Redevelopment plans for St. Louis Center (Washington: loft, safe area, living)

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Building Excitement (http://www.buildingexcitement.com/images.php - broken link)

The pics look awesome. And it's something different. Apparently they are not tearing the center down, but the new place will look quite a bit different. And the Skywalk, that thing that connects St. Louis Center with the Dillard's building and blocks the view of everything, is apparently coming down.

I'm glad to see that something is being done with the St. Louis Center.

[By~Tor]

Heck, it's about time they do SOMEthing with that place!---When I lived in the STL back in 1996 - 2002, St. Louis Center was nothing more than a place for thugs to gather, and the city's hope of turning it into a viable shoping center was thwarted by their very inability to properly police the area and create a safe and enjoyable shopping environment.

Or at least, the PERCEPTION of one....

STL Center has been a sore spot and a connundrum for St. Louisians for as long as most can remember, and if the City Center is ever to truly become a destination area, then it must be reinvented into a safe area where people want to come hangout on weekends and evenings, after the rest of downtown has rolled up the sidewalks..... kind of like Washington Avenue Loft District.... it has nightlife, restaurants, shopping and residential. . . . and people are flocking there....

[aragx6]

The building looks very nice. I couldn't agree more that they've got to do something about that thing. How long have we been waiting?

I wouldn't be at all surprised it it actually works this time... I sure hope it does anyway. That thing is a blight and an embarrassment to all St. Louisans.

[anduarto]

Haven't been to the STL Center in years, but the last time I went (2000 or so) it was sad, sad, sad. And yeah, a little scary too.

Some of the problem may have been policing but I can't help thinking part of it was the building itself. Low ceilings, just claustrophobic in general. Boston has a couple beautiful, urban malls that are huge successes and really add to the cityscape. Have long hoped someone would rehab STL Center with those models - or something like them - in mind.

[aragx6]

I think the major problem with St. Louis Center is that it's an indoor mall at a time when indoor malls are failing.

Open-air concepts are the new thing everyone is doing, and I think St. Louis would be smart to hop on that bandwagon. I mean honestly, the Plaza is one of the only things KC has going for it's downtown and it has this ability to bring in people from all over the place.

[Bobster]

I don't know why St. Louis Center didn't work...personally I think that it was because they charged to park and all of the other malls in the area didn't...but I can't say for sure.

With more folks living downtown now, I think that it will have a better chance.

[aragx6]

I also think it didn't do well because no one lived there and they never successfully made it a destination spot, Why would spenders come in from the county when they have their own malls to go to? People in KC go to the city specifically to go to the Plaza because it's interesting and different, but what reason could there be to go to a mall in the city that is exactly the same as one 5 miles from your house?

[anduarto]

Yeah, but I can't help but think that a big part of it was atmosphere. Just found STL center pretty unpleasant. Claustrophobic, utilitarian, uninspired.

The Prudential Center and Copley Place in Boston, Cambridgeside Mall in Cambridge, all draw people from the suburbs. They draw people from the sticks (me when I lived in MA) too. They meet or excel their suburban counterparts.

Then again, Boston's core city is a big draw all by itself. People come for the town and the Malls are there to enhance that experience. And, again, they're urban malls. They don't try to pretend they're in the burbs.

Just as someone said, perhaps the trend in downtown will enable the same thing to happen in STL.

The Plaza in KC is a beautiful place to be. But it's more of a district than a mall really, isn't it? I'd compare it more to Washington Ave than the STL Center. (I'm still waiting for Gaslight Square to come back in some form or another. What's it been? About 40 years now? )

Also, when it's 95º with 100% humidity, a beautiful, cool indoor mall would make a pretty inviting respite from the hot pavement of downtown. I was never overly impressed with the Galleria. But look how people flocked there.

Of course this could all be moot. I've read much of the renovation will involve residences and offices, rather than retail.

Renovation, whatever form it comes in, can only be a good thing for St.Louis Center.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by anduarto

Renovation, whatever form it comes in, can only be a good thing for St.Louis Center.

True that!!!

[Fishtacos]

The tear down of the skywalk can't come soon enough.