Five years ago, Gurpreet Padda and Ami Grimes invested in several parcels of real estate just to the west of St. Louis University, property locals now recognize as Cafe Ventana and its uber-cool annex next door, where iNeoCortex is located. Next door will be an Italian restaurant called DiSilvio's; just behind it is the building where Padda and Grimes' Cathedral Square beers are brewed. And just a block away is the wildly funky Diablito's, with a pair of sombrero-wearing, tequila-swilling, iron dinosaurs perched on its roof.
Clearly the duo see something in this neighborhood other developers did not.
It's all part of what Padda calls "building a better beacon" by creating an entertainment hub, one anchored by unique concepts not dependent on underage (read: college) drinking. The rectangular parcel the pair have mapped out is bounded on the west side by the CWE, on the east by the University, on the north by Lindell Boulevard, and to the south by I-40/64.
According to Padda, part of its success will lie in not allowing the boorish behavior that often occurs in the Loop or the bar district of Washington Avenue. "A buffer zone is needed between a Metrolink stop and an entertainment district," he explains. "And fortunately, the University is a built-in buffer zone that creates a filter, a barrier to improper behavior. No one is going to cross that campus and misbehave."
Padda and Grimes see the area as a biotech and entertainment corridor "with great potential, relative safety, but currently few existing businesses." More property is being acquired for the unnamed "bigger vision," as Padda calls it, "one that's connected both conceptually and physically." They believe it's an area ripe with intellectual capacity and one that's capable of producing "the next spark."
