We're considering moving downtown into one of the new Ballpark Village condo towers. Some questions we need to consider....
Are there dog walking services available? We wonder how much they charge...
Any predictions on the price of a 2 bedroom condo facing the new ballpark?
Or, we'd be interested in a unit with an Arch view, as long as the designers provide a roof top deck with views of the ballpark...
Any idea of the timing of construction and sales? And what about high school choices for downtown teens?
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Is this "tongue-in-cheek" or for real? If you're serious, may have a couple suggestions.
Yes, please, what are your suggestions?
Rick:
So I put my library skills to work and unfortunately could not find a dog walking service (under that YP heading) in downtown or near downtown though I'm sure one just has to exist! However, I'm going to keep looking as I'm a stubborn library gal!
Now for the condos, the website quotes, "The northern half of Ballpark Village is primarily devoted to residential forms, including town homes on Walnut Street, a landmark residential tower, and upper floor condominium units that are pleasantly separated from the activities of the lower levels." That side is supposedly shorter than the other sides so it would seem that peering into the game would not be feasible but I can't find anything else.
High schools. Are you thinking public, private, or Archdiocesan? For public, the kids could go to Metro High school which is a very diverse and creative environment as is Soldan Int'l Studies (a magnet school). Central VPA is also an option and I've had a couple young library patrons who went there but I was not as impressed with their attitude as the Soldan or Metro kids. I did Model UN with the Metro folks when I was in high school and was incredibly impressed by the dedication of their faculty. Gateway Tech is possible but not a great option.
Private options. For girls, Nerinx Hall (my alma mater) is just 12 min from downtown and is an all girls Catholic school. Wonderful. For guys, Saint Louis U. High at Oakland and Kingshighway (maybe 5 from downtown).
Archdiocesan. Rosati-Kain is an all-girls school next to the Cathedral Basillica in CWE. Run by the CSJ's. No all-male equivalent IMHO.
EH Lyle, a downtown charter school at the corner of Jefferson and Washington, has a 9th grade this year and will add a grade each year for the next three.
The school is in the old Rawlings glove factory.
You can see the outline of their new gym which will be finished in May.
MO Baptist U plans to begin using the same facility to train its education and counseling majors.
There are definately dog walking services. There is one that operates out of Soulard. There is another franchise here in St. Louis, called Fetch I think. Sorry I don't know the names, but go into Four Muddy Paws or Pets in the City and they will point you in the right direction, or you can pick up a copy of St. Louie Tails there which lists dog walkers.
I started checking into dog walking services, but decided I couldn't afford it right now, they are usually $12-15 per visit. I'm just waiting for a doggie daycare to open downtown, so I can bring my dog downtown with me when I go to work.
those poor dogs.
Thanks for the feedback. We only have one child, a son, so we're looking at all-boys high schools, or considering the downtown charter school.
Does anyone know if the charter school has any restrictions on admissions, or if there is a special emphasis in the curriculum?
Do downtown residents have priority for enrollment into the downtown charter school?
Do applicants from public schools have priority over applicants from parochial schools?
Rick, that's a good question. I don't know that most of the charter schools have explicit provisions for priorities on who gets in, etc. Of course, City residency is probably a requirement.
EH Lyle Academy moved downtown a few years ago to 1509 Washington; before that, I think they were somewhere in North St. Louis.
According to 2005 data, it's enrollment of 353 was 99.7% African-American, and 84.7% eligible for free/reduced school lunch.
The enrollment has apparently increased substantially this school year, with the additional of the middle-high school program. But I don't know whether it is racially integrated.
Their test scores in math are on a definite upward trend, but not so much in reading and language.
The charter for EH Lyle is held by the African-American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, and overseen now by Missouri Baptist University. The daily operations are handled by a private national charter-school management firm called Imagine Schools; and was formerly run by Beacon Management.
So, it could be really interesting and innovative experience, or it could be a total disaster for your family. The only way to really know is to visit the school. According to the Imagine Schools website, the new middle/high school program is located at 706 North Jefferson Ave. (Jefferson at Washington). They are building a gym and renovating the building now. So I'm not sure it's actually opened yet.
This might entertain Rick. The rest of you can stop reading.
There's a dog walker biz on the east side of City that left a bad impression on the west side in Tilles Park. He/she/they nailed its advertisements to trees in the park in violation of several city ordinances. The City's budget is tight and there are no resources to pursue such matters.
Sometimes you can remove signs from trees without pulling the nails. But you still need to remove the nails when they're first spotted. The tree may very well have to come down in the future. Nails in trees are hazards to Forestry Dept. workers.
Once a nail is removed, the tree has a wound vulnerable to fungi, viruses, bacteria, and insects attracted to the wound. They bore in further, interrupt sap flow and, on occasion, drop off unwelcome diseases. Whether or not this is a big deal depends on which part of the country you live in and type of tree. St. Louis City is not lucky in this regard.
We don't know if this particular dog walker biz is one of the walkers at Tilles with three to five dogs on leashes. They can't be troubled with local ordinance compliance and common courtesies such as keeping the dogs from vandalizing gardens or cleaning up after the dogs, leaving piles on the sidewalks and in the gardens. Park Rangers can give a nuisance violators a good talking to but cannot write tickets.
do not send your child to e.h. lyle academy...my friend is a former teacher there...he along with most of the staff sought other employment at the end of the school year...he said that it was very disorganized and lacked proper leadership
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