After Papa John’s Founder & CEO John Schnatter commented on the Affordable Care Act during the 2012 presidential campaign I stopped patronizing the downtown location — then located just 4 blocks East. My taste buds, waistline, and wallet were grateful.
Pape John’s was located at Tucker & Pine until July when it closed for repairs to this parking garage.Workers building out the interior of the new Papa John’s 2 blocks South in the Park Pacific garage.
It will be nice seeing a business in these storefronts facing Tucker, the spots facing Pine are occupied. More space remains available facing Tucker & Olive.
Renovation work at the garage where Papa John’s had been located (see Parking Garage Undergoing Time-Consuming Multi-Million Dollar Restoration; Businesses Closed, Jobs Lost) has slowed to be almost nonexistent. Yesterday the security guard told me what I already suspected — there was far more damage than originally thought. The owner isn’t sure how much more they want to put into it but a couple of guys are still around working — but nothing like the crew when the work first started.
How long can the owner keep a garage that’s producing zero income?
During my last two years I lived in two different 4-unit buildings. Both were older buildings, the first in poor condition The rents were affordable, they were spacious, and I could live alone. I was evicted from the first after complaining to the city after the slumlord painted our windows shut. Both have since been razed — the first for a campus parking lot. At the time new apartment complexes were being built on the edge of town — these would require multiple roommates and driving to campus.
In August 1990 I moved to St. Louis, quickly taking an efficiency apartment on Lindell. Six months later I moved to a 3-room flat in Old North, my rent going from $330/mo to $75/mo.My landlady had moved into the building as a child and lived there until her kids convinced her to go to a nursing home. One day I came home from work and the front shutters were removed and workers were painting the 19th century brick dark brown. I moved one block North to a slightly larger 3-room flat, a 2nd floor unit entered from an exterior rear stair. Both flats were in 4-unit buildings.
These smaller housing units in 4-unit buildings can be good options, especially for the 20-something crowd. Back to the article, a developer intended to convert a 4-unit building into two 3-bedroom units:
I asked Keith about the cost and return comparison for the fourplex versus duplex approaches. He told me that if he had renovated the building into a duplex, like he had planned before talking to me, that he was expecting to get $600/month per bedroom and each unit would have been 3 bedrooms for a total of $3,600 in revenue per month for the two units. He was happy to tell me that he is now renting each of the one-bedroom units for $1,000 each for $4,000 in total monthly revenue. That is an 11% increase in monthly revenue! In this one project Keith has blown the top off of this market and is getting $1,000 per bedroom for these small, well-designed micro units located in a walkable context. We see much of the same happening with other Missing Middle Housing types in walkable neighborhoods across the country.
In order to compare apples to apples, I then asked him about renovation costs of converting to a duplex versus simply renovating the fourplex. Keith said the renovations cost about 20% more, due to having 2 additional kitchens, bathrooms, and HVAC systems, in addition to installing sprinklers that the building code requires on buildings with 3 or more units. It will take Keith several years to make up this cost difference, which makes me even prouder of him for taking this risk. (Better Cities & Towns)
The demand had existed for these type of units but nobody knew it or offered a nice product, everyone just did what everyone else was doing — saying the market only supports larger multi-bedroom units. Despite what many may think, the free market isn’t always up to speed on demand, trends, etc. — it often takes fresh thinking to show the free market other options besides the status quo.
What does this have to do with St. Louis?
Glad you asked! Developers shouldn’t assume our 4/6/8-unit buildings are better off converted into larger units. The total building revenue might be higher as smaller units while allowing people to not have to get a roommate(s). I’ll be able to hear the author next month at CNU23 — more on this in the coming weeks.
Let’s assume the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency selects the 100-acre site in North St. Louis, over three others in the region, for its new campus, see Urban Renewal Officially Ended In 1974, Still Alive In St. Louis. Will this help or hinder the redevelopment of the surrounding blocks? The planned clearance of 100 acres will leave a one block wide strip across 22nd, to the East. To the South is Cass Ave and the former Pruitt-Igoe site, to the West is the excessively-wide Jefferson Ave. To the North will be the backs of properties facing St. Louis Ave.
Thus the biggest opportunity for positive impact on exiting development is East of 22nd Street, two corners stand out:
At 22nd & Mullanphy St is a vacant warehouse built in 1889. This is owned by the St. Louis Housing Authority. In the same block is the former Falstaff Brewery — successfully converted to housing a couple of decades ago — including new construction & adaptive reuse. Click image to view the Falstaff project.Two blocks north at Madison you get these three buildings owned by Paul McKee’s Northside Regeneration. The corner was built in 1904, the two on the right in 1890,.
Neither of these corners are architectural gems, but their age is a nice contrast to already built infill and the secure fortress of what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency would build. The old cast iron storefront at Madison might house a coffeehouse/cafe — a place for the new employment base to walk to for lunch. This could be a chance for an existing resident to become an entrepreneur, hiring others from the area.
I don’t know if the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency works without outside contractors, if so, the 3-story 19th century warehouse could become office space. Residential is certainly another option.
If we’re going to raze a 100 acre swath of land adjacent to the long-vacant Pruitt-Igoe site we should begin thinking now about how to improve the edges. If the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency doesn’t pick this site we’ll be area on ideas for the area, with other businesses perhaps being interested in the vacant blocks within the 100 acre site.
Great potential exists, but the private market often overlooks these less common areas that require greater creative thought.
Please vote in the poll, located in the right sidebar
Today is the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) — we Spring forward one hour:
Since the introduction of modern daylight saving time in the early 20th century, many countries have been adjusting the clock one hour ahead in spring and winding it back by one hour during fall.
This practice has been a controversial topic debated by both by the general public and politicians alike. (timeanddate.com)
Like many controversial practices, DST has pros & cons. Since we set our clocks ahead this morning, or last night before bed, I think this is a good topic for today’s poll. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ve copied a poll from AccuWeather: Is Daylight Saving Time Still Necessary?
The poll, located in the right sidebar, is open for 12 hours — closing at 8pm tonight — Central Standard Time (CST).
We’re not going to Joliet IL but I liked seeing their Union Station from the train last month. Click the image to view the website on their handsome 1912 station.
It’s the end of the week so here’s some good news: it’ll be warmer than usual this weekend! With the cold winter weather it has been too ugly to do much outside.
Tomorrow my husband and I are taking a day trip. I’ve posted before about previous trips:
Our trip tomorrow involves driving the back roads in two counties in Illinois with stops in two small towns, to protect our privacy I’m not going to be specific ahead of time. We’re intentionally avoiding interstate highways on the way out, we may use a highway to return. But I might find alternate back roads.
The lunch place I have picked out is 43-45 miles away from our downtown loft, depending on which of the three back road routes we pick. Taking interstate most of the way is 42-44 miles. The two interstate routes would be faster; 41-49 minutes vs 58-61 minutes on the back roads. It’ll be a nice day and we won’t be in a hurry, unfamiliar back roads are always more interesting than familiar interstate highways.
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Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
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a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
