This project may seem on the smallish side compared to some others. But, rebuilding a business community in Downtown St. Louis has to be a priority. And, the Downtown West Neighborhood (DTW) is ripe for development.
It might be one of the most critical neighborhoods in the entire city. We have great things in almost all neighborhoods, sure. DTW has amazing connectivity potential and a surprising mix of architecture, and of course, a largely in-tact urban street grid.
However, it still has a desolate feel after the decades of abandonment and suburban flight. The surface parking lots, empty/vacant fields and lower than capacity occupancy is, to a visitor, kind of sparse. So much has been lost in this part of town over the years.
I still see positivity here in my time since the mid-90s. I believe the strides in the last 10-15 years in Midtow and what is building in DTW have been amazing. Now, we need to connect. We need to attract business and people to root down here.
We need to fill in now. We could use 5,000 new residents and 50 new businesses to help make these connections and impact the drive-by opinion that this is a part of town that is worth becoming part of.
I’m not sure if Olive, Locust or Washington would make the best east-west connector, they’re all great choices. So when I finally read about this project in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I was thrilled. I might be a bit late to the game on this one, but I’m bullish on this part of town and visiting this area brings a boost of optimism as there is now activity in a formerly dead zone.
Think about the massive eyesore of the unfinished 22nd Street Interchange and speculative ideas for DTW in the Locust Collaboration from previous years’ lists. Think about an MLS stadium north of Market between 18th and Jefferson. Think about a good stadium design, not a horrible sea of surface parking killing a downtown neighborhood….the future looks bright.
So this two story building might be nothing special to some, but I see it as being perfectly scaled for modern business and mixed uses. When so much is outsourced, online and digital, this kind of space seems a perfect fit for modern-day uses. Massive buildings are not always in order and scaled for tech, finance and service companies.
Two story buildings can fit in perfectly with 3-5 story buildings that could be built up around the empty lots in this part of town.
And, our 1930’s buildings need to be preserved, and this one has the operational swing-out windows and stainless steel deco doors that I LOVE. It’s simple and handsome. The new occupiers seem to appreciate it to as they invested $3.7M in the rehab. They have invested in creative signage that complements the building without defacing it. Go by here on a weekday, it’s bustling with activity. We need this times ten in these parts.
The newest tenant is Twain Financial Partners. Twain was already located Downtown, but this move cements their place, and the Post-Dispatch reported that were adding 25 employees to total out at ~80 workers.
They got five years of property tax abatement on 90% of the value of building improvements. Why? Not sure.
We need more jobs downtown, we need holes filled in. We need less islands and desolate stretches.
This is a step in the right direction.
