Doesn't anyone care about St. Louis? (Union, Center: real estate, apartments, condos)

[prairiestate]

I've been to St. Louis a number of times, and it is a beautiful city, with so much potential. That's why I have wonder what's going on with large scale development in the city. I know there are a lot of positive things happening. There's been a ton of new residential construction, downtown and elsewhere. There's been new retail downtown, lot's of rehabbed buildings. It all sounds great, but then you look at the list of failed projects, and it's rather disheartening.

Ballpark Village and the Bottlecap District never happened.
St. Louis Centre has been vacant for a few years, as redevelopment plans come and go.
Union Station is largely empty.
Laclede's Landing has never really lived up to it's potential. There's some nightlife, but little shopping or residential use.
In south St. Louis, the city has allowed construction of many suburban style strip centers, many of which have numerous vacancies. Most notorious is the Southtown Center, which is really struggling. Why didn't the city insist on mixed use developments, retail on the ground floor, condos or apartments above, and parking in a garage? That's what a city needs to be vibrant, is dense, mixed use development, not a strip of stores in front of a huge parking lot.

It just seems like the city lacks the vision or determination to push through a comprehensive plan for redevelopment. All of the individual projects that are happening are great. It seems, though, that every time the city takes a step forward by having an old building renovated, they take two steps back by missing out on a large scale, comprehensive redevelopment plan. Then there are problems beyond the cities control, like the loss of corporate headquarters, significant cuts in air service, and lack of regional planning and coordination. I would love to see St. Louis be a truly vibrant city once again, but it seems like they're really struggling to make any big leaps forward.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

The city is often slow in developments, and the current drop in real estate values across the country isn't helping. A lot is going on, but there's a lot yet to be done. Really, all we can do is stay positive and be patient, unless you have some influence that I don't.

I don't like the fact that some projects have not yet even gotten started, but St. Louis is starting to develop, we're just taking baby steps right now I guess.

[Bobster]

Honestly, the biggest problem that St. Louis has in regards to redevelopment is the fact that we are our own worst enemy. The old guard power players have way too much power and frankly, they've been screwing things up since the "good ole days" when Chicago won the railroad wars.

An example of this is the Gateway Mall. I remember seeing a model of it in the lobby of the Community Development Corporation. It was truly impressive, an outdoor mall stretching from the old courthouse to the civil courts building. Complete with fountains and large public art works.

What really happened? The old money guys thought it was nice too. Nice enough to put a big, ugly, not matched to it's surroundings, office tower right in the middle of it. Ruined the entire mall!

Don't mean to be negative, but that's the way I see it.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

I would love to see St. Louis be a truly vibrant city once again, but it seems like they're really struggling to make any big leaps forward.

Sorry we can't all be like Phoenix.

[prairiestate]

Well, I certainly wouldn't consider Phoenix to be a vibrant city, in that I'm not talking about growth just for the sake of growth. I'm talking about densely populated neighborhoods, mixed use developments, and the streets filled with people interacting with each other. The incremental improvements, a building here, a building there, are great, but there seems to be a lack of critical mass to really propel the city to a new level of development.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

The city is growing slightly again. Give it some time.

I understand what aragx6 is saying, though. You hear a lot about these vibrant newer towns that seemingly have no problems, but really can't compare to St. Louis is history or architecture.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

I'm talking about densely populated neighborhoods, mixed use developments, and the streets filled with people interacting with each other.

There are many areas in St. Louis exactly like that. Have you been here?

[prairiestate]

I've been to several. The Central West End, Lafayette Square, and Grand South Grand were quite lively. I passed through the edge of Soulard, on 7th I believe, and it seemed to be deserted, though I didn't stop to explore more thoroughly. I went to the Hill on Sunday night for dinner, and while there were few people out at that time, it looked as though it would be a busy neighborhood at other times. There just seem to be a lot of gaps in development, and a lot of opportunities that haven't happened to really build a critical mass for the city. I noticed there are still lot of rundown buildings between the thriving neighborhoods and a lot developments surrounded by acres of parking lots. I just get the feeling that with just a little more vision, and a little more pressure on developers St. Louis can become a truly dynamic city.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

I've been to several. The Central West End, Lafayette Square, and Grand South Grand were quite lively. I passed through the edge of Soulard, on 7th I believe, and it seemed to be deserted, though I didn't stop to explore more thoroughly. I went to the Hill on Sunday night for dinner, and while there were few people out at that time, it looked as though it would be a busy neighborhood at other times. There just seem to be a lot of gaps in development, and a lot of opportunities that haven't happened to really build a critical mass for the city. I noticed there are still lot of rundown buildings between the thriving neighborhoods and a lot developments surrounded by acres of parking lots. I just get the feeling that with just a little more vision, and a little more pressure on developers St. Louis can become a truly dynamic city.

I dont know where you were looking when you were in Soulard and the Hill, those are 2 of the most vibrant, lively spots in STL....lets not forget Dogtown, either!
The problems with STL are rather complicated, I would suggest some of the many websites that STLCardsBlues89 has so thoughtfully provided in other threads, maybe she could be persueded (sp) to post some of them here.
Most of the citizens of STL care deeply about the city. While I dont currently reside there, as a 6th generation St Louisan, I care very much about STL, and I am sure I will live there again someday.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I did post a thread about development in St. Louis a couple of days ago, if you want to go find it.