What Downtown Has Gained

In my first month of blogging I did a post on November 20, 2004 called What Washington Avenue is missing…

Here is some of that post:

The emerging loft district along Washington Avenue, as well as the blocks between Olive & Washington between say 8th & Tucker, are becoming increasingly diverse. I don’t mean diversity of population but of activities.

The blocks West of Tucker received a major streetscape makeover in the last few years that included widening the sidewalks, new curbs, paving, lighting and signage. A few bike racks are sprinkled along the streets. It looks picture perfect but something is still missing, people.

To be fair, many of the loft buildings are just now finishing while others are just now starting. Once these buildings are full lots more residents will call the area home. In the age-old saying, which comes first the chicken or egg question, it is clear the residents come before much of the other amenities.

The trick to getting more people to Washington Avenue has less to do with paving and more to do with diversity of uses. In the Loop I know I can get a quick slice of pizza for $3 or an impressive entree at a nice restaurant for $20, and everything in between. However, on Washington Avenue I am more limited to the high-end meal. But suppose I want that high-priced dinner but I want cash to have drinks before and after, where is the ATM machine? I wouldn’t know where to walk to get cash.

In the nearly five years since I wrote the above we’ve seen a lot of positive change, including the addition of many of the items I listed as missing at the time.

Besides a walk-up ATM or two, here is an incomplete list of businesses I’d either like to see in the loft districts (in no particular order):

• Pizza by the slice joint
• Late night fast food places (not drive thru types either)
• Tattoo & body piercing studio(s)
• Newsstand & Bookstore
• Street vendors selling coffee & hot dogs (including veggie dogs)
• Florist
• Public bulletin boards
• Kitchen gadget store
• 24-hour coffee house
• Cell phone store
• Good diner serving breakfast
• Smoothie shop
• Produce stand
• Furniture stores where you can buy a futon or a $600 sofa.
• Small Branch US Post Office
• Greeting cards, gag gifts
• Bike Shop
• Sporting Goods/Outdoor store
• Vespa retailer
• Apple Computer Store (even the new mini concept store would be OK)
• Urban Outfitters
• Ben & Jerry’s (or similar)

My focus in 2004 was on Washington Ave West of Tucker (12th to 18th) but downtown living has grown well beyond these six blocks.  In November 2007 I moved into a downtown loft so I’ve seen recent change as a resident.

Pizza by the slice is covered by Papa John’s at Tucker & Locust during the weekday lunch but Bridge & Tunnel Pizza on Washington Ave just East of Tucker has excellent slices at lunch as well as late into the evening.  Other late night options are still too few.     A new tattoo & piercing studio just opened at 14th & Washington Ave.  The building once had a single shoe store with a pull down security gate now holds four locally owned businesses.

In addition to the AIA Bookstore at 911 Washington Ave we now have Left Bank Books at 10th & Locust.  The number of street vendors has improved greatly both during the day and on weekend nights.  We have a florist in the 1300 block of Washington Ave.

No bulletin boards anywhere — the powers that be would see those as clutter.   We briefly had a kitchen store but the owner moved out of state.  12th Street Diner, next to B&T at Tucker & Washington, is now open and should go 24 hours soon.  Sprint has a store now at Tucker & Washington Ave.  I’d still like to see AT&T have a retail store downtown.  Numerous smoothie choices now.

No produce stands like I’ve seen in other cities — small storefronts spilling out onto the sidewalk.  Washington Ave Post serves as a mail center for many.  I’ve sent a few packages from there in the last year.  Cards and gifts are available from a wide variety of retailers.

No bike shop yet but I hear one is in the early planning stages.  No outdoor shop either as yet.  Scooter dealers are all away from downtown, hopefully that will change soon.  I’d still love to see an Apple store downtown.  We still don’t have the foot traffic they require.  I can picture an gleaming Apple Store on Market at 10th — next to Bank of America and across from Citygarden.

Urban Outfitters and some other chains offer inexpensive basic clothing.  This we are still missing — at least for men.

And finally downtown has numerous choices for gelato, including Gelateria Tavolini at 14th & Washington.

So in five years my wish list has been whittled down nicely.  We’ve seen places open and close.  That will continue to happen as retail is a tough business.  We simply cannot afford to subsidize new places as Culinaria was.  The progress in the last five years has been outstanding.  We cannot rest, however, if we want to see as much or more progress over the next five years.  In that spirit, here is my new wish list:

• Some chain stores that compliment, not duplicate, existing retailers.  Apple, for example.
• More street vendors and at times other than weekday lunch, late weekends or game days.  A typical Tuesday at 3pm.
• On-street parking on Washington Ave all the way East to the Eads bridge.
• Completion of the Gateway Mall Hallway — the spine running along Market.
• Reduced open space.  Building new construction on non-park green and asphalt lots.
• A small market West of Tucker.
• A skate park.
• Redevelopment of the 22nd Parkway area just West of Union Station (part of McKee’s plan).
• A moratorium on new stand-alone parking garages.
• Renovation of the remaining vacant buildings downtown.
• Firm planes to remove the depressed section of I-70 once the new bridge over the Mississippi River opens.
• Construction start on the sites of Ballpark Village and the Bottle District.
• A decision on the future of the Edward Jones Dome.  Are the Rams staying?
• Streetcar loop through downtown connecting to neighborhoods North, South and West.
• New construction around Union Station.
• High-speed train to Chicago departing from our new downtown Amtrak station.
• Low vacancy rate on street-level retail spots forces some non-retail businesses up above street level.
• Bike Station with showers, lockers and secure indoor parking.
• Hundreds of bike racks (inverted-U) on every sidewalk.
• Our first demolition of a parking structure — perhaps one North of Kiener Plaza? New mixed-use structures in the place of the garage.

I could go on.  We’ve come so far in 5 years I just want to set the bar higher for the next 5.  If you have ideas, suggest them below.

– Steve Patterson