Former Missouri Pacific Railroad Headquarters Now Luxury Residences

Ground was broken on the Pacific Railroad in St. Louis on July 4, 1851.  By 1917 it had become the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac).

The company grew and decided to build a new headquarters:

In 1926 the Missouri Pacific Railroad began the construction of a 30 floor building in St. Louis which would become the home of the railroad’s offices. In 1928 with only 22 of 30 floors completed, the construction was stopped. (Source)

They had planned a duplicate building behind this on facing east but they didn’t want to appear too wealthy during the Great Depression. Ironically, many needed the work the construction would have provided.

By the early 1980s Union Pacific, based in Omaha, bought the company but kept offices in the building until 2005. After the Lawrence Group purchased the building they planned for-sale condos in the building as well as in a new structure to the east that included parking. When the bottom dropped out of the economy they had to rethink their plans. To make the project work financially more units would need to be fitted into the building and they would be for lease rather than for sale. The structure to the east would become parking only (with ground-level retail space). The result is the ParkPacific.

Due to high costs to redevelop this historic building the decision was made to go upmarket — these are high-end lofts with stone counters, fancy bath fittings and great amenities.  Even though the rates are on the high end there are more total units than were previously planned. This means more people — which is excellent.

The top floor common space retains the original wood panelling and the roof is a great space for residents and their guests.

The roof is wheelchair accessible, whereas the roof at my place isn’t. If I lived at the ParkPacific I’d be on the roof often.  Lawrence Group partner Steve Smith is planning a restaurant in the southwest corner of the building. Smith is the owner of The Moto Museum and Triumph Grill in midtown.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Does Retailing Have a Future at St. Louis Union Station?

When St. Louis Union Station reopened in 1985 the festival marketplace retail concept was all the rage.

But early optimism about retail at St. Louis Union Station faded as national chains gave way to smaller and smaller retailers, now many of those have left as well:

Visitors to St. Louis Union Station can still get a caricature drawn of their likeness, buy various Arch-themed tchotchkes and get a free sample of fudge and a song to go along with it.

But two longtime fixtures in the historic landmark — Houlihan’s and Key West Cafe — recently left the station. And the Bud Shop, which peddles an assortment of Budweiser-related mugs and memorabilia, is on its way out, too.

[snip]

The departures add to the uncertainty about the future of the venue — most notably the question of who will own it. The current owner, Union Station Holdings LLC, is seeking to sell the property. Bids are due Nov. 10.

“There’s no question it has fallen on harder times,” said St. Louis-based consultant Richard Ward with Zimmer Real Estate Services. “I think it’s in for some serious change, but I don’t know what the change might be.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Union Station’s retail has been continuously falling on “hard times” the entire twenty-one years I’ve been in St. Louis! I missed the first five years, likely the best years.

I have to wonder the future of such retail venues. The Marriott Hotel is doing well though — expanding into the midway space. The Grand Hall is a stunning space.

I’ve made Union Station the poll topic this week, see right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

CBS: Stray Electricity Can Kill

Interesting report this summer on CBS News:

In New York City in 2004, grad student Jodie Lane was electrocuted while walking her dogs She stepped on a slush-covered utility box with bad wiring.

CBS News checked with the 25 biggest cities and found only a few actively searched for contact voltage, including New York, Seattle, San Antonio and Boston.

[snip]

After being notified by CBS News, the Jacksonville Electric Authority said it inspected all the poles downtown and “repaired 27.” They’ve also decided to “begin annual inspections,” which would include a metal pole that measured 126 volts — within view of the utility’s headquarters. (CBS News)

As the above picture illustrates, we might have the same issue here in St. Louis. Will the hundreds of cities in the region check?

– Steve Patterson

Thanks Bob!

One of my favorite views downtown is seeing,  from Washington Ave,  the bus on City Museum’s rooftop.  The sad news from yesterday:

“City Museum founder Bob Cassilly was found dead in a bulldozer Monday morning at a property in far north St. Louis that he was transforming into his latest attraction.” (STLtoday)

Bob Cassilly was 61.

I also like the view of the City Museum’s wild roof from the rooftop deck at Printer’s Lofts. I was unable to find my interior photos but I see the exterior almost daily and hopefully you’ve seen the interior. Recently City Museum posted some amazing rooftop photos from the foggy morning we had recently, they are in a  Facebook album.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmcxGEm7Qx4

Those of you reading who haven’t been to City Museum cannot begin to grasp the magnitude of the loss.  We have some mighty big shoes to fill in St. Louis, thanks for the inspiration Bob!

– Steve Patterson

Where is Downtown St. Louis? KMOV Needs to Know

It seems the local media has no clue where downtown is, or isn’t. Or they just think it’s much much larger than it actually is. A story from this morning:

“ST. LOUIS (KMOV)– A man is shot and killed for allegedly trying to break into a home in downtown St. Louis.

This happened around 1 a.m. Monday in the 5600 block of Maple.”

Really? 5600 block of Maple in downtown St. Louis? Reporter Robin Smith correctly says north St.Louis in the video report but the online report said downtown (corrected following my tweet). Google Maps shows the distance from KMOV’s downtown studios as a 21 minute, 6.5 mile drive. Downtown? Past Saint Louis University, past Grand Center, past the Central West End — nearly to Page & Goodfellow.  Downtown huh?

Who types this stuff? Do they have editors? Are they all from Chesterfield or further where the view is the city limits is synonymous with downtown? I don’t care what the excuse is,I want them to get their stories correct. It’s no wonder I meet people who are afraid to come downtown — all they here is every bad thing that happens in the City of St. Louis is in “downtown.”

– Steve Patterson