Final Orders
Minneapolis-based Bader Development co-hosted a last call party at the iconic Al’s Bar in St. Louis July 11 to say goodbye to the prohibition-era watering hole at the corner of Excelsior and France that is making way for Bader’s Ellipse: a five-story luxury apartment community with ground-floor retail. “Al’s Bar has a rich, colorful history that has made it a true institution,” says Bader president Scott Bader. “And while we can’t fill the emotional hole left by its departure, our plan includes pedestrian-friendly features that will warmly welcome Minneapolitans to this classic first-tier suburban neighborhood. We’re looking forward to becoming part of and enhancing this vibrant community as we begin construction next month.” With that in mind, farewell Al, and make mine a double.
Up on the Roof
The Gotham Organization continues its successful summer concert series with appearances by Mishka, David Berkeley, and Bri Anne Michelle. Now in its third year, the OpenA.I.R. Artist in Residence concerts by the New York-based apartment owner features evening performances on the rooftop of Atlas New York, at 66 West 38th St. Last year’s series featured artists including Lady GaGa, Charlotte Sometimes, and Carina Round. “It’s a powerful combination: The mood, vibe, and setting, with the Empire State Building as the backdrop, are better than any club could ever offer," says Gotham Organization's vice president of marketing and operations, Katherine Sabroff. "And of course our residents get the incredible experience of a private performance right on their own roof."
Can You Spot Me?
Not so incredible was the experience of a suburban Chicago landlord this month who was left stranded while trying to remove a resident’s satellite dish from the top of his apartment complex in Worth, Ill. According to police reports cited in the Chicago Tribune, a resident was ticketed for disorderly conduct for pulling a ladder away from the building, stranding the landlord. Several other residents were also accused of causing a disturbance by shouting at the landlord for attempting to remove the satellite dish. No word yet on whether said residents are still done with the dish despite shouting their cause from--err--to the rooftop.
Dark Night Residents
The latest round of evictions in Houston isn’t due to foreclosure or rent payment delinquencies: A colony of hundreds of bats has taken up residence in an apartment complex, and amateur (i.e. resident) video leaked to Houston’s KHOU-TV shows the bats in transit, flying in and out of the complex for dusky feeding and breeding rituals. The video was also shown to apartment managers, one of whom told the Associated Press that she was “astonished” to see so many of the winged mammals. Though most bats aren’t the aggressive, blood-sucking vermin of Hollywood film, they can transmit diseases, according to Derek van Delft, a removal specialist with Trutech who began sealing off the colony in preparation for relocating the intruders to a more appropriate bat cave.
