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Interesting. It's good to see some towers are proposed though!
Yeah, it seems a ton of downtowns across the country are struggling with super high vacancy rates right now--due to the pandemic, as well as the super popular remote option for workers, and their reluctance to go back in-office full-time (which I totally understand).
Clayton does seem like the vibrant "epi-center" really, for the St Louis corporate vibrant business district these days.
As for Memphis, it has the 2 large skyscrapers downtown vacant. But the tallest has a buyer and redevelopment plans in place, so we'll see how soon that redevelops. The other beautiful vacant tower, the Sterick Building, has a super complicated land owner and building owner (or is it a lease? can't recall), so that makes it uber difficult for a buyer, plus all the pricey rehab. I think that situation expires though in the mid-2020's if I'm not mistaken.
So I imagine the Sterick should attract buyers at that point. It's a gorgeous building with potential.
The Pinch district development in Memphis is a long, long time coming, and hopefully something will happen. But Memphis for some reason is very bureacratic and slow--in their process of getting developments to actually occur, especially ones on such a large scale. Heck, the One Beale development that just saw 2 hotels built and some apartments (and a pending 250 foot high tower), was first talked about as a proposal in 2004.
So that development took 16-17 years to finally build. LOL. Opposite of Nashville, which seems to approve and build skyscrapers in record time....
Now We'll see the time between Permit pulled and When Shovels actually pound the ground
I saw that! That's AMAZING. The tower will be around 250 feet high-ish (slightly more or less), and will make a huge impact right on the Mississippi there.
Yeah, and the Pinch District towers are zoned up to 420 feet high--so here's sending positive vibes into the universe that at least one of those gets built soon. I won't believe this one until I see the "shovels in the ground" but it would be a game changer.
The Memphis Walk has stalled it seems, and that is head-scratching to me. I know back in April they applied for a 6 month extension to be eligible to receive the tax benefits from the city, because they couldn't get financing. My prediction is this one is tabled. The development team does not seem that experienced, or the financiers (potential) thought the development would not generate profitability.
I saw that! That's AMAZING. The tower will be around 250 feet high-ish (slightly more or less), and will make a huge impact right on the Mississippi there.
Yeah, and the Pinch District towers are zoned up to 420 feet high--so here's sending positive vibes into the universe that at least one of those gets built soon. I won't believe this one until I see the "shovels in the ground" but it would be a game changer.
The Memphis Walk has stalled it seems, and that is head-scratching to me. I know back in April they applied for a 6 month extension to be eligible to receive the tax benefits from the city, because they couldn't get financing. My prediction is this one is tabled. The development team does not seem that experienced, or the financiers (potential) thought the development would not generate profitability.
Many years ago the Memphis skyline was more impressive comparatively speaking on a regional and national basis then it is now and it was noticeably larger and more of a center of business than it's cross-state rival Nashville.
But in the intervening recent decades, Memphis has been eclipsed (as has it's lower Mississippi River sister city New Orleans) by Nashville and other mid-south & Texas cities which have left it behind.
On a national basis, Memphis (and also New Orleans) are also far less important cities than they once were.
Until there is a positive economic jolt in Memphis and New Orleans, the demand for a changed skyline in a major way will just not be there.
The vacant status of the Sterick Tower is sort of symbolic of the slow fade of Memphis but, as you wrote, it still retains it's fine lines of decorative detail.
In flying over the city in an east to west route, I've had some nice views of Memphis from above. The river of course is it's greatest natural feature and the Pyramid arena near the river front is a newer, starkly modern eye-catching structure.
agreed. those of us who live here have seen it firsthand. i think a term that i just heard (on this forum actually) about baltimore may also apply to birmingham. it's that the gentrification / development is happening here almost exclusively in the "favored quarter" (in this case downtown and several neighborhoods immediately adjacent to it - southside, avondale, crestwood, five points, lakeview for example). so while the transformation has been dramatic in some highly visible areas, many (maybe even most?) of our neighborhoods are still stagnant or even declining. i hope that changes soon, and i do think it will. even now we're finally starting to see reinvestment in neighborhoods that once were left for dead (woodlawn, norwood, ensley, etc).
A factor that Birmingham and Baltimore share is that, despite a gentrification or redevelopment uptick that is occurring in select neighborhoods within their city limits, neither city has been able to stanch their long and steep population slides.
They are of course not alone in sharing such a trend.
When I was a kid, Baltimore had in the post WW2 period topped out at just a tad under 1 million population within it's city limits while Birmingham was over 300,000.
Neither city is anywhere near those old population markers/levels anymore.
I'm actually surprised Boston, MA hasn't popped up under anyone's underwhelming skylines yet. They are building up, seeing more cranes everywhere but is underwhelming compared to other cities it's size.
Most impressive skylines to me are:
- New York City, NY (just wow, when I first saw it Boston didn't seem big at all anymore lol).
- San Francisco, CA (the terrain helps make it even more pleasing).
- Chicago, IL (architecture is lovely there).
- Seattle, WA (ditto San Francisco).
- Pittsburgh, PA (very impressive for a city it's size).
Surprised Huntsville (AL) hasn't been mentioned in the "underwhelming" category. It is now Alabama's largest city, but the tallest building downtown is 12 stories / 200 feet.
Many years ago the Memphis skyline was more impressive comparatively speaking on a regional and national basis then it is now and it was noticeably larger and more of a center of business than it's cross-state rival Nashville.
But in the intervening recent decades, Memphis has been eclipsed (as has it's lower Mississippi River sister city New Orleans) by Nashville and other mid-south & Texas cities which have left it behind.
On a national basis, Memphis (and also New Orleans) are also far less important cities than they once were.
Until there is a positive economic jolt in Memphis and New Orleans, the demand for a changed skyline in a major way will just not be there.
The vacant status of the Sterick Tower is sort of symbolic of the slow fade of Memphis but, as you wrote, it still retains it's fine lines of decorative detail.
In flying over the city in an east to west route, I've had some nice views of Memphis from above. The river of course is it's greatest natural feature and the Pyramid arena near the river front is a newer, starkly modern eye-catching structure.
Memphis is ripe for development, especially considering how much cheaper it is to live there than Nashville. I don't see any demand for tall towers. At best, Memphis will follow in the direction of Chattanooga with low to midrise condos, hotels, and commercial development of that nature. The lopsided nature of the state governmebt doesn't help much. All of Tennessee's major cities other than Nashville have unimpressive skylines or none at all.
Little Rock stands out in its size category. It’s had a skyline for a while, even when the metro was a good bit smaller than it is now.
I also had no idea Peoria would even have a skyline, yet it does.
I'm actually surprised Boston, MA hasn't popped up under anyone's underwhelming skylines yet. They are building up, seeing more cranes everywhere but is underwhelming compared to other cities it's size.
Most impressive skylines to me are:
- New York City, NY (just wow, when I first saw it Boston didn't seem big at all anymore lol).
- San Francisco, CA (the terrain helps make it even more pleasing).
- Chicago, IL (architecture is lovely there).
- Seattle, WA (ditto San Francisco).
- Pittsburgh, PA (very impressive for a city it's size).
I Was gonna say that but I was afraid I was gonna get bashed.
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City skylines
