Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

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kcjak
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by kcjak »

For a long time there was a height restriction stating that no building could be taller than the arch - is that still in place?
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StL_Dan
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by StL_Dan »

I've not heard that that has changed.
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Critical_Mass
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Critical_Mass »

I thought it was common knowledge that no such limitation exists. It's an urban myth.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by StL_Dan »

It's up to some interpretation:

https://urbanstl.com/what-is-st-louis-b ... -s125.html
Here (<- note - large PDF download) is a map of the building zones. The Gateway Tower is in the Jefferson Memorial District zone (in blue on the map that encompasses the JNEM/Archgrounds and portions of the city immediately surrounding it.

Here are the height regulations from the JMD zone:
26.64.040 Height regulations.

The height regulations are the same as those in the I central business district except that in no instance shall any portion of a building or structure including all appurtenances and super structures thereon, exceed a mean sea level elevation of seven hundred fifty-one (751) feet. It shall be unlawful to increase the height of an existing building or other structures located within this district unless it complies with the regulation of the district.
(Ord. 59979 § 17 (part), 1986.)
^ Now it mentions the Central Business District height regulations. Those are here:

From the CBD codes:
26.52.040 Height regulations.

Buildings may be erected to such height that the cubic contents of said building above the established grade shall not exceed the volume of a prism having a base equal to the projected horizontal area of the building and a height of two hundred (200) feet. In the case of buildings occupying a lot having frontage on intersecting streets and which buildings are so designed as to provide a setback or open space at one (1) corner or corners where such street intersections occur, or when such setback begins below the two hundred (200) foot height above the established grade, the volume determined by the above rule may be exceeded by an amount equal to the volume so taken out of the reference prism of two hundred (200) foot height; provided, however, that the total volume of the actual building shall not exceed by more than twenty-five percent (25%) the volume of said reference prism of two hundred (200) foot height.
(Ord. 59979 § 14 (part), 1986.)
Simple, no? In short, you take the property boundaries and draw an imaginary cube 200 feet tall. Take the volume of that cube, and that can be the volume of your building. So a perfectly square building built out to the edges of the property can only be 200 feet tall, but you can by code make the building taller by tapering the tower, hollowing out the center, or doing what the designers of the Gateway Tower did and have a shorter pedestal on one half of the property (a small-volume base) and a taller higher-volume tower on the other half. Here's a simple example of two cubes of the same volume but different heights:



Nowhere is there the arch specifically mentioned by name or by height in building codes. However, in the JMD zone only it does mention a specific hard height limit of "a mean sea level elevation of seven hundred fifty-one (751) feet". That's actually fairly limiting.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by warwickland »

i actually do wish st. louis had a dc-type height restriction, where the arch would loom over everything and the gaps would be more filled in at street level...that would have been great.
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

One Cardinal Way has it's crown going on. These photos were taken from a project I've been working on at 900 South 4th Street.

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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by TheLastGentleman »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:49 pm One Cardinal Way has it's crown going on. These photos were taken from a project I've been working on at 900 South 4th Street.

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This is a really cool shot, especially with the train passing by
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

TheLastGentleman wrote: Thu Mar 05, 2020 11:29 pm This is a really cool shot, especially with the train passing by
That train is the Lincoln Service to Chicago. It was parked there. Amtrak normally switches track so they come all the way down to the near river and switch tracks. Gateway station is at 14th and Poplar, which is, counting streets, 10 blocks away. In reality, Gateway Station is many more blocks than that since you have to walk down to 7th then to Spruce and then down Spruce.

Downtown South is an interesting area. Multiple rail lines intersect down there especially around Chouteau's Landing, which consists of mostly vacant warehouses and factory buildings (but there is a redevelopment plan). The area is mostly parking lots too. There are some buildings but many are vacant and crumbling. The area is known mostly for the Broadway Oyster Bar and is a link between Downtown and Soulard with 4th and Broadway acting as the main North and South thoroughfares. However, because of how desolate this area is, it's not too enjoyable to walk through. The highways (64 and 55/44) really mess it up. I've taken this walk many times and it's nothing special. In the future... maybe.

At the 900 building, besides looking at the skyline view, you can watch trains cross the municipal bridge from Illinois. It's really interesting. I know this is all off-topic but it's interesting to mention. Future tenants of 900 South 4th will have a great view of this area's revitalization.

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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

One Cardinal Way seen from Strauss Park in Grand Center (Grand Boulevard at Washington Boulevard).

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One Cardinal Way will have a large TV screen on the crown. That's according to a fly through video published on the OCW Twitter and Facebook pages. It caused quite the stir when originally shared with many people being completely split on the idea. IMO, it's goofy and not needed. Quite frankly, it belongs in Times Square and not in Downtown STL. I would've preferred a "glohawk".

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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

Went down to BPV today and took a short walk around. Honestly, it came out pretty good. Only thing I don't like is the large World Series trophy. Seems like a gimmick. The One Cardinal Way TV screen is another thing. That's happening just when looking at the crown. A few things I noticed, some banners were taken off of the OneLife Building that once talked about the Cardinal's Walk of Fame and some sort of metal is hanging off of the PwC Building (6 Cardinal Way).

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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

They were testing the roof screen at One Cardinal Way today. I think it looks ridiculous and out of place. Leasing at the building is at 65%. OCW will open August 1st.

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OneLife Fitness is back open and the Sports+Social Restaurant has opened was well.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by TrolliKC »

I'm annoyed that KPMG, PWC, Deloitte or EY don't put up building signage in KC on at least one of their buildings.
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normalthings
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by normalthings »

I guess the con of having full office buildings is that we have bigger tenants who control signage rights. I also don't like the idea of a big sign at the top of 1 KC Place. Anyhow, they do have ground-level signs.
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

One Cardinal Way is completed. The first residents moved in earlier this month. The building is sitting around 76% occupied, which is strong for a new high-rise apartment building in Downtown St. Louis.

Pictures shown here were taken by me on August 23rd.
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Other photos of the second phase of the development...
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Despite how the photos look, Ballpark Village gets pretty busy on the weekends and week nights now. Even with coronavirus in full swing, there's always a decent sized crowd on the Together Credit Union Plaza or in any of the open businesses in the district. As more aspects of the project open up, I expect this to become even busier. Too bad there's no Cardinals Games. This project would be shining bright. Oh well, there's always next year.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by StL_Dan »

Awesome pix. I was there in June. Businesses were beginning to open and patrons slowly starting to take advantage and hang out.

This, combined with the recently completed Arch grounds, has been a really nice upgrade to downtown. The walkability between the two is fantastic - especially when compared to what the logistics were like even 5 years ago.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by DColeKC »

You can thank me for the rooftop LED screen on OCW. ;)

It will mostly be used for digital signage and I'm glad we finally pulled one off on this project. It was complicated.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by Chris Stritzel »

DColeKC wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:26 pm You can thank me for the rooftop LED screen on OCW. ;)

It will mostly be used for digital signage and I'm glad we finally pulled one off on this project. It was complicated.
While I was initially skeptical of it, it has grown on to me. But please, pass on to your bosses that I don't think there should be anymore sky screens on future buildings at BPV. Maybe just go for a "glohawk" that can change colors or something like that. And also pass along that future parking garage screens should use lighter colors instead of the dark charcoal they used for OCW.

Other than that, I have no other critiques. Hopefully we see future phases soon.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by DColeKC »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:49 pm
DColeKC wrote: Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:26 pm You can thank me for the rooftop LED screen on OCW. ;)

It will mostly be used for digital signage and I'm glad we finally pulled one off on this project. It was complicated.
While I was initially skeptical of it, it has grown on to me. But please, pass on to your bosses that I don't think there should be anymore sky screens on future buildings at BPV. Maybe just go for a "glohawk" that can change colors or something like that. And also pass along that future parking garage screens should use lighter colors instead of the dark charcoal they used for OCW.

Other than that, I have no other critiques. Hopefully we see future phases soon.
Just to be clear, I don't work directly for them but I work as a consultant. I feel we went with the appropriate size to not make it tacky like some newish buildings in China and Dubai for example. Being a sports anchored district, the value of digital signage is very high and people are often used to LED screens and ribbon boards. It fit this project, but certainly wouldn't be at home in Kansas City for example.

I'll pass along the critique about the parking garage screen. I do know the Cardinals wanted to go with a darker theme overall. I'm so used to One and Two light that I love the look of OCW.
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by StL_Dan »

I think something along the same lines - and proportional - would look cool in the P&L area or even the Crossroads. Not necessarily on top of a structure either.
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normalthings
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Re: Ballpark Village v4.7 (st. louis)

Post by normalthings »

Final build-out over the next 3-6 years. Residential heavy.

https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local ... 9eac8f3b96
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