Best of 2010: Saint Louis Coworking

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Despite the challenging economy, lots of great things happened over the course of 2010. Major development projects such as the Peabody Opera House, Central Library, Park Pacific, The Laurel, and One City Centre/Sixth Street Garage all began construction this past year and figure to play major roles in downtown's ongoing renaissance upon their completion.

Since these projects have already received a great deal of press in recent months, I'd like to focus on some of the notable developments and business dealings of 2010 that may have flown under the radar a bit.

Let's start with the opening of Saint Louis Coworking in the Shell Building.

Saint Louis Coworking has been a hit with freelancers, startup entrepreneurs and the self employed since opening in August.  Not only does Saint Louis Coworking provide these creative professionals wtih high-quality workspace, it allows for opportunities for socializing and collaboration as well. Weekly pancake breakfasts, parties and other social events hosted by Saint Louis Coworking have allowed the space to develop its own culture, despite the independent nature of its tenants.



More than 40 different people have used the 10,000 sf coworking space since it opened in August. Representative of the type of tenant drawn to the coworking concept is Boom.reactive, a new web development and branding firm led by Shawn Hautly and Jon Becker.  It will be interesting to see if Saint Louis Coworking can develop into a true business incubator for downtown, giving fledgling firms a place to start before they "hatch" and lease space elsewhere - it certainly appears to be well on its way.  Who knows what great ideas will emerge from this type of environment?

Kudos to Mike Tomko and Chris Buehler of Scorch Agency (a Shell Building tenant) and the owners of the Shell Building for bringing the coworking concept to St. Louis!

More:

• Blogger Todd Jordan shares his experiences at Saint Louis Coworking
• Saint Louis Coworking featured on KMOV
• Saint Louis Coworking featured on KSDK

The Roberts Orpheum Theater: Underutilized?

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The RFT recently featured a conversation between its theater reviewers, Dennis Brown and Paul Friswold, regarding the state of theater in St. Louis. The discussion touched on the role that the Peabody Opera House will play in the cultural scene, as well as the underuse of the Roberts Orpheum.

Dennis Brown: Last week we talked about the year just ended. Today let's chat about the year to come. Perhaps the big event — at least the most costly — will be the expected reopening this fall of the old Kiel Opera House. Although renovated at enormous taxpayer expense, nevertheless it should wonderfully fill the city's desperate need for yet another theater that is too large.

Paul Friswold: I'm on the fence about the new Peabody. The city put up quite a bit more dough for a football stadium and a baseball stadium, and I've never been to either. And yet I paid for them, at least in part. So I suppose I should be thrilled that this time my money is going to something I'll visit every now and again. I do wonder what will play here — will the Peabody attract more Broadway tours? I'd rather see the city splash out some cash for any of the local gypsy companies than for a big barn for touring productions, but at least the money's not being spent on a basketball team. In short, I'll take it and like it.

Brown: I think it's indisputable that cities need the arts if their downtown areas are to thrive. Look at Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis. Color me old-fashioned, but I've always believed that downtown St. Louis begins east of 12th Street, so I don't see the Peabody having an impact on downtown. Meanwhile, the Roberts Orpheum Theater is downtown and plays no theater role whatsoever.

Friswold: And that puzzles me. Two Decembers ago Stages St. Louis presented a Little Women at the Roberts that worked well from an audience point of view, and it felt like an event. Why doesn't the Orpheum house more theater?

Brown: Why indeed? I'll try to keep an open mind about the opera house, but the cynic in me is certainly stirring.

Park Avenue Coffee to Open Downtown Location

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Gooey butter lovers rejoice: Park Avenue Coffee is opening a second location in downtown St. Louis at 417 N. Tenth Street in Loftworks' Tenth Street Lofts building. The new store will open on February 28 and will be a welcome addition to the downtown retail scene.

The original Park Avenue Coffee in Lafayette Square was recently featured on the Food Network's "Food Feuds" program, where it beat out Gooey Louie's for the distinction of best gooey butter cake in town. Park Avenue offers over 70 varieties of St. Louis's favorite treat.

New Police HQ - Smart Move

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The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's recent purchase of the former Sherwood Medical building at 1915 Pine for its new headquarters seems to bee a smart move for several reasons:

The police department is getting a fresh, modern space with state-of-the-art technology, which could help make it more efficient and even be good for morale.
At a selling price of $2.7 million, $5 million under its market value (or at least the asking price), the police department is getting a good deal.  
By purchasing the building using money from its forfeited asset fund – money seized as proceeds from crimes – the impact on the department’s finances is significantly reduced.
Added police presence will add stability to the Downtown West neighborhood, which will undoubtedly be appreciated by nearby residents and business owners.
The presence of police department employees will benefit restaurants, bars and shops in the area.
The building will be removed from office vacancy figures, resulting in 143,000 sf of positive absorption. Depending on the criteria for buildings used by the various providers of commercial real estate research, the building could either be classified as Class A or B. In my past life as a research analyst for a commercial real estate firm here in St. Louis, we had it listed as Class B space (albeit high-quality Class B space).
And fortunately, the department isn’t completely abandoning its presence on Clark Street; the police crime lab, adjacent to the current headquarters building, will remain where it is.
Finding a developer to repurpose the existing 83-year-old headquarters building should be a challenge. Its non-ideal location, coupled with the high cost of renovation ($75 million as quoted by the police department) are two major strikes against it, but its attractiveness and interesting back story could work in its favor. Time will tell.
And sure, it would be preferable to see the 1915 Pine used as a corporate headquarters again, but this is probably the next best thing.

Downtown to Get Upscale Movie Theater

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Since the closing of the Union Station Cinema in 2003, one amenity that downtown St. Louis has been lacking is a movie theater.  That's about to change, as Harman Moseley has announced plans to operate an upscale, three-screen cinema on the second floor of the former St. Louis Centre - now known as the Mercantile Exchange building.
The new theater will show art house ("prestige") films and feature a 21-and-over admission policy, along with leather couches and a full bar and basement.  If it's anything like Moseley's Moolah Cinema in midtown, it should be amazing.  Taking a high-end approach is probably a wise move for this market.  Moseley's theater in the Chase Park Plaza offers complimentary parking, so I'm curious to see if free parking will be made available to theatergoers in the Mercantile Exchange garage.

Screenslam-OTRCast Interview. Parts 1-5

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Screenslam's OTR Interview. Last part is up - Under the CUT


  ScreenslamThe cast share the challenges they had to conquer in order to become their characters. They spoke about having to take what they learned about the characters and apply it to their acting without letting it get in the way of their performance. Stewart compares her earlier role of playing Joan Jett in The Runaways to her role in On The Road as Marylou.

“It’s not for everyone, which is kind of the heart of the story. They’re not necessarily going to be able to roll with every crowd. I don’t find them to be rebellious. I think they’re just really truly being who they are, and they don’t fit in. ” – Kristen Stewart

 “To be able to play characters that are ridding of inhibitions and fears, we have to try to rid of our inhibitions and fears while trying to achieve a hard sort of goal at the end of the obstacle.” – Garrett Hedlund

 “Each of us did our own research as much as possible. At the end of the day you have to take in everything about what you understand from their personalities that we’ve heard from the experts and things and then you also have to then leave that behind to some extent so that it doesn’t become a burden.” – Sam Riley

 


Screenslam Part2 The cast of On The Road sits down with Screenslam in an interview to talk about the setting of the movie. Kristen Stewart speaks of her nostalgia for the time frame as Garrett Hedlund talks about how people were so much more free in the past and get to live in the moment. The music and the culture constructed people to feel and live freely instead of living in fear from all that was going on with WWII.

 ”I’m totally nostalgic for a time that I’ve never been in.” – Kristen Stewart
 “It deals with everything you still yearn for, just the times have changed. It’s not as free as it was.” – Garrett Hedlund
 “I think as people get older they like to romanticize that when they were young they were more rebellious and something or that the youth of today are not going to have any morals or be corrupt.” – Sam Riley.


Screenslam Part 3 The cast for On The Road continues their interview with Screenslam as Kristen Stewert talks about the difficulty of being able to relate with her character’s personality as Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley give praise to director, Walter Sallus. Stewert also notes that she never once has to think about her role, improvising came simply.

 “She’s got a nearly opposite energy to me. She’s insanely brave and I feel that I’m not quite as much as her.” – Kristen Stewert
 “You just try and be somebody that radiates life and isn’t afraid to live, doesn’t say no too often. Isn’t afraid to say yea, but isn’t afraid to say no.” – Garrett Hedlund
 “I don’t think there’s a director that could have done it the same way Walter did it. He was so immersed, I think he invested so much of himself and his life into understanding these people.” – Sam Riley


Screenslam 4 “I didn’t want to do anything after this. It raises the bar for, of course the work that you do, but just the experiences that you want to have and why you do the work you do.” – Kristen Stewart

“I don’t think there’s any actors that are working today that don’t admire the era of cinema, particularly in America – the 70′s era.” – Sam Riley
Actress Kristen Stewart speaks about the different journeys the movie takes you on the more and more you watch it.

  Screenslam Part 5“You can kind of have a different experience every time you watch the movie. It doesn’t force you to feel anything. It’s kind of rare and unique in that way.” – Kristen Stewart

 “Those that haven’t read the book say once they see the film you want them to have the same feeling as if they were to read the book, which was the feeling that all of us had.” – Garrett Hedlund

 “These people have had the same experiences, live through the same times so that whatever music they come out of touches a nerve with other people of that time. ” – Sam Riley

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Rob's Interview with TG5. Talks Kristen and OTR

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Video is dubbed - he talks about Kristen and On The Road. Or watch @TG5 at 28:50

 The journalist who interviewed him speaks over the video and also says "He's excited for the premiere of his movie at Cannes and wishes good luck/congratulates to his girlfriend Kristen Stewart. 'Kristen is amazing in On The Road. I've always admired her talent. It's incredible to be both here in competition at the festival. Maybe here starts a new phase of my career' " "Kristen’s always been a great actress, people just…can’t even see what you actually are"


New Pic
 Video: Translation thanks to Crisp_90 and CSI_Robsten | alice_intwilandVia | kstewartnews

Picture: MotherFoka | ViaRPLife Video mfoc

Videos from the Cosmopolis Premiere

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Kristen and Tom Sturridge on the Red Carpet




Robert how are you feeling tonight?
Rob: I feel amazing, I'm really, really excited. I hope poeple like it. I'm so happy and proud to be at Cannes. I love the movie so I hope it goes well. 

 How was it working with David Cronenberg? Rob: Yeah, yeah. He's a brilliant director. I love to work with. I'd love to do every movie with him. Inside the Theater




 Source: ahbeivids/ mfoc RPLife/ via veronicaspuffy.

More vid under the CUT











source via veronicaspuffy

More Pics of Kristen - Cosmopolis Premiere

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Fashion Court Kristen was was red hot in this gorgeous plunging v-neck gown from the Pre-Fall 2012 collection by Reem Acra. The sexy design features sharp lace insets that fall down her hips and connect to a full lace back with multiple solid straps. She wore red patent open toe Giuseppe Zanotti pumps with wood heel. Her look was complete with a Cartier “Juste Un Clou” white gold nail bracelet. More here

Thanks kstewartfans for the gorgeous HQs.



 

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