Mountcastle Insurance’s Post

Warning - polarizing post ahead: Yesterday, many of us started our day reading this article lambasting downtown St. Louis https://lnkd.in/gQq6gppc. Were the few facts provided accurate? Yes.  Were quotes taken out of context? Absolutely. One person confirmed such: https://lnkd.in/g5VRTuew   What compelled #KonradPutzier, to single out St. Louis as THE example of a ‘doom loop’? Who knows. Yesterday, someone said to me: “St. Louis has a self-esteem problem” – and she couldn’t have hit the nail on the head any better. We are our own worst enemies. So many of the notes I saw flying around yesterday were piling on to the #WSJ’s sentiment of the ‘black hole’ the downtown, and the City, are. What a shame that we collectively aren’t using a lens of optimism to tout the amazing things about this place. In addition to being better marketers – wouldn’t it be grand if we would also commit to promoting the knowledge, talent and businesses that exist here? In two decades of living here, I’ve met some of the brightest, most humble, quirky and thoughtful people who are passionate about renewing the city, reinvigorating the community, and aspire to make the Midwest anything but ‘flyover country’.   Yet, there is a heavy dose of realism in the fact that we, intentional or not, promote brain-drain from the area by compromising the available opportunities here.  In my industry, we are faced with the irony that the Downtown STL Master Plan was lead by a team of out-of-town consultants and designers. The City selected an out-of-town design firm to lead the 9-figure convention center expansion. Developers are being strung along and borderline punished when asking for incentives to push redevelopments across the finish line. When developers AREN’T asking for incentives, their efforts go largely ignored and certainly not promoted.  For example, how is everyone not talking about the ambitious, bullish, huge redevelopment plan of #GatewaySouth? Thanks to those behind that development for recognizing St. Louis as the gem it was, is (albeit needing some polishing), and can be. It feels like downtown has been left as a ‘City’ problem. Yet another reason we have to eradicate the division of City and County and act together. The region has 88 different municipalities. For reference, San Francisco, with a population 178% the size of STL, has 101; Nashville has SIX.   STL has 88 fiefdoms with individual leadership, budgets, master plans, code adoptions and zoning ordinances.  They are competing against one another for investment resulting in lots of parts that do not equal a whole and nothing resembling a collective vision. Sure, St. Louis has room for improvement. But show me a city that doesn’t. I’ll keep promoting STL, and more importantly, the people that live here. #konradputzier, would love to show you around.

Excellent and sobering article in the WSJ about St. Louis and it's struggling downtown. I used to live in STL proper, and downtown has been in a downward spiral for decades. Cities such as San Francisco and Chicago are trying to save their downtown office districts from spiraling into a doom loop. St. Louis is already trapped in one. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown. This self-reinforcing cycle accelerated in recent years as the pandemic emptied offices. St. Louis’s central business district had the steepest drop in foot traffic of 66 major North American cities between the start of the pandemic and last summer, according to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. Traffic has improved some in the past 12 months, but at a slower rate than many Midwestern cities. https://lnkd.in/gfzkBZYF

Texas’ major cities are vibrant (though not without their problems), but with generally good near-term prospects. That’s why it’s hard to conceive of experiencing the “doom loop” as depicted in this article about St. Louis which was once a jewel of the Midwest.  This is the counter to Austin and Fort Worth, as two examples.  It reinforces that prosperity is neither inevitable nor perpetual.  It requires thoughtful, multi-generational leadership and sound economic policies, among many other factors.  From WSJ: Cities such as San Francisco and Chicago are trying to save their downtown office districts from spiraling into a doom loop. St. Louis is already trapped in one. As offices sit empty, shops and restaurants close and abandoned buildings become voids that suck the life out of the streets around them. Locals often find boarded-up buildings depressing and empty sidewalks scary. So even fewer people commute downtown.This self-reinforcing cycle accelerated in recent years as the pandemic emptied offices. St. Louis’s central business district had the steepest drop in foot traffic of 66 major North American cities between the start of the pandemic and last summer, according to the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. Traffic has improved some in the past 12 months, but at a slower rate than many Midwestern cities.Now, it stands as a warning to others: This is the future for America’s downtowns if they can’t reinvent themselves and halt the downward spiral.  https://lnkd.in/gfTReGix

Orange County's Vibrant South Coast Plaza Area - Costa Mesa California

#SwindonIn50MoreBuildings - the old post office in #Highworth and Mabel Stranks: As a building, the Old Post Office Highworth, as pleasant as it is, is I daresay relatively unremarkable. But the same isn't true of erstwhile postmistress, Mabel Stranks. For she and her wartime exploits are the opposite of unremarkable. Indeed it's astonishing! And it's because of Mabel Stranks that this building is included in Swindon in 50 More Buildings. If the reason for including in this series, at least some of the buildings that I have, is because of the stories they tell, then this one is the ubiquitous no-brainer. https://lnkd.in/eeVRNwaD

The Wall Street Journal depicted Downtown St. Louis as a modern day Gotham made famous by the comic book Batman; they are not wrong. “The night is darkest just before the dawn.” Although the above quote from the Batman movie Dark Knight is not scientifically accurate (see 12 am), it succinctly describes the glum chapter we are on in our City’s history. The WSJ writer accurately paints a picture of a once vibrant ecosystem that is almost devoid of any pulse with its numerous vacant buildings, boarded-up businesses, scant foot traffic and rampant crime. Through compelling data, the story describes our Downtown’s descent into a doom loop Post-COVID with an inability to reinvent itself for a 21st Century remote-work world. Based on its research, we are near rock bottom compared to other major U.S. cities. We need St. Louis’ leadership to drastically change the spiraling trajectory of our Downtown with policies that reinvent how our lodestar and its residents/businesses co-exist. Other Rustbelt cities like Detroit have done an amazing job transforming their downtown’s into vibrant livable spaces again. I firmly believe we can do it with the public and private sectors working together to formulate a revolutionary strategic plan. The leaders of the City have been copied/put on notice with this LinkedIn post. Let’s see if they engage their constituents in a joint effort to rehab the face of Downtown for the betterment of our community. Show us the light! “And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” #community #rebirth #change #hope L. Jared Boyd Sara Baker Conner Kerrigan Charles E. Coyle, Sr. Megan-Ellyia Green Cara Spencer Neal Richardson, MBA Jason Hall City of St. Louis Greater St. Louis, Inc. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Alan Achkar St. Louis Business Journal Erik Siemers Konrad Putzier

Newburgh New York

Upper East Side New York

Lower Manhattan From The Brooklyn Bridge

As a seasoned real estate expert based in New York City, the stark contrast between the vibrant recovery of NYC and the challenges in downtown St. Louis is both striking and enlightening. While NYC has bounced back robustly from pandemic setbacks, St. Louis demonstrates the tough realities many Midwestern cities face. St. Louis’s Struggles: Iconic structures like the Railway Exchange Building and AT&T Tower are largely vacant, symbolizing the city’s broader challenges. The loss of key retail spaces, such as Panera, has drastically reduced foot traffic and economic activity, accelerating the urban decay. NYC’s Resilience: In contrast, NYC has seen a dynamic resurgence in its commercial and residential sectors, driven by innovative adaptations like mixed-use developments and workspace redesigns. NYC's proactive strategies, including converting offices to residential spaces and enhancing public amenities, have helped sustain its urban appeal. Strategies for St. Louis: 1. Adaptive Reuse: Inspired by NYC's success, transforming underutilized office spaces into residential units could revitalize St. Louis’s downtown. 2. Strengthening Partnerships: Effective collaboration among government, business leaders, and investors is essential for supporting large-scale redevelopment projects. 3. Business Incentives: Drawing from NYC’s playbook, financial incentives for businesses can help sustain economic activity and community vibrancy. Call to Action: Drawing from my experience in NYC and other dynamic markets throughout the world, I see significant opportunities for St. Louis to adopt similar urban revitalization strategies. Let’s discuss how we can apply these lessons to rejuvenate struggling city centers. #UrbanRevitalization #NYCRealEstate #StLouis #CommunityEngagement #commercialrealestate #Savills Jim Wenk Kirill Azovtsev Shay Bolton Scott Bogetti Matthew Gibson Jessica Conklin