As it happens, a non-trivial amount of Downtown St Louis is now failing commercial real estate: It's not just the AT&T building, which could be had for cheaper

As it happens, a non-trivial amount of Downtown St Louis is now failing commercial real estate: It's not just the AT&T building, which could be had for cheaper than many Seattle single family homes, or the two hotels in receivership, but also now Bank of America plaza. Wework exited downtown too, leaving two more empty floors in One Metropolitan Square. Its current use is basically sporting events, and the few government buildings that have to stay there. Now, I'd not recommend that we centered any serious investment making downtown less car-friendly, but mainly because downtown's fixes are way too expensive: In its current form, it's not doing well, and not trending up. Walkability could help, but walkability downtown isn't a matter of making Market street narrower, or slower: Many buildings themselves are set up to be anti-pedestrian, with huge setbacks to the street, and no retail space. Just huge office buildings nobody wants to rent. Interventions to help the city of St Louis just have to start in parts of the city that have better bones. Spend a little to make the somewhat successful parts of the city a bit more successful. Allow relatively walkable neighborhoods to become denser, bigger and more walkable, and see if people vote with their feet. Downtown? We couldn't afford fixing it, for either cars or pedestrians.