AT WORK WI TH Emily Lewis a real estate agent

							AT WORK WI TH . . .




Emily Lewis, a real estate agent with Robert Wood Realty Co., carries a “for sale” sign to her car before going
out to post it. Kevin Manning | Post-Dispatch




Real estate agent revels in the
boom in downtown St. Louis living
By Repps Hudson                          come an agent.                             Emily Lewis
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH                     “I did what I was supposed to do,”      Position: Leasing specialist and licensed
                                         she said. “Now I’m doing what I want       real estate agent
If you stand at the corner of 20th       to do.”                                    Age: 27
Street and Washington Avenue and            Lewis’ cell phone rings constantly,     Employer: Robert Wood Realty Co.
look north, you’ll see Emily Lewis’      and, as she puts it, “I don’t meet a       Education: Bachelor of science degree in
name and cell phone number on a          stranger.”                                 hospitality and restaurant management,
three-story banner advertising the          Like a lot of people in downtown        Southwest Missouri State University,
Majestic Stove Lofts, three joined       real estate these days, Lewis is a         2001
brick buildings that date back about     booster of the rental and sales mar-       Experience: Corporate trainee and wed-
a century.                               ket. At Robert Wood Realty Co., she’s      ding planner, Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe
   If you lower your eyes to street      in charge of renting 120 units in the      Resort, Spa & Casino; convention services
level, you might see Lewis whiz by       three adjoining buildings. She says        manager, Hyatt Regency Hotel, St. Louis;
on her 49-cc Yamaha Zuma scooter,        she has rented 70 units so far, yet        real estate agent, St. Louis Premier Real-
sans helmet — because that’s what        adds, “We’re a little behind sched-        tors in Soulard; moved to Robert Wood
the law allows for such small-engine     ule.”                                      Realty in December 2005.
conveyances.                                While downtown renters and buy-         Family: Single
   “I use it to ride around downtown.    ers come from outside the St. Louis
I’m not scared of it. I grew up on mo-   area as well as the suburbs and span
torcycles,” said this urban pioneer,     the age and income demographics,           ter lifestyle in the suburbs. It’s dar-
who now lives “way out” near Tower       Lewis believes some potential resi-        ing. It’s almost like doing something
Grove Park.                              dents are reluctant to try city living.    you’re not supposed to do.
   She spent two years in a rental          Others, however, sell their subur-         Why would you want something
apartment on Washington Avenue           ban homes and their furniture and          with concrete floors, instead of car-
at a time before living and playing      settle down in a former hat or cloth-      pet? [Lewis asked rhetorically]. Ma-
downtown became the thing it is to-      ing factory, stock it with new furni-      jestic Stove Lofts are very New York-
day. “I lived downtown before it was     ture and start life anew. Some, Lewis      edgy. Some people like that.
cool,” Lewis said.                       said, try renting to see if they want to
   In those days, her office was the      buy a downtown loft or condo.              What’s next?
Washington Avenue Post, an Internet                                                 We need to connect downtown.
cafe and gift store on Washington        Is this revival of downtown the real       Historically, transportation is what
between 13th and 14th streets.           thing or another false start?              changes communities. We’re work-
   “That’s the neighborhood hub,”        We’ve come a long way, and these           ing on how to make everything more
said Lewis. “That was my office. They     buildings are filling up. When the          accessible — to get to a Cards game,
have Wi-Fi in the back. I’d set up my    people from West County will be able       a Blues game, to work at SBC.
laptop and go to work. Everybody         to come down here and go out and             The transportation schedule has
working on projects here stopped in      buy groceries and get all the other        to be good. It has to be immaculate.
there. That’s how I got to know the      things they need, we’ll be there. Peo-
people here.”                            ple had to build up these old build-       Is there a conflict coming between the
   This small-town girl from Clinton,    ings before businesses would begin         new urbanists and the homeless peo-
Mo., south of Kansas City, is having     to fill up the first-floor retail space.      ple who live in the parks?
the time of her life as downtown St.     That’s happening now.                      People don’t want to live next to
Louis shakes off the doldrums with                                                  bums. I did when I lived on Washing-
new lofts, condos and rental units.      Why would anyone move downtown?            ton. But they don’t hurt anyone.
   First, she learned a few things       That’s a big step.                         rhudson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8208
about restaurant and hotel manage-       It’s the excitement of a totally new
ment while with Hyatt, then got her      lifestyle. They want a new place. It’s
real estate license so she could be-     so totally different than a cookie-cut-