tseugnekillib Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I just caught up with this weeks mail, which included the Summer 2006 edition of "Universitas". The campus special pullout map tells a great story for those willing to dream and be on the optimistic side! While I didn't attend SLU, I have been familiar with the campus since the late 50's. The changes/improvements are almost unbelievable. Congratulations to Fr. Biondi, his staff, the Trustees, and the generous donors who made wonderful things happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 I could not agree more. As a double grad who spent 7 years on the campus in the 60s and early 70s I can say that the school and campus are so much improved that you hardly recognize it as the same school. A lot of people and donors have helped but the driving force is Father Biondi. In another life he could have been the CEO of a major corporation. He is so incredibly ambitious for our school that it amazes me. Just the things that are in process now including the new research building and the new arena are fantastic for the future. I am very proud to be an alumni. go Bills! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_Ken R Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 The transformation of the campus since my days in the second half of the 60's is just unbelievable. Like a dream, really. I think Fr. Biondi's contribution goes far beyond the physical plant. It appears to me that he has applied the same confidence to the management of every aspect of the university. He has gotten the job done. Some on this board question his commitment to SLU athletics, and I think they are wrong. He has put athletics in its proper priority relative to all other needs in the university but he obviously believes it to be very important and has vastly improved facilities and budgets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billsboys Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 >The transformation of the campus since my days in the second >half of the 60's is just unbelievable. Like a dream, >really. I think Fr. Biondi's contribution goes far beyond >the physical plant. It appears to me that he has applied >the same confidence to the management of every aspect of the >university. He has gotten the job done. Some on this board >question his commitment to SLU athletics, and I think they >are wrong. He has put athletics in its proper priority >relative to all other needs in the university but he >obviously believes it to be very important and has vastly >improved facilities and budgets. > > > >That's all great to pat each other on the back, but when you bring up athletics, our department is incredibly behind. When you ask Head Coaches to pay for their own cell phones,it is like operating with a 1970's mentality. Still a long way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Are you an employee of the Athletic Department at SLU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobo Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 I agree. I was there in the 1st half of the 60's when the most grass on campus was the quad. Spent a lot of time in Forest Park. I think Father Reinert and Fitzgerald began campus improvements, but Fr. Biondi has excelled and I believe that before his tenure is completed he will purchase as much land as is available for continued expansion and development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 To me, the next important step is to revitalize the area around campus through the continued addition of retail, housing, etc. to give the area a "college town" feel to it. The Moolah, Vito's, University Village (Warehouse of Fixtures), Superman Building and other projects are a great start, but we need even more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 of Grand. The bad news: Grand Center continues to be roughly as much as an achievement as Laclede's Landing, proceeding at a similar pace. (For those keeping score, major Laclede's Landing renovation started about 30 years ago.) The Contintental ("Superman Building") still has a vacant street level three years after they started talking about a series of restaurants and clubs in there. The Woolworth's corner is still boarded up. And the northeast corner of Grand and Lindell is green space with an iron-bar fence around it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 What a coincidence - the two parts of the city that are overseen by "development corporations" (Grand Center and Laclede's Landing) are among the most stagnant. There's no reason why Grand Center couldn't be St. Louis' equivalent of KC's Crossroads District - tons of cool art studios, galleries, creative businesses, unique retail, etc. Unfortunately Grand Center Inc. does a nice job of holding the area back. On the positive side, I drove by the recently refurbished Morgan Linen building on Olive at Compton on my way to the Spinks fight on Saturday, and the Jazz Loft looked like it was hopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Oh, yeah -- I've read that the Creepy Crawl is finally moving into Grand Center, after having to fight through opposition from the locals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu06 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 i believe the woolworth's building is becoming the new boys and girls club of st louis and also the building behind jazz at the bistro should be rehabbed next year, focussing on performing arts. also, i heard that the space next to world's best is spotted to be a restaraunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 The opposition from locals for the Creepy Crawl moving into Grand Center irks me. Even if it doesn't fit the profile of what they want moving in, the only way to really revitalize an area is to ensure that you have a good mixture of people going to and living in the area. The Creepy Crawl may not be a ritzy jazz club that will draw a higher-income crowd, but at its old location, hosted punk rock shows almost every single night of the year. How is drawing people to your area to spend money every night a bad thing? The Loop has built its success on having something for everyone, and Grand Center has the opportunity to be bigger in size and broader in appeal. All complaining aside, I'm glad it's finally open and think it will be good for the Grand Center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 BTW, click on this link for photos of the Crossroads District in KC. This is what Grand Center should strive to be - a community of artists and other creative types. The area east of Grand and north of Olive would be the perfect artsy neighborhood. http://www.kcskyscrapers.com/newforum/index.php?topic=9445.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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