Need Affordable Housing Downtown?

Ever since Downtown St Louis started its renaissance in residential housing, some phenomenal homes have been built. As is the case with most newly constructed homes, the prices weren't considered "affordable" by many. Times have changed, and there are some phenomenal deals downtown. Unless someone is really familiar with the market, its difficult to realize what's a great deal, and what's not. Someone working with an agent from another area might miss out on the best opportunities. This home at the Terra Cotta Lofts is a GREAT DEAL! When you open the front door to this home, you're greeted with a view of the Gateway Arch and Downtown St Louis skyline. The layout is spacious and roomy.

Many downtown St Louis lofts have a 'shot gun' layout with bedrooms in the rear and no windows. This unit has a master suite with great views adn plenty of light.

During the peak of the market, units like this would get scooped up in a matter of days. So if you're interested in seeing what downtown living is all about, check out this space for starters. Getting this kind of views of the downtown skyline is a great way to experience the urban renaissance in downtown.

OPEN TODAY! 12-2

 
Looking to "see the sights" of Downtown between the Rock & Roll Marathon and the Rams Game?

Stop by one or both of our downtown OPEN LOFTS!  

Featured in Time.com, the fantastic 3000 sq. ft Loft at Jack Thompson is what many people think of when they consider downtown living.  Tons of open space, Tons of natural light, and great modern finishes.  Located at SW corner of Tucker & Washington.

The Syndicate Condominiums at 915 Olive are located in the heart of the OLD POST OFFICE DISTRICT and are selling out quickly.  Stop by before your floorplan sells out!

Post-Season Bonus Burning a Hole in Your Pocket?

Watching the Cardinals muscle through the National League Championship Series was awe inspiring.  Last nights game notwithstanding.  

I was doing some searches for a downtown buyer with one eye while the other was fixed to the tv. 

The thought crossed my mind that all of the Cardinals would receive a post season bonus, and a fairly healthy one, for reaching the Fall Classic.   So out of curiosity, I started to look into the numbers to see how much of a loft one could buy with that bonus.

It's pretty tricky, and the Cardinals organization and player contracts have a great deal of say in how much a player gets.  

My projection was that the organization would get about 21.6 Million to split up between the team if they lose the series  and 32.4 Million if they win.

As affordable as the Downtown St Louis area is, players could really get a phenomenal space with the change they get from the post season play.

There are some exceptional penthouses available in the downtown area that would suit a redbird perfectly.  Close to work, secured entry and top level amenities.   


Even if you're not a Cardinal, but just want to take advantage of everything downtown has to offer, call the Premier Team for a no obligation tour of the fantastic urban homes available at Developer Close-Out Pricing.

Enjoy Downtown, Workers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Turning Point....

Something is happening today that signals a turning point for the downtown neighborhood. The last developer owned unit at the Dorsa Lofts is scheduled to close, which is great news for the Dorsa building and for downtown.

When the Dorsa project was first unveiled I was excited. This was in september 2005. We were in a housing shortage downtown. Buyer's were looking downtown, only to find that the space they were looking for hadn't been built. Buyers were flipping their newly built lofts for large profits, and pricing was creeping up towards the $200/square foot mark. The Dorsa, an attractive building with timber ceilings and exposed brick was promised to be finished similar to the newly completed Banker's Lofts. Pricing started at $122 / square foot. It seemed like a safe bet on a great block. The opening party held by Pyramid Construction casual. We showed up at the beginning and started pouring over the sales materials, pricing and such to get a grasp on what was going on. We had several clients showing up and more that were interested.

The first unconventional thing about the Dorsa was that, unlike other new construction sales downtown, Pyramid failed to convert its reservations into executed purchase agreements for over 6 months. It wasn't long until the market started to cool down and lots of reservations were cancelled. It still was a good value. The location was great. We kept our reservation.

Closings started happening in Summer 2007, Pyramid collapsed in April 2008. Premier Bank took over as the 'builder' and ran the building. For over a year, the vacant units, over 50% of the building, sat empty with no visible efforts to sell. The Bank thought that selling off the units as a large block would be in its best interest, despite the negative implications for the building. With virtually no commercial lending available for anyone to buy the remaining units, they allowed a prospective buyer to start renting out units and a few went on the market. Sales started trickling in. Eventually in the fall of 2010, Premier Bank was taken over by the FDIC. Assets were going to be sold quickly. Regardless of the market, prices were slashed drastically. Rentals were terminated and some ended up buying. Finally the building started to fill up.

While the road to completion for the Dorsa took significantly longer than the buildings sold during the boom, after today, we can say that its SOLD OUT!

How is that a turning point?

When the stock market crashed in 2008 and banks started failing was when the St Louis real estate market went from slow to scary. The additional burden that downtown struggled with was the public perception that there was a glut of unsold lofts downtown.

Now that the inventory of Dorsa Lofts have sold out, we're a step closer to a balanced market (between a buyer's and seller's market) and most likely a more favorable climate for appreciation and more new construction.

OPEN HOUSES TODAY!! 1-3pm

Stop by our open houses today at 1204 Washington (Jack Thompson), and the Syndicate (915 Olive)

Prices Just dropped at Grace Lofts!

Pruitt-Igoe Design Contest Winner

Back when the competition was announced for the former Pruitt-Igoe site, many thoughts came to mind.

First off, the current forest that exists could use some nature trails and an obervatory. Your typical state park.

After my visit yesterday to Schaumburg Illinois in the Chicago area, my feelings changed.

With its proximity to the loft district, and several other areas that could use a good design & accessory store, St Louis should work as hard at luring Ikea as they are working on Aerotropolis.

Since the organizers of the design competition have already stated that they are in no position to make any decisions about the use of the land, and are just trying to stimulate discussion, the practicality and logistics of this award winning design aren't relevant.

My decision is made up, they just want the best Ikea.

Unique and Stunning: Jack Thompson 6A

Working extensively in the downtown loft district makes "high end, stylish and modern" seem run of the mill. It's everywhere; especially once the loft boom began. High end modern spaces were being churned out all over the place. We are really lucky here in St Louis.

Every once in a while though, a loft shows up that is truly extraordinary. This space is one of those. A 2 story 3000 square foot gem. Just listed today for $524,900. We've listed it before, and also unit 6d that is similar, but not quite the same. This building has the exposed brick and timber look as do many others, but unlike some of the other spaces, this one is exquisite throughout.

Along with the Grace Lofts and the Syndicate Condominiums, this unique space will be open on July 23rd from 1-3pm.

Contact us today for a showing or any other real estate questions.

Sales Up, Prices Stabilizing

Last week was a busy week at the title companies as the 1st half of 2011 came to an end and Festivities for Independence Day started up. The million dollar question remains in every real estate market, when will the market "come back?"

In the past few months, the inventory of available downtown lofts has been less than what we've seen in past years. A search for 2 bedroom, 1 bath spaces for less than $240,000 produced only 39 possibilities. Not what we're used to seeing. I double checked to make sure there wasn't a mistake.

This year it seems that several great things are happening downtown that indicate a turnaround is on the horizon. A sweep of the Reds over at Busch Stadium would have been icing on the cake.

Looking at the numbers, there were 53 condos sold in downtown St Louis during the first half of 2011. That is based on Realtor sales on the MLS. Last year there were 41 sales in the first 6 months. While the median sale price dropped by about $20,000.

From the Realtor perspective, it seemed like seller's in this years market seem to realize what they're up against more than in years past. One big factor in the increased sales this year also was the failure of Premier Bank of Jefferson City, the owner of the remaining lofts at the Dorsa. That change of the guard made the prices of these attractive units drop substantially overnight. As of today, the building is 90% Sold. The FDIC doesn't mess around when it comes to unloading property. Other foreclosures still pop up, and some are ridiculously priced. One would think that in this market, getting multiple offers on a property in less than a week wouldn't occur, but it does when a foreclosure agent prices a condo $50,000 to $100,000 below market, that happens.

Despite the number of distressed sales taking place in all areas right now, it seems that compared to 2009 and 2010, there are more loft buyers that are interested in buying a place on more factors than just price alone. I had a conversation with one agent earlier this year about how her listing was substantially overpriced. It was! It didn't matter though, someone scooped it up for nearly $180 per square foot. Most seller's aren't that lucky, but just seeing it start to happen is reasurring that prices are beginning to stabilize. Considering the inventory is lower and only the 24 Grace Lofts have been added to the number of available condos in the past 4 years, we may start to see a housing shortage again downtown; the condition we were in back in 2005 when pricing began to spike.

Lastly, one thing has continued to drag pricing down, which is the number of non-warrantable condos in the downtown area. Some of these were non-warrantable from the beginning, and others became non-warrantable when developers chose to rent out unsold inventory or some other factor. Lofts in buildings like Ely Walker, Ventana, Packard Lofts, King Bee, or Ballpark Lofts have been unable to entertain anything except cash offers; they've been sold for the lowest prices of all.

We'll see about the future, but here are the sales for the past 6 months:

2207 Washington Ave #307 47,250
1709 Washington Ave #904 58,000
210 N 17th St #205 65,000
210 N 17th St #1011 75,900
2020 Washington Ave #214 90,000
2020 Washington Ave #707 92,250
1511 Locust St #303 95,000
2020 Washington Ave #404 95,040
1501 Locust St #601 97,000
2020 Washington Ave #406 97,000
1627 Locust St #504 100,500
1511 Locust St #205 102,500
1312 Washington Ave #4a 104,000
901 Washington Ave #308 106,000
2020 Washington Ave #402 St 118,000
1720 Chouteau Ave #402 120,000
1511 Locust St #606 St 125,000
1611 Locust St #504 129,000
314 N Broadway #1301 St 134,900
2323 Locust #403 140,750
1123 Washington Ave #507 152,000
314 N Broadway #1307 St 154,000
2323 Locust #308 161,000
1123 Washington Ave #605 162,500
1123 Washington Ave #213 165,000
507 N 13th St #509 168,000
1123 Washington Ave #316 168,000
400 S 14th St #1106 184,000
1601 Washington Ave #205 200,000
2020 Washington Ave #101 St 207,000
1611 Locust St #301 211,000
1015 Washington Ave #301 213,500
901 Washington Ave #509 225,500
2020 Washington Ave #813 233,500
703 N 13th St #404 255,000
315 N 11th St #703 265,000
400 S 14th St #1214 275,000
915 Olive St #1209 285,000
915 Olive St #1401 287,900
901 Washington Ave #706PH 399,000
901 Washington #204 345,600

Dorsa Lofts
1015 Washington Ave #503 158,000
1015 Washington Ave #607 159,000
1015 Washington Ave #608 159,500
1015 Washington Ave #407 169,000
1015 Washington Ave #601 171,000
1015 Washington Ave #505 179,250
1015 Washington Ave #405 180,440
1015 Washington Ave #404 185,200
1015 Washington Ave #605 193,000

1015 Washington Ave #706PH 306,000
1015 Washington Ave #708PH 325,000
1015 Washington Ave #707PH 389,000

At It Again.....DSLRA

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAY TO GO DSLRA!!!

Props to CityGarden

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

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

Fast forward a few decades, and here comes CityGarden.

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


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

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

Amazing Grace!

The Grace Lofts were built in what was known as the Lesan-Gould Building, a historic building significant due to its patented use of reinforced concrete. Located in the anchor blocks of Downtown West, its surrounded by shops, restaurants cafe's and galleries.

It was originally planned as condominiums, but upon completion, plans were changed and the building was held and rented instead. Now, conversion is underway.

Compared to many of the other buildings, the lofts tend to be more open and spacious. With only four units per floor, its a boutique building.

The building is Priced to Sell! Special financing is available and there is a SPRING SPECIAL for contracts approved by June 30th of $10,000 off the loft or $10,000 in developer upgrades.

The Grace Lofts are being held open this coming Sunday, May 22nd from 1-3pm!

New FALL PRICING as of 9/1/11!  Other specials apply!  Check out the fall frenzy special at 4SaleStLouis.com/grace_lofts.html

New Market, Old Rules Apply

Buyer's season has really begun here in Dowtown St Louis. Lofts are getting scooped up, buyer's are enamored, and new residents are heading in. The only drag is that prices are still more "affordable" than sellers would like.

One observation I've made in the past few years is that many sellers, due to financial or other reasons, are cutting corners in the sales process. Because of expected losses or other scenarios, some lofts aren't left in showing condition. They aren't staged, touched up or re-painted, have anchors left in drywall, and have belongings left out. Some of the units are rented, and the tenants leave the unit in horrible shape too.

The bottom line, is that just because the market isn't as lucrative for sellers, all the same rules apply.

In order to attract and capture the buyer, a seller MUST consider what they are competing against and try to put their best foot forward. Homes that aren't prepared for showings often times leave the buyer in a position where they are examining walls and looking for defects, as opposed to an inviting, well staged home where prospective buyers are able to feel comfortable and make that buying decision.

A very good article on preparing your home is here. Also, a Realtor should be a good reference as well.

As we get ready for a brisk spring season in Downtown, those truly wanting to sell have to remember that the buyer is still in charge.

DSLRA: BE THERE

DSLRA has been putting out cards in lofts, but just in case you didn't see, the Downtown St Louis Residents Association is hosting an open forum with Mayor Slay regarding the St Louis City earnings tax. This is an important meeting to attend.

Lots of misinformation is out there. There's a movement to take it away, but before we address removing a source of revenue for the city, we probably should talk about it. Are we going to cut services? Would a merger with St Louis County Help? Do we add more to our sales taxes or just bump up property tax?

Obviously lots of people have their opinions. I have mine, but its probably worthwhile for residents of the city to start this discussion before the statewide movement makes the decision for us.

The meeting is at the Old Post Office, Tomorrow (Thursday February 17th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

Time for every city resident to get more informed about this and make the RIGHT decision!

Needing a Downtown Home?

Congratulations to Kit Bond, downtown St Louis' newest worker!

For someone like Kit, looking to work downtown and have quick and easy access to comfortable and stylish living, there are some fantastic deals available within blocks of the office.

Here's a great option below at the Syndicate Condominiums
Unit 1401. This building just took a huge price reduction and units are starting to sell FAST!

What really is captivating about this Syndicate Condo is that it is a double corner with most of the windows facing east, right into the offices at Thompson Coburn, plus northern and southern views and a balcony on the east. There are some other great floor plans too, if he wouldn't want a view of the office.

Great News for Leather Trades!

The Leather Trades Building, long time dormant building should finally be getting its long awaited facelift!  The building, listed on the historic register, will be converted into apartments by large apartment manager Dominium out of Minneapolis. 



The Tudor Building Scared People.

 This is great news for the 15-16th blocks of Locust which have had to look at the building in its current state ever since Pyramid Construction started doing preliminary work for its planned condo project.  It was a reminder of the effect the Tudor Building had on prospective buyers at the Lofts at 2020.  People would look at the ragedy building and ask if the neighborhood was stable.  After Pyramid started pulling windows out and doing some demolition, the Leather Trades had the same effect on people looking at the Printers Lofts, the Annex, and Terra Cotta. 


The New Tudor added density and businesses!



After the Tudor Building was completed, it added a whole new dimension to the area with more density, and some sorely needed commercial space.  The additional buildings across the street add even more.

 

More density and one more completed building to downtown at 16th and Locust is just what the doctor ordered!

FHA Approves Lofts at 2020!

Congratulations to the Loft Owners at 2020 Washington in getting their building FHA approved! 

Last week the FHA Commissioner, David Stevens was in town to speak to a group of Realtors.  We were there for a few reasons;  a free lunch, a pep talk, and to impress upon the FHA Commissioner how lending restrictions on condominiums need to be revised. 

For review:  an FHA Loan is made available to allow new home buyers to buy a home with a 3.5% downpayment (instead of the 20%+ that conventional banks require).  In February 2010, it was required that only FHA Approved Condo Projects could receive FHA loans.  Since FHA financing was practically non-existent when most of the downtown condominium projects were built, but now accounts for nearly 40% of the available lending, many of the buildings that were not originally approved had to go through the process.  We had been encouraging that since May 2008 (see My Day at the FHA part 1 and part 2). 

Despite all our encouragement, only the Syndicate Condominiums and the Dorsa Lofts have become FHA approved since February and they did mainly because of continued involvement from the developers.

When the topic came up at the luncheon about improving access to FHA for Downtown condominium projects, there was a loud applause from the crowd.  Most Realtors want better opportunity to sell in Downtown St Louis but have had to tell buyers with less than a 20% downpayment to look elsewhere.  That has been HORRIBLE!  Unfortunately, the Commissioner Stevens answer was not terribly inspiring.  He said that due to condos having the highest default rate and pressure from right wing groups to reduce federal loan programs, "no further liberalization of lending terms can be expected." 

While that news stinks, it forces the issue even more that CONDO ASSOCIATIONS NEED TO GET FHA APPROVAL!!! (Especially Printers Lofts, Annex Lofts, Terra Cotta Lofts, Railway Lofts, Bankers Lofts, Westgate Lofts, Garment Row Lofts, Lucas Lofts, & the Marquette Building).  Also Knickerbocker and BLU, coming up for expiration next month, need to get re-approved.

At Premier Realty Exclusive, we have resources to help in the process, but the Condo Associations of these buildings have to do the work, otherwise they limit the buyer's able to buy to those having a 20% plus downpayment.  These days, that's a tall order.

Inspired City Living! The FINAL 20!

When many of the Downtown Loft Condo projects stalled and a few developers lost all, the Syndicate Condominiums continued on and is down to the final 20 units on the market! Not as edgy and rustic as the bulk of the downtown loft projects, the Syndicate offers a straight line modern interior with some really cool amenities like an artists room, media room, art gallery, inside access to the Culinaria grocery store, and a phenomenal 18th floor rooftop deck with 270 degree views of the downtown skyline.

One of the problems getting into a condo in the past few years has been financing. Lenders are starting to crack down on buildings with too much commercial space and too many rentals, the Syndicate hasn't had a problem. Its actually been the opposite. Most of my Syndicate client get the 'nChamp' financing allowing a reduced interest loan (1.5 off the prevailing interest rates). The building is also FHA approved for prospective buyers that don't have as much of a downpayment.

Location, Style, and amenities all in its favor, the Syndicate Condominiums is worth a look for anyone considering an urban lifestyle.

Click on the pictures for a contact form to set up a tour of the building or any additional information!

Latest Developer Indictment

According to the Post Dispatch's paper today, Sam Glasser, the man involved with the sale of many downtown buildings was arrested Monday from a sealed indictment accusing him of a bank fraud scheme with already jailed developer Matt Burghoff.

Based on the story, it sounds like it would be tough to pull together a conviction. 

There are lots of people who've gotten the short end of the stick in their dealings with Sam that are probably happy to hear this news.  As attorney for the defense said in the paper, they are "anxious for the facts to come out in this case."  Knowing Sam as a guy to cover the bases, when they do get the facts, I'd be suprised to see a conviction.

What would be a suprise would be if he was the last real estate developer to get indicted from actions during the real estate boom.   Matt Burghoff, Clayton Hargraves, John Steffens and Sam Glasser were guys that the banks pandered to for a while, now they're scrutinizing things and wondering what happened.

Post Office Plaza's new destination

The silence surrounding Roberts Tower downtown has been rather deafening until today. We still don't have details about the condominiums, but news of the new tenant just surfaced.

I'm pretty excited, because as a NFL coach, Don Shula was renowned, as a restauranteur, he's been equally successful.  At some point, news of a nationwide company choosing to begin its regional presence downtown won't be a big deal.  Today its a sign to other entities that our downtown meets the criteria in which a business can thrive, despite an economic downturn.

What is really nice, is that soon, like the Terrace View for City Garden, Shula's 347 can serve as a logical destination for residents and tourists enjoying Post Office Plaza. 

As a huge fan of independent restaurants, news of a chain might seem less important, but having a mix is even better. 

Bon Apetit!

Happy Birthday Eero Saarinen!

Finally made it to the arch. My hope was to glean from the speakers at this evenings panel discussion which one of the 5 prospective plans for the arch grounds are most consistent with those of Eero Saarinen and Dan Kiley.

The speakers tonight includued an archivist, a historian, an architect involved as a student in assiting the jury in the 1947 competition, a project manager working for Eero Saarinens office and lastly, Susan Saarinen, the daughter of Eero Saarinen who is a landscape architect herself. Informative and insightful as it was, the presentation didn't include any information about the current contest.

What I did get which was totally unexpected, was a rush of excitement for what we have the opportunity to witness and enjoy: a long deserved makeover of the archgrounds and respective property across the river. I say 'deserved,' because the arch grounds are a National Park, and based on every other National Park I've been to, it just doesn't stack up. Interestingly, looking at many of the designs from the 1947 contest including the winning design, their plans were much more than what we were left with.

All along I've called for people to participate in this. That's important. While the judges for this year's contest are undoubtedly qualified to process the challenge before them, and it is a challenge, they aren't motivated by what's BEST FOR ST LOUIS like we are. Public input is allowed ONLY THROUGH MONDAY!!! Seeing bicycle and pedestrian trails linking the Missouri portion of the park with the new attractions planned for the east side was exciting for me. Seeing the new venues for the archgrounds like concert space, fountains and all kinds of other improvements was fantastic. After my trip last month to San Antonio and seeing how well they tied their downtown to the Riverwalk, its clear that we can do so much with the Arch grounds that exponentially improves our viability as a tourist destination and a place for us to build community.

After the presentations, I took my time to try to take in everything about the new plans . My initial front runner is the plan from Weiss / Manfredi Team Concept. They have a St Louis connection in SWT Design out of Webster Groves, and seemed to have a good realistic plan. Some of the plans were hard to understand and will take more time to read.

My goal from here is to spend another hour or so reading and listening to the entries on the web and then submit my input to the National Park Service The form they have at the Arch has specific questions that the webform does not have, like "What do you value about the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial?, and How do each of these designs respect what you value about the Memorial? I'm not sure how important these questions are to the judges, but I'll probably try to answer their questions.

After the evening, I meandered my way through downtown, trying to connect the many perspectives shared in the design competition with the current layout of the Gateway Mall, visiting several attractions like CityGarden, and Serra's Twain before catching the train home. Just like an election day, we only have a finite period to share our ideas about the contest. Its important to get informed now.

Cherry on Top!

As a life long St Louisan, I've spent more time in a given week driving on Kingshighway Boulevard than I've spent at the Arch in my lifetime. Despite the seeming disparity, the relevance that the Gateway Arch has on our collective lives is important to consider. Especially important now.

Starting on Tuesday, the top 5 design teams in the international competition to re-create the Gateway Arch grounds will be unveiled at the Gateway Arch. This display will be open through September 30th, with a traveling display to be available through September 26th. A winner should be selected on September 24th.

My hope is that most St Louisans will consider it part of their civic duty to participate in the competition by stopping by the displays and getting informed about what we could be left with. Obviously the architects, and dignitaries will be there. What ultimately becomes of the Arch Grounds will have more of an impact on our City and its ability to attract tourists, conventions, and even new jobs and residents; its important for ALL St Louisans to be there and be in the know about our options.

Had that been the case when Eero Saarinen's design won the 1947 Design Competition, it's feasible that more of his design would have been implemented; a design that included much than the current Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

I'm trying to decide now what I'm going to do. The unveiling will be Tuesday at 9am. It will undoubtedly be a feel good event with the Mayor and all the City Folk in attendance, but on Friday at 7pm, there is a 100th Birthday for Eero Saarinen with presentations from historians, architects involved with the last contest, Saarinen's daughter and others. Being there to hear the inspirational statements from the Mayor would be nice, but the possible commentary on the new designs by persons involved with the earlier design could really be powerful.

Who knows, I might show up twice.  Either way, the amount of effort I'm seeing from the NPS and others shows me that its important for us to weigh in and talk to others about what could potentially be a major impact on our towns future.

The Other Shoe Dropped

When Pyramid Construction, the St Louis Loft Developer, went under back in April 2008, word on the street was that there was some inappropriate shuffling of funds between all the projects that were in the works. Today the Post Dispatch reported that John Steffen, the President of Pyramid Construction was going to be indicted of bank fraud for cashing out on tax credits that were supposed to be held as collateral for a loan. Given the extent of the Steffen empire downtown, I'd expected a more elaborate scheme to be uncovered. Looking at Casenet, there have been several suits filed by banks, maybe this is just the beginning, or maybe after all the dust has settled, this is the only case that can be made. I'm hoping for the latter.

While the overall business of John Steffen was evidently not sustainable once the market slowed down, he really had a vision for this town. He was a leader. People believed in him. He described his vision for a 'Paris on the Mississippi' with panache, and like Quarterback turned Dancer Kurt Warner, he had the perfect story of starting his career as a carpenter and building a huge business from scratch. When I had my first experience with Pyramid, they had a construction company, an architectural firm and was about to purchase a real estate brokerage.

When Pyramid purchased a Blue Ribbon Realtor brokerage and re-branded it under the Pyramid umbrella, it didn't really make sense to me. That was when I started to question the direction of the company. It was a Central West End broker with limited downtown experience. Most importantly, buying a brokerage is really buying human capital; there's really no way to ensure that the agents perform or even stay with the company after its sold. [Warren Buffett, if you're reading this, Premier Realty Exclusive is one notable exception]. As a relatively new businessman, I figured they knew what they were doing.

During the fallout from Pyramids demise, many who were directly involved with John Steffen felt that he would land on his feet. I wasn't so sure, but based on the loyalty he engendered and the extent of his political connections it was plausible. That's my hope today. In dealing with Pyramid, I wasn't a huge fan, but John Steffen is a guy that we need in the world making a difference. If it is true and the collateral was sold by Steffen, I view it as an act of desperation trying to keep a flailing company alive. Steffens lost his home, all his assets...loosing his freedom would punctuate an already dreary descent from his position of prominence in the St Louis Downtown renaissance.

Tell Me What To Say!

I'm a huge fan of leadership through inclusion.  Having a vision is one thing, but getting people to walk with you in support is the fundamental characteristic that demonstrates the abilities of a leader.  What's especially sad is seeing some insane cause where there's tremendous community support like was the case in Nazi Germany, then seeing an opposing good cause where people just aren't willing to stand up and participate.

The Partnership for Downtown St Louis came up with the latest vision for the future of downtown.  That's really good, because by the time the goals for the last major plan for Downtown (Downtown Now!) was being completed, there seemed to be an absence of vision and planning that accounted for over planned growth in condo surplus exceeding 7 times the highest annual number of units sold.  Thankfully that planned growth didn't occur at the time and most of those projects remain viable for the future.

Right now the residential plan for Downtown St Louis is to have 20,000 residents by the year 2020.  It sounds like a lot to me.  Breaking it down, that's an additional 800 persons per year.

I was invited to a meeting coming up in a few weeks to get together with others in my profession to discuss this plan.  I've read the whole Downtown Next Plan, and find that there are many good thoughts.  I'm happy to participate in the meeting and hear what others have to say.  For some reason, I'm at a loss for what to say about my role in such a meeting.  The plan also includes increasing the number of downtown jobs by 20% and a whole host of other ideas.  It seems to me that the "build it and they will come" philosophy is what will work.  If we do establish better public transportation, if we do remove a bulk of the hideous train tracks from southern downtown and replace it with the Choteau Pond greenway, if we do get another 20,000 workers downtown, people will want to be a part of downtown.

So that's where I sit.  I'm asking for help.  Email me at chris@4SaleStLouis.com if you'd like to remain anonymous or private, but help me to be a useful member of this committee by sharing your ideas on how Downtown Next can be implemented. 

I'm waiting!

Sound Off

Sorry for short notice, but there's a meeting tonight for Downtown residents to have discussion with "problem club" owners to see how they can resolve their differences.  It's located at the Downtown Partnership Office (720 Olive Street, Suite 450, St. Louis, MO 63101) & is at 6pm.  Anyone with concern about the negative B.S. going on Downtown should be at this meeting.

What's Next Depends on YOU!

Tonight there was an update to the downtown partnership site adding a new feature, the "Friends of Downtown" Joining quickly, I'm looking forward to getting my access codes to the member login page etc. and may describe some of the benefits for a future post. In looking over the site, the information that I was most interested was the "Downtown Next: The 2020 Vision for Downtown St Louis" What made this most attractive, aside from the catchy name, was that the plan it replaced was so wildly successful. Downtowwn NOW, a different quasi government entity created by Former Mayor Clarence Harmon was the author. At the time, I wasn't hopeful. I remember thinking that we'd get a few new signs downtown and maybe a new catchy ad campaign. The phenomenal period of growth and redevelopment that took place between 1999 and 2009 was totally unexpected. I remember viewing the plan and some of the Downtown Partnerships propaganda about the results through the years and being impressed with how things were coming together and thinking, "what's next?"

Aparently I wasn't alone.

Developing a new plan was something discussed at some of the outreach committees through the Partnership for Downtown St Louis. The reports are attached below. My feeling on the reports are that they really need to be discussed more. Looking at the credits they gave on the back, I didn't feel that there were enough people participating, that they weren't the right people, and that there was enough time and energy incorporated. Guessing that the Partnership was just trying to get the very large ball rolling, the challenge still exists to get people talking about the report and encourage the type of participation that the report is calling for.

Seeing the void where the skybridge once stood was a good start and all the construction that recently started is a welcome addition. The part of the reports that seem most urgent probably wont rely on the decisions of some deep pocket developer, but rest on the shoulders of our elected officials. Creating more effective transportation and seperating more bicycle traffic seem like a huge part of the equasion that I can easily see get swept under the rug by the powers that be.

Take a look at the reports. Call your alderman and shoot a message to the Mayor, Lewis Reed and our representatives on the State and Federal Level.

The best deal about the report is that, by comparison, the 'heavy lifting' is already done. Downtown has been revived, home owners live there and we have a great start on the commercial development needed. At this point we just need to tie the whole package together, and that will need more planning and vision along with the interest of the people downtown and throughout the region. Executive Summary

Full Report

Catching Up on Downtown

The past month has been an exciting time in the history of downtown development.

Most exciting was the funding of the three projects at the end of last month; the Laurel, St Louis Centre, and the Park Pacific. There were so many valid reasons for the delays, but having these few projects resurrected is particularly valuable. Interestingly, when the real estate market started to slide and the economy tanked, it seemed as if real estate was the front and center cause of it all...then banking took the center stage. While the pieces were being sorted out, the biggest problem locally was the construction trades. It seems that the industry of new construction was severely bloated back in 2006 and that the difficulty in finding a "happy medium" is falling mostly on the many unemployed construction workers. So seeing financing go through and some of these people get back to work is a sight to see and hopefully a sign of new things to come as we continue to wait for Ballpark Village and other notable projects that could complete the transformation of our downtown.

The project below always seemed such a small part of downtown's transformation, but it started to become the symbol for the times as we were repeatedly promised its removal. I was at my boys school picnic when this was being celebrated. Thanks to technology and everybody wanting to capture this on video, I have my choice of perspectives. What's really cool is that its done and we don't have to hear people whine about it still being there.


This blog was on a bit of a hiatus due to some technical changes with the blogs host,which was a drag, since aside from all the new developments, LoftsintheLou.com turned 5 in May. Back in 2005, there didn't seem to be any sources of information on downtown that shined a light on the positive changes going on. Now there are many. Even having many, there still could be more. The shift in how the commercial news media portrays their stories for more drama and intrigue seems to paint downtown in a negative light more than other neighborhoods. There are also lots places where the negatives are primarily focused upon, that's good too. My only problem with the way things were in 2005 was that by only having the negative features of a community to see, some might get the idea that downtown St Louis isn't a great place to live.

So besides seeing the most popular eyesore in Downtown St Louis coming down, we can see the wheels of progress continuing to move forward DESPITE a global

recession. As the economy continues to pick up, we hope to see the downtown continue to prosper even more quickly than it is now.


Good luck to everyone participating in the Race for the Cure on Saturday!

More Density Downtown

When the plans for Avenida lofts were announced way back in 2006, I was skeptical.  After all, the Avenida, located at 1225 Washington, was the third building in just over a year that Jacob Development was starting and the first wasn't even 25% sold (from memory).  The second, the Bogen, was a huge project and hadn't begun sales.  At the time, the number of spaces projected for development in the following year was a staggering 2265.

Obviously things didn't work out for the condos and the project was scrapped for a time, but fortunately, the momentum going on in Downtown St Louis procured another plan very quickly. 

It was good news to hear the plan for mixed use commercial building with rental lofts and a couple new themed restaurants and even better to see construction starting up.  Just last week, we started seeing ads for apartments at the newly named "Warehouse 7 Lofts." 

Hopefully the project will, as expected, bring continued enthusiasm for downtown living as another piece of the downtown puzzle is put into place.

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.