Welcome Home Heroes Parade
This Saturday is “Welcome Home Heroes Day” – the first parade in the country for the Iraq veterans! This is a great family event to join St. Louis and the rest of the Country in saying ‘Thank You Troops‘ for your courage and sacrifices to keep our country safe. It is time to celebrate their return home in style. The parade route will start at 7th & Market Street and end at Union Station beginning at 12:00pm Saturday. Union Station will be host to food, music, and other entertainment following the parade until 8:00pm. In addition, there will be a Veterans Resource Village set up to help veterans connect with organizations offering tools and opportunities for them as they transition back to civilian life. Another big thank you to Anheuser-Busch and Mayflower for donating monetary support to make this all happen and to all the organizers and volunteers of this event.
A “Reading of the Fallen” will also be taking place at soldiers memorial tonight (1-27) at 9:11pm and will last until all 6,500 names of fallen Americans are read.
To find out more check out their website or facebook page.
Thank you again to all our troops from The Laurel team!
Photo courtesy of the Washington PostFirst Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Downtown
Downtown St. Louis is charged up as an electric vehicle (EV) charging station is now open to the EV community at The Laurel Apartments in the Mercantile Exchange (MX) District. The station, at the corner of 7th and Lucas, adjacent to the Laurel Apartments and Embassy Suites Hotel Downtown St. Louis, is a Coulomb ChargePoint® Network EV charging station installed by Microgrid Energy.
With the charging station in place, the MX plans to host a fully electric Nissan LEAF vehicle, through St. Louis-based WeCar by Enterprise Holdings. Though downtown has Toyota Prius WeCars, the MX WeCar will be the first all-electric vehicle in WeCar’s automated, membership-based and environmentally friendly transportation solution.
“We know that ‘living green’ is important to our residents in The Laurel. This EV station is a huge step in that direction, by providing clean-running vehicles right outside their door,” said Amos Harris, President of Spinnaker St. Louis, developer of the MX.
“The MX is leading the charge in providing green amenities to City residents and visitors,” said Mayor Francis G. Slay. “I hope this is the first of many EV stations located in the City of St. Louis.”
The ChargePoint charging station is managed by the ChargePoint® Network, the largest online global charging network connecting electric vehicle drivers to charging stations. Drivers will enjoy the advanced features and benefits of the ChargePoint Network including 24/7 driver support, driver billing options and mobile phone applications that provide drivers with real-time station location and availability, turn-by-turn navigation, and charging status.
Rental of the WeCars is hourly, at a rate of $8 per hour. Use of the WeCar and charging station are not limited to Laurel Apartments residents, though these amenities will be a particular convenience for Laurel residents.
WeCar by St. Louis-based Enterprise Holdings has grown in popularity along with the downtown population. “We are excited to see this technology brought to St. Louis,” said Tony Moise, Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Holdings. This, along with our partnership with Spinnaker St. Louis allows us to continue to expand our use of alternative fuel vehicles for our customers.”
“The Laurel is the clear leader among apartments going green in the St. Louis area, and this charging station is just the latest example of their leadership.” said Rick Hunter, CEO of Microgrid Energy.
“Every major auto manufacturer is preparing to offer an EV,” Harris said. “So building an infrastructure to support environmentally friendly vehicles is critical. We are proud that the MX is a leader in this area, and we will continue to build the MX as a center of efficiency and sustainability in St. Louis.”
For more information about the Laurel Apartments visit laurelstl.com, follow LaurelMX @LaurelMX or like The Laurel Apartments at facebook.com/LaurelApartments. For information on the MX, visit mxstl.com or follow us @TheMXstl.