I’m now curious about “Langley & Reed Bicycle Repairing.”
Where in East St. Louis IL was it located? How long was it in business? Who were Langley & Reed the ?
I miss painted signs/advertising, so much more permanent and interesting than modern backlit signs.
— Steve Patterson
The Renaissance Hotel, Ballrooms and parking garage were built in 2002, a decade ago. Like most deals, it was complicated and players took fees off the top. But tax money was also involved.
The Missouri Development Finance Board was involved in the financing of the hotel and building the garage, from their 2003 annual report:
The decrease in operating income from 2002 to 2003 is primarily related to the decrease in loan and note receivable interest income from 2002 due to the pay off of the St. Louis Convention Center Hotel loan receivable. The St. Louis Convention Center Hotel loan’s outstanding balance as of June 30, 2002, was $13,455,000 with an interest rate of 9.5% with interest income of $1,753,225 and $759,329 earned in FY2002 and FY2003, respectively. Other considerations for the decrease in operating income are a decline in participation fee income of $179,540 and an increase in professional fees of $139,862 for FY2003.
I just find it curious when I go down 10th Street I see a thriving Stefano’s and an Edible Arrangements location on the west side of this building but on the east side, facing the hotel, a retail space remains empty — for a decade! Shouldn’t someone be trying to get this space leased? What must visitors think when they see this?
A restaurant with sidewalk dining would be nice, the building would provide shade for dinner. The city has the parking lane marked off as no parking, that’d need to change to lease this space. But how does it happen that no visible effort is made to lease a space for a decade?
— Steve Patterson
A sign over drinking fountains in a building at Washington University School of Medicine caught my eye last recently.
I love the idea of encouraging the reuse of bottles, I do that at home for water to go. Meanwhile the cafe is wasting plastic on customers eating there. Maybe get the cafe a commercial dishwasher?
— Steve Patterson
Nobody should be shocked that readers overwhelmingly selected Sen. Claire McCaskill over Rep. Todd Akin last week. Readers of this blog are largely from the City of St. Louis, the opposite of voters in Missouri.
Q: Which candidate do you want to be elected the next US Senator from Missouri?
- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) 143 [71.86%]
- Rep. Todd Akin (R) 35 [17.59%]
- Neutral/unsure/no opinion 21 [10.55%]
Without a doubt McCaskill will carry St. Louis. In the 2006 general election McCaskill received 95.56% of the vote in St. Louis, Republican challenger Jim Talent received just 3.6%. (two minor party candidates made up the difference)
The 2006 statewide numbers were very different. McCaskill received 49.6% of the vote to Talent’s 47.3% (see results).
Akin would be bad for urban cities. Akin voted against HB2847 (Employment, Infrastructure, and Transportation Appropriations) in December 2009, for example. Other nays include reauthorization of Amtrak. See Akin’s votes on transportation bills here.
Please join me in supporting Sen, Claire McCaskill on November 6th.
— Steve Patterson
On February 20th I posted out the lack of an ADA Accessible Route in South St. Louis (see: Poor Pedestrian Accessibly at Saint Louis (Panera) Bread Co on Chippewa St. at Lansdowne Ave). Today I’m happy to report Panera has stepped up and corrected the situation. Here’s the before:
I contacted and company and met with District Manager Chris Harre onsite on my birthday, February 28th. On May 1st a building permit application was filed with the city to build an accessible ramp at an estimated cost of $5,000.
When I visited the site late last month workers were still finishing up final details.
I appreciate that Panera acted quickly once I pointed out the accessibility problem, if only other companies would do the same. Special thanks to District Manager Chris Harre.
— Steve Patterson