Cute Cupples

Last night, the Cupples Station Loft Apartments had a grand opening.

They had a band:

They had Cbabi:

They Had Jeff Rainford speaking for Mayor Slay

They had a new restaurant and outside/inside bar (Mercury)

They had nice lofts

Cupples Station has a lot of everything. Great fitness facilities, and a modern, spacious common area with a nice plasma TV. They even had a projector rigged up to what had to be a 75 foor wide screen (Unsure if permanent) As a matter of fact, this might be one of, if not the most impressive loft buildings to date, except I did not see a rooftop pool.

The only thing Cupples didn't have, at least at the podium, were African-Americans. Everybody speaking, or even congratulated at the microphone for participating or funding the loft experience was white, except for (of course) the maintenance guy. I find this same scenario at just about every loft opening or rededication/revitalization/ribbon cutting/ground-breaking ceremony I attend downtown, or anywhere particularly close to the downtown area.

Is this their fault? No. Is this unique to their lofts? No. Is this some racist plot? No. Do they have beautiful lofts I would love to move into? Yes.

This just speaks to the larger issue of African-American involvement in the revitalization of downtown St. Louis, and the ciy in general.

But, not to rain on the Cupples parade, here is some more info on the lofts themselves:

The seven-story Cupples Station Loft Apartments is a total rehab of one of the 4 remaining undeveloped buildings in the original complex. The project features 127 "work force" and 4 market rate loft apartments ranging in size from 623 to 1425 sq. ft. There are 84 - 1 bedroom units and 47 - 2 bedroom units.

1 Bedroom/1 Bathroom Lofts - $687.00

2 Bedroom/2 Bathroom Lofts - $826.00

Amongst the features of the new loft apartment complex are a fitness center, entertainment room with Plasma TV & wet bar, exposed brick beams and duct work, large arched windows and 31 gated parking spots adjacent to the 117,877 sq. ft. building, and access to the 760 space Cupples Garage via landscaped walkway. Other projects that HRI have been involved in include the Renaissance Grand and Suites Hotel and Merchandise Mart Apartments. The building also features Mercury, a sports oriented bar and casual restaurant on the lower level.