As the Midtown area begins to rebuild and come alive, Saint Louis University looks to remain active in the restoration of the neighborhood.
In partnership with the Lawrence Group, SLU built the West Locust Lofts and is looking to open Hotel Ignacio in March, 2011.
According to the message sent out in June by University President, Lawrence Biondi S.J., the West Locust Loft apartments were built to target graduate and professional students. They are not, however, specifically intended to house only SLU students.
The West Locust Lofts are renovated historic Midtown buildings, one dating as far back as 1893 and the other from the year 1914.
Vincent Schoemehl, the President of the Grand Center Inc., a center for the arts with in Midtown, is hopeful that these SLU developments will bring more activity into the area.
“Hotels and apartments keep people around throughout the day and into the evening,” said Schoemehl, “Any development of them would be an improvement.”
Though the plans the University has underway currently are going strong, Clayton Berry, Director of University Communications, stated that there are no additional upcoming developments going on in the area.
““We currently have no other development plans in the Midtown area right now other than the Hotel [Ignacio] and the apartments,” Berry said, “We have one office building we own in the Grand Center and a smaller property nearby, but the rest of what we own is mostly parking lots or is slated for the hotel. There is not much more property that we own in the area.”
While the University owns a few buildings in Midtown, most of the SLU land in the area is comprised of parking lots for Chaifetz and the university.
Despite having no current plans in the works to further develop Midtown from SLU land, Berry expressed hope that Midtown would eventually be to SLU what the Delmar Loop, an area that features shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, became for Washington University. SLU looks to have a center for students to go and do things too, something that seems to be lacking at this time.
Liza Ambrose, a SLU senior, agrees that a Loop-like area would be good for the University.
“It would be great. I feel a lot of students are attracted to the vibe and feel of the Loop. It would be cool to have that close by,” Ambrose said. “I’d like to see just more local and native restaurants, places that are easy for students to get to and enjoy.”
The union of SLU and Midtown is agreeable to both parties. The University remains hopeful that the rebuilding of Midtown will promote SLU, while the surrounding area hopes to benefit from being located so close to the school.
