STLrainbow
@stlrainbow.bsky.social
540 followers 290 following 1.4K posts
Rusty Rust Belter With A Spring in My Step. President, Saint Louis Society for the Preservation of Two-Fams
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stlrainbow.bsky.social
I'm curious if you've seen anywhere a listing of the property addresses for the dozen or so existing data centers in the city?
stlrainbow.bsky.social
Insanity? Dementia?
atrupar.com
Trump: "Portland, I mean -- every time I look at that place it's burning down. There are fires all over the place. When a store -- there are very few of them left -- but when a store owner rebuilds a store they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up."
stlrainbow.bsky.social
One of the more mysterious buildings in town is flanked by, but was not part of, the Westminster Place redevelopment area. The old Artcraft Venitian Blind Manufacturing Co. on Olive has been owned for the past couple decades by a hopeful but unrealized co-housing venture. Herons roost here though.
Vacant circa 1909 three story and attached two story brick commercial buildings with cement blocked except for the second and third floors of the larger building, which are open with no windows in the casings. A sign with red background and yellow lettering runs across the buildings above the first floor and reads ARTCRAFT VENETIAN BLIND MANUFACTURING CO. along with a logo of the letter A within in a circle.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
Good read. And, of course,
Reposted by STLrainbow
gconnolly314.bsky.social
“Nick Hartzler, a senior project manager with Steadfast City, said the developers do not “currently plan” to seek local tax breaks but could apply for a state program that allows certain data centers exemptions on sales and use taxes.”

#ArmoryTIF wasn’t mentioned. 👀

www.stlpr.org/economy-busi...
Consultants met with complaints during first town hall on Armory data center proposal
Concerned St. Louis residents made their thoughts known about a proposed $1.5 billion data center project that developers hope to build on the premises of the shuttered Armory building in Midtown.
www.stlpr.org
stlrainbow.bsky.social
I'll be floored if the data center developer says, "I shall not seek, nor shall I accept, tax abatement or TIF."
stlrainbow.bsky.social
""Things That Will Not Happen" for $10,000, Alex."
stlrainbow.bsky.social
I look forward to hearing how the hopeful developer and SLU (as master abater for the area 👀) are firmly committed to ending the existing property tax abatement and TIF authorization for the failed prior Armory project.
gconnolly314.bsky.social
Zoom info for today’s 5:30 p.m. developer propaganda “town hall/community engagement” meeting on the proposed data center(s) in the #ArmoryTIF district:
stlouis.govocal.com/en/projects/...
See item 5 at the “Go Vocal” link

#ShowUsTheMath
#500prospect
#3660Market
#DataCenterSTL
stlrainbow.bsky.social
Lindell Markeplace was a key component of the redevelopment and opened in the late 1980s. An LDS Church and SLPS's Metro High School opened around 1996 and were institutional uses helping fill out the redevelopment area. Two assisted living buildings (not pictured) also were built. 4/4
A marquue sign for Lindell Marketplace with Schuck's grocery as the main tenant. Metro High School with a school bus in front of the building.  LDS Church building.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
The now all market rate apartments are rather popular for SLU grad students, many international. The single-family build-out took some time, and were opened to other developers. Pyramid Group built the two on upper right in 2000. On bottom right are 2006 rowhomes. A few buildable parcels remain. 3/
Multi-family building with Westminster Place sign. Two 2.5/3 story homes with brick fronts, vinyl siding, and sizeable front yards. A row of 2.5 story townhomes with a permanent Westminster Place monument sign at the corner.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
The residential part was a mix of townhomes, larger apartment buildings, and single-families. The project also included an early use of LIHTC to support lower-income units, but those obligations have expired and are now market-rate. Some older homes also were preserved. 2/
A 3 story multi-family building. A banner on a street pole in the foreground reads Love WHERE YOU live. Westminster Place. Side-by-side three story brick beauties. One is a single-family owner occupy; the other has been subdivided into multiple units and is part of the Broad Group ownership. Two single-family two-story homes circa 1990 that would fit well into a suburban landscape. A circular area i the street with lush trees provides traffic calming.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
One of STL's more interesting, and largest, redevelopments of the past 40 years or so is "Westminster Place" between Midtown and the heart of the Central West End. The 90 acre, intentionally suburban-ish and mixed-income redevelopment began work around 1985 and was led by McCormack Baron. 1/
Westminster Place Site Plan from a 1998 ULI Case Study.  Commercial Lindell Marketplace is in orange on the southern part of the project. Metro High School and an LDS Church on McPherson are in pink. Residential areas are on Westminster Place and Olive Street on the northern and western part of the area. The study noted about 2/3 of the project had been completed. Multi-family buildings off Vandeventer. In the foreground are a brick monument Westminster Place sign along with a small temporary Now Leasing! sign with balloons and a flag sign with phone number.  A large multi-family building with a permanent Westminster Place sign with phone number and a directional arrow to Leasing Office. It also says Broad Management Group, which is based in NYC and now owns the multi-family buildings. McCormack Baron, which developed the project, sold some time ago. A surviving oldie in the redevelopment area, its a 3 story brick baller with a turret. A permanent brick Westminster Place sign is in the foreground. Vehicular Access to Westminster Place is blocked off at Vandeventer.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
Rehabs in Benton Park West tend to be of longer vacant properties compared to some of the nearby neighborhoods where gentrification is further along. But there is more direct displacement underway, and the n'hood could use an aggressive affordable housing plan to ensure lower income can remain.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
The latest single-fam conversion in Benton Park West is an 1895 brick baller. Adjacent to a single-fam from the same year.
A two story red brick two family under renovation next to a thinner but slightly taller red brick home. A dumpster is on the street.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
It’s Benton Park West Wednesday! And it’s a rehab-a-rama as usual. City records have these brick ballers as 1900 to 1908 builds.
2 story red brick four-fam under renovation to on with a dumpster in front. A two-story corner brick split-use and attached residence under rehab. 2 story red brick corner split-use under renovation. Especially nice cornice and brick detailing. Two story red brick four-fam building under renovation. Recent fire damage can be seen on the second floor.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
Oops; I posted the wrong pic in upper right for the home on Olive in the redeveloped Gaslight Square area listing for $700K. The correct one is below. The other one lists for $475K and is on the edge of the nearby, super-interesting Westminster Place redevelopment. Will do a thread on that later.
Large 2.5 story red brick home.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
So there is a short 2 block Saint Louis Street in Nashville not far from downtown. No sidewalks and low pop. density. The 1915 home under reno in this March streetview is done and now listing for $590,000. $5K price cut; but no thanks!
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
March 2025 Google streetview of small 1.5 story wood frame homes with front yards but no sidewalk. A home in the middle with white siding is under renovation and has some construction material by the street.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
🤔 I wonder if it's CDA supported.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
A rental listing for that new infill two-fam just posted:
3 bed, 2 bath for $2,200/mo.
www.zillow.com/homedetails/...
www.zillow.com
stlrainbow.bsky.social
ha... I'm posting later on a home for sale on that street!
stlrainbow.bsky.social
lol SLDC doesn't care about compliance. Nor the BoA, really.
stlrainbow.bsky.social
I wonder what's going on on St. Louis Ave in Nashville.