Filling the void at Broadway & Washington Ave
A week ago I did a post looking at a stretch of Washington Ave downtown (Improving Washington Ave between 10th Street and the Eads Bridge/Mississippi River). Everything I suggested was basic active street 101 — fewer travel lanes, on-street parking, movable street furnishings at large plazas and active facades. Not banners or other lame efforts that don’t work. But I did have one suggestion that went beyond the basics — a new restaurant structure at the NE corner of Washington Ave & Broadway.
The existing corner, as you can see above, is lifeless and dated. Ideally this corner would once again be filled in with buildings as was the case in 1909:
But that isn’t going to happen, unfortunately. The blue in the above map indicates a building with a stone facade so my guess is when this corner was razed the stone wall we see today was offered as a consultation consolation prize to make up for the lost building(s). It doesn’t cut it.
So here I will detail my suggestion from last week. Build a 2-story restaurant at the corner (blue, above) with an outdoor patio (purple) surrounded by landscaping (green). The orange would be a future thin “liner building” to provide storefront spaces facing Broadway that would screen the surface parking lot. The remaining parking lot would need to be reconfigured as well as providing a walkway from the parking lot to both Washington Ave and to Broadway.
The restaurant might be a national or local chain looking to open a downtown location in their own building or even a public restaurant owned and operated by the Missouri Athletic Club, offering a casual outdoor option for members and the public. An absolute must is the entrance to the new restaurant be at the corner, onto one or both public sidewalks. Building a new restaurant on the corner of this parking lot is not unlike the practice of building in mall parking lots. The difference here is the new building gets immediately connected via existing sidewalks.
With a MetroLink light rail station a block to the west, the new Downtown Trolley bus running right in front of the property, and the addition of on-street parking on both Washington Ave and Broadway the loss of the off-street spaces would be minimal. The new restaurant with outdoor patio and storefronts along Broadway would raise the visual image of this intersection, more in line with the upscale character of MAC.
With early bird parking rates of only $4.50/day it is not difficult to imagine a higher return on the land from occupied space, especially space that increases activity in the area.
– Steve Patterson
I completely agree.
“…when this corner was razed the stone wall we see today was offered as a consultation prize”
I think you mean “consolation prize.”
Yes, I must have picked the wrong word on the list from spell check — thanks.
Shortly after 500 North Broadway was completed in the last 60s/early 70s, I remember seeing a drawing in the Post-Dispatch for a companion building, 600 North Broadway, in this spot. Likeo many other downtown proposals, it never got off the ground.
Is this lot owned by the MAC or someone else entirely?
In the name of an individual associated with MAC.
Taking the optimistic approach on this one, I can't see no reason why new construction doesn't happen on Wash Ave during an upturn in the economy. Especially if existing spaced filled on Washington keeps getting developed during tough times, think The Laural/Old Dillards building, and some visionary thinking for once with the Arch Grounds (removing I-70 as Steve rightly describes as the next things that needs to fall). With that in mind, I would consider Wash Ave corridor as the next ideal location outside of BPV and probably more desireable in terms for outside developers and bankers looking for opportunities in the city.
Something male- and convention-oriented would be logical. Something like Hooters, Show-Me's or the Brick?!
“male- and convention-oriented would be logical” Huh? The 10,000 women in town last week for the AKA convention needed be excluded from planning. Females are part of downtown and attend conventions.
The existing parking area is poorly utilized anyway. My first abode in STL overlooked this lot. I actually parked there with a monthly pass for a year but had to move due to the 15-20 events a year that actually fill-up the lot. [They wouldn't let me park there during those events!] It is quite empty nearly all the time. I'm not sure anything there would actually do well though. There are other restaurants who have tried that area and failed. There were many in the old WS Hotel, a deli in the SE corner of Wash and Broadway and another restaurant in the Drury and now Tigin. None of these have ever been hugely successful (if they even survived).
Unless the huge dead gap on Washington between 9th and the Landing is filled, there is no way to bring those revelers in the Loft District down to this location. Who wants to stare at the side of the Renaissance or get run over at the taxi stand in front of the Convention Center to get to a few bar/restaurants near 4th and Washington?
I hate to say it but we need a lot of infill between 9th and 4th and an easy way to get from one end to another. A trolley of course would help to take people from near City Museum to the Landing. That would get something built between but a painted bus may have to do. Free would be nice too.
Agree, free would be nice on the trolley. I actually think a downtown Transportation Development District could easily support this and the next logical step. Downtown has quite a bit when you start adding up the parts, gettting the trolley even if it is a painted bus works, but getting free and easy transportation around downtown makes a lot of sense to me.