St. Louis:downtown Lofts

[MontroseNeighborhoodCafe]

Dec. 4, 2004, 10:39PM

Lofts get an extra push in downtown St. Louis

Cash incentives and creativity part of the draw

By BETSY TAYLOR

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Drawing on a formula that's had success elsewhere, developers in St. Louis have transformed commercial buildings into loft-style living spaces complete with high ceilings, exposed brick and rows of light-welcoming windows.

But attempts to draw residents to downtown lofts go far beyond merely touting open floor plans or rehabbed hardwood floors.

St. Louis offers some imaginative living spaces and incentives to draw urban dwellers, such as lofts opening on the upper floors of a museum, housing set aside for artists and even businesses providing incentives for employees who opt for downtown addresses.

The city has added 800 loft residences in the past four years for a total of 5,600 residential units downtown, said Kevin Farrell of the nonprofit Downtown St. Louis Partnership.

At the former 10-story International Shoe Co. warehouse, sculptor Bob Cassilly and others have created the City Museum. It's full of offbeat exhibits and unusual play spaces that combine sculpted caves and tunnels with reused objects such as planes and a fire engine.

Now, the Lofts at City Museum is being developed in the same building as the museum. When residents move in, they'll receive a one-year pass for several museum attractions, including Beatnik Bob's, a cafe within the museum, as well as a towering outdoor amusement area called MonstroCity. They'll also receive access to the roof, under heavy construction at the moment while Cassilly designs a water park.

Matthew Philpott, the City Museum's general manager, said they wanted whimsical elements when building the lofts but didn't want to overdo it.

So a textured, curving hallway wall turns out to actually be made of escalator steps, turned sideways and stacked on top of each other. Another wall is decorated with clear soda bottles. In a display loft bedroom, Cassilly has covered concrete block walls with a sculpted earth-tone plaster design.

Living on the upper floors of a museum building, at price tags from about $150,000 to $400,000, may not be for everyone.

"The people who want to be here enjoy the energy of the building," Philpott said. The hope is that the housing will help invigorate downtown, creating a city within the building while bringing more energy to St. Louis itself, he said.

Some businesses like the idea of having workers downtown and are offering employees up to $5,000 as a forgivable loan if they buy downtown residences and stay five years.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/business/2931459

[dbigtex56]

For those who haven't been there, St. Louis has some wonderful buildings - many, alas, which have fallen into decay. They regularly tear down buildings which make our local historic landmarks seem rather humble in comparison.

Here's a site with some great photographs and insights:Built St. Louis.

[Lowbrow]

That is a real nice website. I love the interactive map of classic downtown.

[Subdude]

Interesting site - thanks for the link. There is some interesting commentary on there arguing against an urban park.