If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…

Twitter & Facebook were buzzing last Friday over a couple of blog posts that an urban Fiat dealership was to open in downtown St. Louis at 1015 Locust — less than six blocks from my loft. Just before I hit share my internal skeptic kicked and said: “Really?”

“Count On Downtown has confirmed with the broker of the 1015 Locust building that Fiat is planning a dealership, a Fiat Studio in Fiat lingo, on this corner of 11th & Locust. Note: Nothing is final yet. If everything works out, including permits from the city, Fiat Studio is expected to open in March 2012.” (Count on Downtown: Fiat Coming to Downtown St. Louis)

“Fiat will soon announce a move into 1015 Locust Street in downtown St. Louis. As the car dealer as reentered the American market in partnership with Chrysler, Fiat is looking to place Fiat dealerships in about 165 locations, concentrating on urban areas that have a high number of registered small cars. 1015 carries a modernist skin on a 1921 building and while the original was surely beautiful, Fiat seems to think its modern look is a good fit for the brand.” (nextSTL: Fiat “Studio” to Open in Downtown St. Louis)

As you can see the post was very popular on both Facebook & Twitter.

The street level retail space at 1015 Locust was created a few years ago by sectioning off part of the lobby. It’s a tiny retail storefront. Urban dealerships still need offices, parts departments, service bays and inventory storage. In places like Manhattan these are done vertically because the cost of land makes it cost prohibitive to do a typical suburban dealership. The idea of an auto dealership in 1015 Locust is laughable. But it got traction because  we want to believe such positive stories.

The real story is the potential creative use to fill a vacant storefront space:

Bryan Hughes, sales manager for Fiat of Creve Coeur, said today the dealership is considering use of the corner street-level space at 1015 Locust Street downtown. Hughes said the spot would not be a dealership but would serve as a Fiat “display case” like those dealers sometimes set up inside shopping malls. (STLtoday.com)

Now that’s a good story! But, it’s kind of a let down compared to a full dealership. It’s the story these blogs should have run rather than suggest we are getting an urban dealership like in Manhattan.

My love affair with the Fiat 500 began after I realized the shortcomings of the smart fortwo.

I attended the 2011 St. Louis Auto Show a year ago so I could see one in person but none were there. Finally in June I drove out to the Fiat of Creve Coeur on Lindbergh to see them up close. Ignoring the fact I drive 3,000 miles locally per year and have no money for a different vehicle, the Fiat 500 is perfect for me.  I’ve even picked out the color I’d like: Grigio (gray). I need to buy a lottery ticket every so often because that’s the only way I’ll be able to have one.  Sales so far haven’t been that hot so buying a used one wouldn’t be easy.

J-Lo may have shamelessly plugged the 500 on awards show, but all the glitz and glamour couldn’t obscure the painful truth. Fiat sales of just under 20,000 in 2011 were not even half the annual goal of 50,000. It’ll improve in 2012, but Fiat has a long ways to go in re-establishing itself in the U.S. (CNBC)

Thursday I will post about the last auto dealership that existed in downtown St. Louis.

– Steve Patterson

St. Louis Central Library Opened 100 Years Ago Today

Saturday January 6, 1912 a new library opened for the citizens of St. Louis. The St. Louis Library was started in 1865 and was located in various buildings until this structure opened a century ago.

The site contained a building, less than 30 years old, that was razed for the library:

The Central Library building at 13th and Olive was built in 1912 on a location formerly occupied by the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall and was designed by Cass Gilbert. The main library for the city’s public library system has an oval central pavilion surrounded by four light courts. The outer facades of the free-standing building are of lightly rusticated Maine granite. The Olive Street front is disposed like a colossal arcade, with contrasting marble bas-relief panels. A projecting three-bay central block, like a pared-down triumphal arch, provides a monumental entrance. At the rear, the Central Library faces a sunken garden. The interiors feature some light-transmitting glass floors. The ceiling of the Periodicals Room is modified from Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Laurentian Library. Renovation and expansion of the building began in 2010 and is scheduled to finish in 2012 (Wikipedia)

The library is a complex building as described above and as seen below.

The library closed in mid-2010 to undergo an extensive top to bottom renovation (see Beacon story w/video). The library will reopen later this year, most likely in the fall.They’ve put together a great website on the history of the building and the renovation plans, click here to view (highly recommended).

Prior to the closure the administrative offices moved to a newer building across 14th Street, freeing up more space for public use.

I live two blocks west of the library, I can’t wait for it to reopen.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Will the St. Louis Rams Exit Their Lease?

It’s 2012 and looking forward one of the big stories this year will be what happens when the Edward Jones Dome won’t be in the top 25% of all NFL facilities. The lease allows the Rams to exit after the 2014 season if the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission doesn’t keep the facility in the top quarter. It seems universally accepted the dome won’t be in the top quarter and the decision will be made within months. The Rams will be 20 years into a 30 year lease and they will have an out. Will they take the out?

Will the Rams go back to Los Angeles to take up residence in a new football facility planned there?

Los Angeles Stadium at Grand Crossing will be the first stadium built specifically for the NFL in California and will reflect the California lifestyle, with an outdoor environment, ample parking, plenty of room to tailgate, expanding the NFL game-day experience and great views for all fans.

Sitting at the crossroads of four counties, the Los Angeles Stadium will provide access to over 15.5 million people, playing host to 75,000 fans each Sunday. (Source: losangelesfootballstadium.com)

What kind of city would build a football stadium without a team? Oh right, we did that hoping to win an expansion team. The Rams will have the option to become an annual tenant rather than getting locked in for another decade. Frankly, they’d be foolish to agree to another decade.

As an annual tenant they could stay until the new LA stadium is finished. But the Rams isn’t the only team LA might try to lure:

The three teams which used to play in Los Angeles but moved elsewhere (the San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders) have all been rumored to be open to moving back. The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, have also been identified by [stadium developer] Roski and others as possible prime tenants of the new stadium. However, the city of Santa Clara, California has since approved a ballot measure that will allow the 49ers to build a new stadium in Santa Clara, and the Raiders could be allowed to occupy that stadium as well. (Wikipedia)

This is the topic for the poll (right sidebar) this week. Happy New Year!’

– Steve Patterson

Getting to Underground Infrastructure

On December 16th I spotted work going on below street level at 7th & Washington Ave.

It seems Ameren Missouri is doing updates on the underground electrical grid. Traffic (and pedestrians) have been rerouted because of this work.  A small price to pay for having a reliable underground grid.

 – Steve Patterson

Approaching the MacArthur Bridge (Updated)

One of the differences I see between urbanists and suburbanites is the love of old vs new, respectively. Urbanists see beauty in old, even decaying, structures whereas others feel more comfortable around new everything. Take the Missouri approach to the MacArthur Bridge over the Mississippi River as an example.

I love the rusting steel structure.

The MacArthur Bridge over the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and East St. Louis, Illinois is a 647 foot (197 m) long truss bridge. Construction on the bridge was begun in 1909 by the city of St. Louis to break the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis’s monopoly on the area’s railroad traffic. Money ran out before the bridge approaches could be finished, however, and the bridge did not open until 1917, and then only to automobile traffic. Railroad traffic would not use the bridge’s lower deck until 1928. The bridge was initially called the “St. Louis Municipal Bridge” and known popularly as the “Free Bridge.” Tolls were added for auto traffic beginning in 1932. In 1942 the bridge was renamed for Douglas MacArthur. The MacArthur Bridge was one of several bridges in St. Louis which carried U.S. Highway 66 until the completion of the nearby Poplar Street Bridge. At one time U.S. Highway 460 crossed the bridge, terminating on the west side of the bridge. In 1981 the bridge was closed to vehicles because of pavement deterioration and the western ramp approaches were torn out. The bridge is now in use only by railroads.  (Wikipedia)

Sure I love the bridge itself but the approach is…well, approachable. I’m sure most suburbanites don’t see the beauty I see. To them it is an eyesore that should be removed or replaced.

I’ve crossed this bridge once on Amtrak but I prefer seeing the structure from the area around 4th Street & Chouteau. When I’m driving in the area I hope for red lights just to be able to look at the structure longer. When I’m on the bus I get to look at it without worrying about being distracted.

Do you see what I see? Or do you just see rusted steel?

UPDATE:

I need to clarify my suburbanite vs urbanite thesis. Many urban dwellers have rejected New Urbanism because of it’s newness even though it is otherwise well designed and compact. Similarly “newness” is always included a criteria in suburban preference studies. One study in California looking at residents of traditional neighborhoods & suburban neighborhoods found: “Residents in suburban neighborhoods have a higher average score for the safety factor, and among the individual attributes, their average ratings are particularly higher for cul-de-sacs, newness, school quality, parking, and quiet.“ (emphasis added). I’ll dig into all the  large amount of literature and do a followup post.

 – Steve Patterson