The Arcade Building

This weekend my parents and I decided to take a look at several of the new condo projects in downtown St. Louis. If I actually have the money in 2009, I would really like to buy one. The projects I took a look at are a little different than a lot of the lofts in downtown St. Louis in that they are old office buildings and not old warehouses/factories.

The first one we looked at was the Arcade Building, which is still being gutted, but the friendly Pyramid Companies sales associate took us up on the roof of the neighboring Paul Brown building where we could take a look down into the light well create by the three buildings on the block, the last one being the Wright Building. The Arcade and Wright buildings are being combined into condos, while the Paul Brown is already apartments.Here is an image of the top of the Wright Building, looking to the east across the top of the building. The Wright was built first, and the Arcade Building was then added.
Above is a picture of the light well of the Arcade Building, with white ceramic tiles facing the very large courtyard. I was surprised at how large the area is; many of the units will have balconies overlooking a lush garden.
Looking to the north, you can see as far as one of the water towers--I'm sorry, standpipes--in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
This last image is looking down into the light well, showing the strange structure that rises out of the center of the building. It will feature a garden on the roof, and a guest quarters for one of the larger condos that will be accessible across its own private roof garden. A very cool building, and it will feature a restored Neo-Gothic shopping arcade on street level.