and thier ability to re-sell. I guess that every angle can't be covered. That may come up in next years issue.

Things keep moving forward though and downtown St. Louis will be one area that continues to grow during these tough times.

FHA Approval and Buying a Loft

We had our open house at the Ballpark Lofts yesterday and for a while it seemed as if the housing market was back in full swing! Getting so much interest there was almost enough excitement to make up for having to postpone our trip to Cancun scheduled for today.

Someone asked me a question that I take for granted as a realtor and someone who specializes in St. Louis lofts: "So how does this being 'FHA approved' benefit me?"

Back in May 2008, when all of the sudden FHA loans were a big deal in lending again, we did 2 posts to Lofts in the Lou (My Day at the FHA part 1, My Day at the FHA part 2 )that addressed some aspects of FHA financing and some of the flaws in the approval process.

The basics of getting any loan that seems to be more relevant today is that the money lender has to approve of 3 things before loaning money: the borrower, the buy, and the reason. To get any home mortgage, the bank begins the process by approving the borrower (checking credit, income, assets & liabilities). Once the buyer selects a home, regardless of it being a house or condo, the lender must approve the property too. This usually comes with an appraisal.

Condominiums can be complicated. Appraisers don't have the time or access to obtain enough information about the condominium association, its funding, etc. so the bank usually takes care of that. It can be difficult at times. There are several different types of bank reviews that occur when dealing with a condo, but the two basic options are "limited review" and "full review". Buying a condo or loft in a previously FHA APPROVED building helps the process because then your lender would be able to obtain a speedy approval through a limited review.

Most home sales take roughly 30 days to complete. Often times home buyer's think that the process of getting a loan mostly involves shopping for the best rate and everything else falls into place. NOT TRUE! The process of getting financing is only begining during the initial consultations. Usually a good lender can make the process seem like everything falls into place. Getting lenders not fully competent in financing condos can make the process seem like an arduous nightmare.

So my answer to the buyer's question: "How does FHA approval benefit me?" would be that having one fairly big piece of the puzzle already in place will give a borrower more options in financing, a smoother transaction, significantly less down-payment required, and an assumable loan (another story, but a great benefit when selling).

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!

Urban Oasis

Construction means different things to different people. In general, it pushes people away. Sidewalks are closed. Construction vehicles, dump trucks, cranes and fences take up the sidewalks and block off the area. Prior uses of a space come to a halt and the project takes over.

Right now, there are two projects nearing completion that are currently in the state described above. Thier eminent completion this spring/summer will revamp downtown in a much needed direction.



This weeks St. Louis Business Journal had an article about the Post Office Plaza and how its problems are being addressed. The unanticipated costs of construction is nerve-wracking. In this case, assuming a parking lot hadn't been the construction dump from a prior building at that location was the problem. Kudos to the Danforth Foundation and the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis in keeping the project moving forward. In order to repay a loan from the Danforth Foundation, organizations or idividuals can purchase "naming rights" to park benches for $7500, so businesses like mine who are just shy of buying naming rights to a sports arena can participate.

Just a few blocks away from the Old Post Office
is the nearly complete CITY GARDEN. Expected to be completed by mid summer, this park between 8th and 10th along Market will be another opportunity to showcase downtown and give residents and visitors an enjoyable hiatus. Unlike the plaza style of Post Office Plaza, the combination of art and nature is a welcome addition.

St. Louis City Sales Data 2007 & 2008

Last week, I put down a fair amount of information on the downtown real estate market and provided the sales information about the area. I also talked a bit about how the year of 2008 felt for a real estate professional (2008 Real Estate Sales Downtown ).

The post is something I've tried to do for a few years. Putting the year in perspective.

Of course, that was just downtown.

Hearing a news broadcast yesterday, I heard some remark about housing values and felt that the report was misinformation; exagerating the markets downturn.

Today I pulled up the city wide sales statistics. Looking at single family residential, condominiums and multi-family homes, the report is included below, but the most notable data follows:

Year----Total Sales Number/$ Value----Average Price---Days on Market

2007--------5000 / $701,227,559---------$140,246---------------88

2008--------4532 / $515,009,046---------$113,638---------------99



city%20sales%202007%202008.pdf

2008 Real Estate Sales Downtown

This post is something I've been thinking about all year. After 2007, as a realtor, I felt kicked around. As we found out a few months ago, a recession started in December of 2007 and we could feel it. My annual Downtown St. Louis real estate sales post,was appropriately titled "To Forget or Not to Forget 2007." We were starting to notice problems on the horizon. Regardless of the hard work or the below market pricing, some listings just wouldn't sell. That was a new problem. Buyer's were surfacing into the market with a cut-throat mentality. Low-ball offers and walking away after the first counter.....another strange new anomoly. Despite the changes that were just appearing on the horizon, as things continued to get progressively more difficult and bizzare in 2008, that post came to mind.

Despite getting harder, the market makes sense today. A year ago, we were still waiting for over 2000 units to flood the market. Nearly all of those had to become rentals as demanded by the bank. Developer's had to start taking responsibility for the loans. Some couldn't.

Pyramids collapse in April was a dismal blow. Despite the numbers not making sense, John Steffen had a vision for our city that was adopted by many. "Paris on the Mississippi" was his line. His ability to do so much at one time was questionable, and ultimately a big part of the company's demise, but the end result was something worth believing in.

The financial crisis which played a big part in Pyramid's collapse has taken its toll on just about all projects downtown and elsewhere, from Ballpark Village to our listing at Westgate Lofts not being completed. Easy street is no more.

When the media covers the financial crisis, the stress always seems to be on foreclosures and personal finance, when the bigger news seems to be the effect on large scale commercial projects. Being out with a buyer a few days ago, they insinuated that the shift in scale of Ballpark Village was proportional to the ability of downtown to sustain that project. My thought and comment was that projects all over the world have been scrapped, delayed,reduced, or changed like Brown Shoe and more recently the Shriner's Hospital.

Foreclosures and relocation sales have taken thier toll on the sales prices this past year. Appraisals are supposed to take similar properties in similar sales conditions. Not using a distressed property to compare with a property being sold "at market" is the standard, but unfortunately, in some places, there aren't any sales taking place other than foreclosures or relocation sales. In this regard, downtown is fortunate. Foreclosures are prevalent, but not the majority of sales. Looking at the sales data though, seeing a loft sell for around $100 per square foot is just wild. The condition of these units are often times horrible.

To sum it all up personally, feeling "bashed in the face with a baseball bat" didn't feel good last year. Now the real estate market is all about getting "bashed." Interestingly though, it's not as bad as the media makes it out to be. We're having the best January as a company we've ever had. Interest rates are favorable and supply is good for buyer's. For seller's it can be horrible unless able to price extraordinarily low and STILL get low-balled.

Happy New Year! Here are the MLS sales from 2008.

Year--#Sold-------$/Sq Ft----Ave.Days on Market-------Ave.Price
2008----109-----------$163-----------------237-----------------$227,668
2007----178-----------$186-----------------181-----------------$240,252
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

See The Whole Report Here

Down to the Ballpark

As a realtor, I've been asked lots of times about the Ballpark Lofts. There really wasn't much to say for a long time. Things started up with an interest list, followed by an event "the NFL Style Draft" where each and every one of the units on floors 3-5 were reserved. Up until a month ago, I'd never heard anything different.

When we got a call from Kevin McGowan to help out with the building, it really excited me for three reasons: its the only "for sale" development within 2 blocks of Busch Stadium, they're move in ready, and lastly that they weren't really made available to realtors to share with buyer's due to the draft style reservations.

Once we got to the building and inside each and every unit left, I was impressed with the views and the modern finishes. With Spring Training starting today, I'm thinking of how the landscape will transform with Cardinal red coming so soon. Also with Ballpark Village's recent approval and removed residential components, these spaces will be the only ones available in Ballpark Village.

Contact us to check out the Ballpark Lofts and get one of the best spaces for Redbird season today!

Do You Have to Sell Now?

I'm going out with a buyer this morning and am just blown away by the deals out there. Foreclosures, short sales, and just plain motivated sellers are pretty much all that's out there.

It begs the question that we ask all our prospective listings now; do you HAVE to sell NOW? In a bad real estate market, in the middle of winter, during a recession? Usually we get some derivitive of "yes" to that question. The bottom line, if you try to sell now, you're leaving money on the table--and having to compete for buyer's with those (especially relocation companies) that slash prices incredibly.

Unfortuantely for the buyers though, dealing with banks can be a nightmare. We work with them all the time in either foreclosures or short sales and they can really give the impression that they don't care about anyone.

Happy New Year Ward 6

In the past, the downtown area has been exempt from having to perform occupancy inspections at the sale or change of residency of a loft or condo. As a side effect from the rift going on at the King Bee Building, it was ordained that buildings downtown would begin to be incorporated into the city's HOUSING CONSERVATION PROGRAM

In November, I checked with the office in room 406 of City Hall. As a city landlord and resident, these inspections are familiar. Asking when they would be adding downtown buildings, they told me to check back.

So it was strange, last week, when I did look up the Terra Cotta address to find that they, along with all the other downtown buildings in the 6th Ward, were now assigned to Conservation district 54. (This presently includes 2020 Lofts, Terra Cotta Lofts, The Annex Lofts, Printer's Lofts, Railway Lofts, Windows Lofts, King Bee Lofts, Paris Style Lofts, Knickerbocker Lofts, Garment Row Lofts, Denim Lofts and Westgate Lofts) All the buildings are scheduled to require occupancy inspections by July 1.

Looking at downtown, it should be interesting. Just like any other situation, being able to get the occupancy inspectors into a building requires more leg-work than necessary in a house. Its also one more step in the process of selling or renting your loft.

Sick Buildings!

Nothing new to report here. Buyer's get freaked out when they see lots of places for sale in a given area. Drive down one street in a neighborhood and see two or three houses together with 'For Sale' signs and people start asking what's wrong with the area. Is the Love Canal flowing in back? Is there a crack house on the corner?

The funny thing about downtown is that some buildings go out of there way to force EVERY prospective buyer that walks into their building to see how many units are, or have been on the market based upon the number of lock boxes they see when they walk in the door or as they walk by the building. This is a problem that really should be fixed. Not only does it reflect on the building, but it reflects on downtown as a whole.

Of course, having a buyer's agent like myself, we can explain that there are a number of units that have sold and still have the box there. There are others that may be for rent, and there are still some that just need a lockbox for entry of a utility or service technician. We can also point out that in a building with 100 units, having 10 on the market isn't bad. In the mind of a buyer, no one would want to sell in the building they want. It would be too cool for that.

So this may be another post for the condo board members out there to consider. If the first message a buyer gets out of your building is that a bunch of units are for sale, you have a problem. At a time when re-sale value isn't something we even want to look at, its not a bad time to address the things that will hold back re-sale values in ANY market.

To Live or To Sell!

Last month at the Downtown Neighborhood Nights, we ran into one of our clients. With so much for them to do and see, we didn't spend too much time talking except for a few brief minutes. How's your life? Do you enjoy your space? etc.

We found out they had become the Association President too.

That brought up the subject of how they had chosen to implement leadership in the building.

One topic that seems to be coming up lately as a problem for people trying to sell is the creative RENTAL RESTRICTIONS have been implemented in some of the loft buildings downtown.

It seems that buyers, when faced with a decision between two or three lofts will choose one with less restrictive by-laws. Their "short list". That often times one of the determining factors is conveyed like this, "well if I ever needed to rent this one, I could." Of course some loft buyers have every intention of renting out their space at some point of their ownership.

We discussed that with our client. He cited some research that was provided regarding appreciation levels in comparable buildings. One building chose to "manage" its residents affairs with edicts and fines. Another similar building had higher fees with less restrictions. According to the study, in this situation price appreciation was higher in the building with less restrictions. Instead of being heavy handed, the condo association held parties and mixers in the building so that residents could get together and talk about issues in an informal setting.

Of course, I have no idea what study this is or the validity. There could be other factors not made clear in our discussion.

It seems interesting though, that the lofts we are trying to sell with the most difficulty have strict rental restrictions while the units that seem to sell faster have less absolute restrictions regarding rentals or other matters. Since the summer, we've actually sold more units in the Syndicate than any other building. While prices are drastically lower in resale units,

Also interesting to me is that often times condo board members we talk to only cite the negative problems that rentals can cause and seemingly have little or no interest in how restrictions can stiffle resale. Seemingly there are two sides to the matter, and those that believe having strict limits on rentals do so because they are entirely focused on the buildings livability and fear of renters. Selling and resale value tends to not be as high of a consideration. The minority of people selling seem to take up the issue of association restrictions at times, but as people leaving the group, they have little influence. As a realtor, of course, we'd like to think we focus on the "big picture" but my primary interest with buyer's is usually resale.

Condo assocations to have to consider the number of leases allowed in a building to keep the building "warrantable". Usually that number is a maximum of 40-49% leased units. The former giant Pyramid had a brilliant scheme: to only allow rentals for "original owners" creating a noble class within their buildings. This really was a scheme that allowed them to sell with less trouble, and to reduce competition for them down downt the road. Members of the noble class always seem to embrace this right. Sometimes those affected by strict rules talk lawsuit: forcing the will of one onto the many. That doesn't seem like the way things should be handled either.

No matter how this issue is viewed, or any other, one thing clear is that setting policy in condo associations can be a delicate matter. No training or education is required to be elected to the board or to lease, but having some collective wisdom or case studies available to those who serve would be nice.

Help Design Lucas Park TONIGHT!

In just 30 minutes from now, a "design charette" will be held at Crepes in the City, 500 N 14th St. It should last until about 9. Plenty of discussion has led up to this event in hopes to transform the current space into a more useful and welcoming park for all the city residents.

One Holiday Thought.........SHOP DOWNTOWN!

A Big topic of discussion this year is holiday retail shopping. Turn on the news. There's talk of the economy and its effects on how much a person will spend on gifts this season. Our thoughts aren't how much, but where our money is spent.

Growing up in suburbia, no one really had to worry where they shopped. Most shops were owned by big business paying minimum wage to its employees. My wife, on the other hand, grew up not far from me but had an entirely different outlook. There were the malls and all the big box retailers, but there were a few strip malls nearby her home with mostly independent businesses. It was important to her to support them because without LOCAL SUPPORT, the storefronts that made up that community would be empty.

Looking at the downtown streetscape, what's different? Particularly around the residential areas, take out the Sprint store and what's left? Small, locally owned and operated independent businesses; many of which are owned by downtown residents!

There was a big increase in store openings in the past year which really helps everyone. Turning around empty or unsightly street level retail does more to change public perception of an area than having 100 occupied lofts sitting above them.

Earlier in the year, we posted about shopping downtown. That was more about the city not being supportive of the downtown retail district.

This is the call to all city and downtown residents and workers. With the economy suffering and retail sales lagging, it's more important than EVER to take care of your own neighborhood by SHOPPING THERE! From my experience as a realtor, downtown residents always get excited by stores and restaurants opening up in and around their building. The thought of these same residents leaving the downtown area to shop would be a disappointment.

Last week, Mrs. G was out with a friend from Springfield MO, enjoying THE LONDON TEA ROOM and Sushi at Wasabi when they did a little window shopping at the new ladies accessory shop D'Elegance, someone pulled them inside and they began holiday shopping. Do your part by adding your "wish list" items from stores downtown and supporting them! Not only will it benefit the owners, the local residents but also will keep tax revenue in the city. SHOP DOWNTOWN!

Our National Audience

Last week, setting the record for audiences at the Gateway Arch Grounds was a nice day of publicity for our otherwise HO-HUM National Park.

Not that the Arch isn't great, but really, outside of some good scenery, what is it?

Today's cover article on STLTODAY.com talked a bit about the little struggle we have going over the hope for revisions of the arch grounds.

According to the NPS, they can't just listen to what St. Louisans want. It has to be opened up for a national competition, similar to the one that Eero Saarinen was in. Seems respectable, huh?

This was posted back in April, the last time the media covered it.


Three concerns I have now. 1. The Arch Grounds are a National Park and should be treated accordingly....BUT we have to live with it year in and year out. Plans should be something that takes into account the city's desire for a world class destination, not just a quick makeover.

2. The actual plan that Saarinen submitted for his original contest victory was more involved. What we have is a stripped down version. Original plans include a theater a levee restaurant, an architectural museum and a history museum. Also the grounds would be forested and the Old Rock House would have been re-built from original materials. The NPS had an opportunity to get it right already. It makes a hell of a fairground, but is it something that brings people downtown?

3. My hope was for a call to action from within the city. Contact your Congressman! Of course, saving the economy has been a bit more pressing, but this should be a close second!

Claims that its National Historic Site should prevent local pressure to make improvements is NONSENSE! I would understand if it was Arlington National Cemetery or something of historical significance but c'mon! Everything historic was razed for the modern art, grassy landscaping and westward expansion museum. Nice, but historic? I might even be swayed by a bit more history on the part of the city that was destroyed to plant the Arch.

Party in the Park

Lots of talks have taken place about what can be done with Lucas Park. What happened in the past month or so is really fantastic....the talk turned (quickly) to action. Who is to say what the best use of the park is, or how it figures into the neighborhood, but having it cleaned up is fantastic!

Support the efforts and show up!

Fearful?

Last week, Warren Buffet said something that really hit home with me about his investment choices. He said he follows a simple rule, to "be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful." As a believer in home ownership, it wasn't disconcerting back in 2004 or 2005 when many buyer's came to me wanting to find a home. Buying was a foregone conclusion in those days. At the Ely Walker Lofts release party, I remember some people that tried to reserve several lofts. Stories of huge profits from flipping lofts were legendary then and people wanted to cash in that night. I think about that evening often.

When the market really tanked in Florida, I thought about the launch party at Ely. I heard stories of people getting stuck with multiple units and not knowing what to do. Greed really reared its ugly side.

Despite the markets in many locations being turned upsides down and many of the builders downtown having to drastically change their business plans, the market isn't as horrible as we hear on the news.

One presidential candidate is going around saying that the housing market has "collapsed". When the stock market collapsed during the great depression, it lost nearly 90% of its value. In contrast, our housing appreciation has mostly just flattened out with slight drops or slight appreciation based on market demand.

Other things I keep hearing is that the credit markets are frozen. No one can get a loan. "You watch too much TV!!" was what one mortgage lender told me. I had called him to ask if they'd be able to fund a loan set for closing last month. Of course, there are limitations. Some good, some not so good. Most of what industry professionals called "exotic loans" are a thing of the past. Also, much of the lending going on is in the form of loans that can be sold on the secondary market or otherwise insured by FHA or VA.

So thoughts about the world today are that the news media is spewing bad advice, engendering terror and paralyzing the community. People that buy homes right now are following the most fundamental rule in investing: buy low and sell high. Had I not gone on my buying spree last year, I'd be greedy right now.

The End of an Era

The last time I had something stolen from me in Downtown St. Louis, I was different, downtown was different, and the scenario was different.

Back in 1994, I was a student at UMSL. It was finals week and I was studying all afternoon and evening. I stopped off at Club EVOLUTION to relieve some stress, parked at 13th and Washington and returned about an hour later to find my car window was smashed and my backpack with all my books and notes had been stolen. ON FINALS WEEK! I searched around for at least 30 minutes looking in dumpsters until I found my books strewn across a dumpster full of broken beer and liquor bottles. Wearing only my well worn Birkenstocks, I climbed in and retreived everything except a microcassette recorder. My encounter that morning was likely caused by a person looking to survive in abject property.

Last night, I was enjoying myself at a table set up on Washington Avenue, about 3 blocks from where my last incident occured so long ago. A call came in from Howard McCauliffe, an agent with us that was holding open the City Museum Loft 509W (incidentally, one of the best deals around). He said a middle age, brown hair but balding man, about 5'9", came into his open house and told him that he wasn't allowed to hold an open house that evening. They discussed it, they seemed to agree that it was acceptable to hold an open house (who ever heard of a building that prevented you from reselling your loft?) Then about a half an hour later, a fellow loft owner came in and told him that his(our) sign had been taken.

After a day of calling trying to get our sign back the only option was to call the police.

The funny thing is that in the current market, these lofts probably won't sell anyway. They're priced above market and are in a building that has limited financing options. Even getting a loft to appraise out at over $200 per square foot would require an exceptional space in a building that supports that type of sale. Lastly, in this market or any, it seems odd that anyone wanting to sell housing inventory would shoot themselves in the foot by (allegedly) conducting such a selfish act directed at someone who specializes in selling their product.

As for crime in the city goes though, our last sign to be stolen was a month ago in West County. Go figure.

Downtown Neighborhood Nights

A couple weeks ago, the idea of hanging out downtown in the evening at the first ever "Neighborhood Nights" seemed idiotic. Sleep deprived, wanting to watch Sarah and Joe duke it out from Wash U. I could think of too many reasons not to be there. Afterwards, all I can say was that I was wrong.

Traditionally the Downtown St. Louis Partnership (recently renamed "Partnership for Downtown St. Louis")held a spring and fall loft tour. Each year, the tour became bigger and wider--going from the small cluster of a few buildings to sprawled out between Jefferson down to Broadway taking two full days to see everything. Still, even with all the hoopla that surrounded the loft tour, it just seemed like something was missing. Tours were usually held during weekends downtown where there wasn't much happening. Residents seemed like they wanted to avoid the whole thing. Whether the crowd was good or not, the normal hustle and bustle of the city seemed to be slowed down and covered up.


At the first Neighborhood Nights, covering the Old Post Office District east of Tucker, I saw what I wanted to see at the preceding tours, the typical buzz of downtown. City lights. A different feel.

This Thursday we'll be there again. The starting point will be at the English Living furniture store at 15th and Washington. Our table (weather permitting) will be a block west on the Corner. We have some great listings at the Printers Lofts open as well as several downtown agents to provide information.

We hope to see you there!

"Is Now a Good Time to Buy?"

Lately I've become a bit of a CNN junkie. All the politics and economy talk seem to get me every time.

With the economy on the ropes people are looking for serious advice.

Well don't start stuffing the mattress just yet.

Based on the news, I wouldn't think it was feasible to get a home loan right now. "You watch too much TV!!" was what one lender told me when I asked if they had any money to lend. The question made sense. All we hear about lately is frozen credit markets, blah blah blah. Restrictions and changes keep coming, yes. So far though, it seems like qualified borrowers haven't been denied.

Rates continuet to drop. Lenders are still lending and home prices, though fairly stable, do continue to favor buyers. The way it looks, the housing market may help pull us all out of the recession.

The Boom Downtown

Loft style has become mainstream in America. Black Granite, high ceilings, slab cabinets, modern decor. Tre Chic. Many loft buyers take this modern style and make their loft space into an attempt at self-expression. Stylish artwork, photos, great designs and modern furniture.

A few years down the road, a different style can evolve. Cool ultra modern stuff begins to share the space with more pastels. Bright colored objects stashed around the floors. Mobiles. Rubber duckies in the spa-like master baths. They become "baby-fied".

With our traditional St. Louis values, some people decide to move away. But what if they don't? Is it acceptable to have children in downtown St. Louis?

Fair housing laws were established in 1968 to protect the rights of people to live where they want regardless of who they were. Race, Color, National Origin, Religion, Sex, Familial Status, or handicap are the "protected classes" in the US.

Recently I heard of a couple that was being harassed by neighbors due to their child crying at night. The condo president got involved, trying to be helpful and resolve the matter. What actually resulted was clearly discriminatory.

They decided to sell their loft because they didn't feel welcome in their building.

One thing about downtown St. Louis, we have our very own office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Discussing this situation with the investigators, they advised that any attempt to control the behavior or living conditions of an individual or couple based on the fact that they have a child is discriminatory and violates the rights of a protected class of people (familial status). Regarding this situation, they told me that the intent of the person making discriminatory actions was less important than the perceptions of the persons being discriminated against.

In light of this situation, it might not be a bad idea for several of the downtown loft condo boards to hold a joint informational meeting on this topic. The folks at the HUD office seemed very open to meeting to talk about Fair Housing matters and to educate those who may be involved. While downtown residents may establish expectations about fellow residents, they should always remember that the neighborhood is open to everyone and the last thing a condo association needs is for its board members to waste time and money dealing with complaints from HUD.