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Downtown Buzz
is a monthly newsletter published by the Downtown St.
Louis Community Improvement District for its members, downtown
property and business owners, the downtown business and
residential community and all others interested in downtown
revitalization. Send all responses and inquiries to Shuntae'
Shields Ryan, Marketing & Communications Director, via e-mail or mail to: 720 Olive
Street Suite 450 St. Louis, MO 63101
May 2009 To skip to a specific news item, use the links below!
To read them all, just scroll on
down.
The
newly branded Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront will soon debut
its $63 million dollar transformation. Highlights of the
top-to-bottom renovation include a complete makeover of its
83,000 square feet of meeting space, along with a new pool deck
and observation area on the top floor, 52 new luxurious suites,
910 newly designed rooms with 350 of those offering Gateway Arch
views, three new full-service restaurants, a Starbucks and a
StayFit@Hyatt health club.
Dining options will
include the Brewhouse, a sports bar celebrating St. Louis
sporting and brewing history. Serving lunch and dinner, the bar
will offer three local draft beers - from Anheuser-Busch,
Schlafly Beer and O'Fallon Brewery - and an extensive list of
domestic bottled beer. Also featured will be flat screen TVs
throughout, a private room and Nintendo® WiiT.
Fine dining will be offered at Ruth's
Chris Steakhouse, renowned for its New Orleans-inspired
appetizers, aged USDA Prime steaks and award-winning wine list.
Serving lunch and dinner, the restaurant will feature a dining
room, bar and lounge area. For a more casual but elegant option
guests will enjoy Red Kitchen and Bar, an American grill
restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The renovation
will be complete July 2009.
Green Street LLC has
announced a new GREEN LEED Certified development planned for 2301 Chouteau Avenue. This will be a
redevelopment of the existing Missouri Boiler Building and will
be for single use or multiple tenants throughout the building.
Plans call for each of the three buildings to range in size from
10,000 to nearly 64,000 square feet, feature a mixture of office
and industrial uses, 26 foot ceilings, abundant parking, dock
and drive in doors and much more. For more information, click
here.
Over twelve residential properties will be featured
at this year's Downtown STL Living and Neighborhood Tour on Saturday, June 6
from Noon to 5 pm. The self-guided walking tour will feature
condos and apartments - furnished models and re-sale units as
well as an opportunity to explore neighboring shops,
restaurants, services and attractions. The event is Free and
registration will be held at Old Post Office Plaza at 9th &
Locust Streets. For more information, click
here.
Downtown Now! awarded approximately
$30,000 in grants to local non-profits who could help the Post
Office Plaza provide a diverse array of programming this Spring, Summer and Fall. Through
the 2009 grant program the Plaza is able to feature the St.
Louis Public Library's "Not so Quiet" Series every Thursday in
May, the KDHX Friday lunchtime series every other Friday in May
and June and Kids Saturday once a month beginning May 9th with
storytelling and puppet shows. A large portion of the
programming funds were provided by USBancorp CDC. For more
detailed information about Plaza events, click
here.
The all inclusive 2009 Downtown Dining Guide has
arrived and is ready for distribution. Due to an overwhelming demand from
hotel concierges for a downtown directional map, we have
formatted this year's guide to also serve as a restaurant
listing on the inside and full sized map on the outer cover.
The Dining Guide continues to be one of our most highly
requested pieces and is paid for by the restaurants that
advertise in the guide. To request your complimentary copies,
contact Shuntaé Shields Ryan by clicking
here or to preview the new guide click
here.
Urban Roots, a
collaborative of non profit organizations committed to
greening/beautifying
downtown, will launch its
annual Spring planting effort this Friday and
Saturday, May 8th and 9th. Nearly 35
volunteers from the downtown area will
join with
the Police recruit class on Friday to plant a mix of flowers in
the
16 planters in Poelker Park, Soldiers Memorial
and the Police Memorial statue in front of the Civil
Courts building. Operation Brightside takes the lead on
Saturday with over 100 volunteers to plant the gardens at
City Hall. The Plant
sale will be at City Hall from
9 am to Noon on Saturday, May 9th. To volunteer,
contact Lindsey Schmid by
clicking
here or by calling 314.436.6500 ext. 241.
The Urban Roots
partners include the Partnership
for Downtown St. Louis, Downtown CID,
Operation
Brightside, Flora Conservancy, Gateway Greening and the City of
St.
Louis Parks Department.
You can help celebrate
the Major League Baseball All Star Game by
displaying banners, signs, plantings and special
lighting. MLB has
prepared order
forms for official banners and signs to be displayed throughout
the community during All Star Game week. Also
included is a guide for
flowers and lighting.
(Note: the street light pole banners are not the
ones you will soon be seeing displayed in downtown near Busch
Stadium and along
Market
Street).
You'll
find the order form and more information by clicking here.
The St. Louis
Convention
& Visitor's Commission is
encouraging St. Louisans to "Be a Tourist in Your
Own Town" this
Thursday, May 7th from 10 am - 2 pm.The outdoor tradeshow will feature more than
70 exhibitors including the Downtown CID, HoteLumiere, St. Louis
Cardinals,
Hard Rock Café and St. Louis Gateway
Arch.Come out and experience
great music, food and give-a-ways as well as get
some great ideas for your summer planner!
The oldest
African-American parade in the nation, the Annie Malone May Day Parade, will
return to downtown
St. Louis
for the 4th year in a row
Sunday, May 17, 2009. Over 50,000 spectators are expected to
attend
the 3 hour parade as a variety of bands,
organizations, and businesses from
across the
Midwest region march down Market Street from
20th to 7th
Street. The
parade begins at 1 pm. Immediately following
the Parade the McDonald's May Day Blues Fest will take place in
Kiener Plaza
with sensational vocalists Kim Massey,
Silky Soul, and the McDonald's R&B
Soul Search
Winner Kristin Stimage. For
more information, click
here.
In 2003, the
Downtown CID and the St. Louis Development Corporation
established a retail
leasing strategy that has
helped to attract over 125 new shops, restaurants and
services into the downtown area. Virtually all of these
businesses are locally
owned operations, started by
independent entrepreneurs with a passion for their
product and a belief in downtown.
Starting a new
retail business is never
easy. There is a high rate of failure, even in the
best of markets. To take the risk on starting a retail business
in a newly
emerging market like downtown takes
vision, persistence and patience. Now, in
addition
to all of the other challenges of operating an independent
retail
business, these entrepreneurs are facing the
worst economy in many years.
In light of these
challenges, a grass roots
"Buy Local" movement is growing across the country
that is focused on helping great, local merchants to survive.
The 3/50 Project is one of the newest of
these "Buy Local" organizations and simply encourages consumers
to identify
three favorite, independent merchants
and commit to spending a total of $50 per
month in
those stores. The website http://www.the350project.net/home.html
details how support for local businesses not only
helps these businesses to
survive but also provides
significantly higher economic returns to the local
communities they serve.
We encourage you
to visit the 3/50 Project website
for more information. Better yet, we
encourage you
to visit our website by clicking
here
for a complete listing and map of downtown
St. Louis shops,
restaurants and services. Best of
all, we encourage you to shop, dine and
support
your favorite downtown businesses each and every month starting
with
Mother's Day gifts from some of the merchants
or brunch at one of the
restaurants.
development planned for 2301 Chouteau Avenue. This will be a
redevelopment of the existing Missouri Boiler Building and will
be for single use or multiple tenants throughout the building.
Plans call for each of the three buildings to range in size from
10,000 to nearly 64,000 square feet, feature a mixture of office
and industrial uses, 26 foot ceilings, abundant parking, dock
and drive in doors and much more. For more information, 
Downtown STL Living and Neighborhood Tour on Saturday, June 6
from Noon to 5 pm. The self-guided walking tour will feature
condos and apartments - furnished models and re-sale units as
well as an opportunity to explore neighboring shops,
restaurants, services and attractions. The event is Free and
registration will be held at Old Post Office Plaza at 9th &
Locust Streets. For more information, 
array of programming this Spring, Summer and Fall. Through
the 2009 grant program the Plaza is able to feature the St.
Louis Public Library's "Not so Quiet" Series every Thursday in
May, the KDHX Friday lunchtime series every other Friday in May
and June and Kids Saturday once a month beginning May 9th with
storytelling and puppet shows. A large portion of the
programming funds were provided by USBancorp CDC. For more
detailed information about Plaza events, 
ready for distribution. Due to an overwhelming demand from
hotel concierges for a downtown directional map, we have
formatted this year's guide to also serve as a restaurant
listing on the inside and full sized map on the outer cover.
The Dining Guide continues to be one of our most highly
requested pieces and is paid for by the restaurants that
advertise in the guide. To request your complimentary copies,
contact Shuntaé Shields Ryan by 
greening/beautifying
downtown, will launch its
annual Spring planting effort this Friday and
Saturday, May 8th and 9th. Nearly 35
volunteers from the downtown area will
join with
the Police recruit class on Friday to plant a mix of flowers in
the
16 planters in Poelker Park, Soldiers Memorial
and the Police Memorial statue in front of the Civil
Courts building. Operation Brightside takes the lead on
Saturday with over 100 volunteers to plant the gardens at
City Hall. The Plant
sale will be at City Hall from
9 am to Noon on Saturday, May 9th. To volunteer,
contact Lindsey Schmid by
The Urban Roots
partners include the Partnership
for Downtown St. Louis, Downtown CID,
Operation
Brightside, Flora Conservancy, Gateway Greening and the City of
St.
Louis Parks Department.
Louisans to "Be a Tourist in Your
Own Town" this
Thursday, May 7th from 10 am - 2 pm.
Malone May Day Parade, will
return to downtown
St. Louis
for the 4th year in a row
Sunday, May 17, 2009. Over 50,000 spectators are expected to
attend
the 3 hour parade as a variety of bands,
organizations, and businesses from
across the
Midwest region march down Market Street from
20th to 7th
Street. The
parade begins at 1 pm. Immediately following
the Parade the McDonald's May Day Blues Fest will take place in
Kiener Plaza
with sensational vocalists Kim Massey,
Silky Soul, and the McDonald's R&B
Soul Search
Winner 
Kristin Stimage. For
more information, 
