Downtown ST Louis Loft
2020 Washington Avenue Unit 312
Offered at $117,000, 1 Bedroom
This downtown ST Louis loft is truly a loft. It is without walls, the concrete support posts are exposed and evident throughout the unit and the building. The interior design of the unit is simple and basic in the tradition of lofts. However, it is still possible to add walls. The unit and public spaces have retained the charm of the building with exposed concrete columns and exposed brick walls.
Unit 312 at 2020 Washington Avenue is 1189 square feet. It was designed with a walled-off bedroom, but the current owners wanted the “creativity” of no walls. The sellers would negotiate installing such a wall.
Click here for the 2020 Washington floor plan.
It has granite counters in the kitchen and bath. There are trendy and utilitarian shelving units in the kitchen and laundry room. The kitchen has all new stainless appliances, which include a microwave, refrigerator, electric stove, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. The 42″ birch cabinets in the kitchen have been strategically hung 15″ above the counter to allow for additional shelving and storage. The bathroom has a double vanity. The western wall of windows has custom solar shades to block the sun and yet maintain the view.
Unit 312 has it’s own utility room with laundry hookup and organizer shelves in the unit. It is adaptable for either a stackable or free-standing. The unit is all electric. The original owners were insistent on paying extra for a deeded 2-car basement garage. They were also insistent on getting a storage unit – not all of the units have one.
Unit 312 at 2020 Washington Avenue is located in what was known as the Sporting News Building. The Sporting News was founded in 1886 and became the dominant baseball magazine in the country. How fitting for this baseball crazy town. The magazine was nicknamed “The Bible of Baseball”. The Sporting News building was constructed in 1920. In the end, it housed 1,500 cubic feet of sports history. This link will give you a good history of how important this magazine was to the tried-and-true baseball fans.
The condos are referred to as The Sporting News Condos to the old-timers, but the legal name of the condo community is “The Lofts at 2020 Washington”. It is a downtown St. Louis Loft community whose pride of ownership shines through. The units are FHA-approved. The hallways, lobby, elevators, and rooftop garden are always clean. They have kept the condo fees very reasonable. The fees for this unit are currently $210 per month, which has changed very little in the last 12 years. The fee includes some insurance, electricity for common areas, sewer, trash, and water. The building has its own closed Facebook page for communication between residents.
This downtown St. Louis loft building's amenities include a secure basement garage and a secure parking lot with assigned spaces. It is a secure entry building with a call box and key code. There is a first-floor lobby. The building has 2 elevators. The real bonus to the building is the rooftop garden and grill. What views it has! You have a clear shot of the Arch and Union Station. I stood on one of the chairs on the deck and was able to spy the new suspension bridge to the northeast.
Location
The current owners of Unit 312 at 2020 Washington are the first owners of this unit after it was renovated into a condo. They gave careful thought to the purchase and were among the first to make a reservation. They liked the unit location and floor plan because it didn’t have a lot of wasted space. They liked the building location because it was close enough to the downtown St. Louis “action” yet far enough to be out of the late night noise. It is very walkable to restaurants and downtown St. Louis attractions, with Union Station only a couple of blocks away. The Arch, Ball Park Village, restaurants and bookstores, movie theater, and a grocery store are also walkable with comfortable shoes.
In June of 2016, St. Louis was chosen as the site of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. The 99-acre site is located just north of 2020 Washington. The NGA has approximately 14,500 employees, and approximately one-third of them will be in St. Louis, MO. This will be a huge boost to this area.
The walkability score is 87.
I just have to say that the city of downtown St. Louis is having an infusion of energy. From Cortex in the CWE to Ikea (hip hip hooray) to NGA in downtown to the planned $340 million redo of the Federal-Mogul foundry in midtown, I’d say the timing could be right to make the move to a downtown loft.
Schools
For information on St. Louis City schools, go to stlcityschools.org
