Since our last Union Station roundup in June, the same project remains under construction, Mercer. The 13-story project is shaping up nicely as most of the facade is complete, and the finishing touches are going in. Architecturally, Mercer takes notes from The Grand while featuring a contrasting striped concrete facade throughout the building.
Below are a bunch of photos of the project from the Union Station side of the train tracks.
Here are four more photos of Mercer from the other side of the train tracks.
Completion of this project is expected in the next few months. That only leaves two more lots left for development in Union Station.
| Project Description | Developer | Architect | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Stories | 198 apt homes | 13 (v) parking | Greystar | Shears Adkins Rockmore | Shaw Construction |
A good looking building, but such a disappointing neighborhood. Some the nearby projects, with no ground-level retail, leave the area oddly quiet and lonely.
There’s only one block in the whole neighborhood that doesn’t have retail. Any disappointment is due to the difficulty in filling up an overabundance or retail versus not having enough.
Ground-floor retail—all throughout the city—is failing to react to market conditions, and this neighborhood is probably the most egregious offender. All these new multi-use developments are holding out for major national brands, and there just isn’t demand for it. I think urbanists, who’ve been clamoring—for years—for this kind of development, need to ask some difficult questions about what the future holds for these kinds of spaces.
Sure would be nice if building projects were tax-incentivized to take chances on local brands, neighborhood bars & restaurants, and bespoke experiences that can’t be had in 48 other cities. We should also be asking ourselves, as citizens, how these spaces can afford to sit empty for so many years. Something is very broken about our incentive structure if it makes more sense to write-off the losses rather than lower the price of the unit.
Accurate. It’s not the lack of ground floor retail, it’s the lack of owners willing to take a chance on non-credit tenants.
It’s completely understandable from a business perspective, as new leases require hundreds of thousands of dollars in up-front tenant improvements, paid by the building owner. An owner needs to know they will recoup that money in the form of a long-lasting tenant that sticks around and continues to pay rent. A local restaurant or shop that may close after two years represents a big financial risk.
To your point, the incentive structure needs to be reinvented if we have any hopes of getting cool, vibrant businesses in these new buildings.
I think a healthy restaurant and retail environment should have a LOT of new businesses opening and closing in two-year cycles. Not everything is supposed to succeed in a market economy. Take a home-run swing on someone who doesn’t have the credit or financial backing to commit to a seven-year lease. Maybe you land a series of duds, but you might also stumble upon the neighborhood’s next great restaurant/bar/boutique institution, something that truly elevates the profile (and value) of your building. That’s the VC model for everything else. Why doesn’t it apply to real estate?
Again—my guess is tax incentives, and that’s something the city could address. If the space has literally never been occupied (like many of those being discussed), the up-front tenant improvements should have been factored into the initial cost of the build. That’s a sunk cost.
Yes a tad disappointing
How is this disappointing?? It fits into the neighborhood perfectly. It has good exteriors. It’s not a land barge. it has no blank exterior walls.
I don’t get why people just gotta complain ALL THE TIME. Sheesh!! It’s getting exhausting.
This is good looking building that works in it’s hood and if you say otherwise, you’re just trolling.
Speaking of the Grand…. Any updates on what is happening with that building? Is it still empty?
Lease rates are just too expensive for most businesses to take a chance on it.
Really like this project, another great execution from Greystar. The various set backs help break up the mass. Love the selection of materials along 19th Street and the connection to the pedestrian experience. Also 13 parking stalls! Incredible!
A good looking building overall! Thanks for the post!
Welp, I guess brutalism lives.