Institutions & Businesses That Might Help Plan Rejuvenation of North Grand Blvd
In a post last week called Rethinking the North Grand Corridor for Jobs, Economic Opportunity I introduced the idea of a collaborative effort to do a corridor study of North Grand from Delmar to I-70, roughly 2.5 miles.
Today I’ll continue this line of thought by identifying institutions/businesses/amenities on or near Grand that might be helpful in this process.
Here is the list, starting from Delmar (lower left):
- Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
- Grand Center
- Cochran VA Hospital
- Clyde Miller Career Academy (SLPS)
- Justine Petersen
- St. Alphonsus Church
- Chronicle Coffee
- S. Louis Housing Authority
- PNC Bank (Page)
- Save-A-Lot
- Vashon High School (SLPS)
- CHIPS Health and Wellness Center
- Lindell Bank
- Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club
- ALDI
- Fairground Park (St. Louis Parks Dept)
- Beaumont Career & Technical High School (SLPS)
- St. Louis Public Library, Divoll Branch
- PNC Bank (Grand @ N. Florissant)
- Grace Hill Settlement
- Grace Hill Water Tower Health Center
- North Grand Water Tower (coronation column)
- Bissell Water Tower
- Bissell Mansion
There are likely many more places that can serve as anchors. Grand from Natural Bridge to I-70 is the The Grand Boulevard Vending District, so perhaps this can become an area where retail activity is organized, concentrated, & marketed. Maybe the 2.5 mile length is branded as one district or maybe it it broken up into segments.
It passes through four city neighborhoods:
- College Hill
- Fairground
- JeffVanderLou
- Grand Center
It primarily passes through two wards: 3 & 19. Two more wards have a few blocks each: 2 & 4. And a few more wards are very close to North Grand: 5, 18, & 21.
Metro is a big part too with eight MetroBus lines in the area:
- 70 (Grand)
- 4 (Natural Bridge)
- 30 (Soulard)
- 32 (ML King-Chouteau)
- 41 (Lee)
- 74 (Florissant)
- 94 (Page)
- 97 (Delmar)
So I’ve identified most of the players that could be involved in coming together to closely examine North Grand, developing a master plan, a marketing plan, etc.
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What’s stopping them? Where is STL City on this list? It’s one thing to put together a list of organizations all with an interest in the area. It’s quite another to get them to all work together to make improvements to the area. There needs to be more specifics. How would any of these organizations make a difference? How about the library? They seem like a more likely collaborator. What would they do? They could host meetings. But what else. And ultimately, what should be done? What about leadership? What about the area’s residents? Something like this really needs buy in from residents and a coherent vision described by leadership and supported by interested parties. That takes a lot of work. Where does it begin? Remember that in this area, most effort goes toward maintaining basic human needs and rebuilding the streetscape.
stl city: the library, the parks department, and two high schools. i win you lose the innnernette today
…correction: Remember that in this area, most effort goes toward SERVING basic human needs and NOT rebuilding the streetscape.
yup
you have to build from strength, ie the central corridor and the near south side, this part of the north side has very little strength. leave it to the doo gooders and the crazies like paul mckee
You forgot one very important neighborhood anchor and you should be introduced to them.
The Missionaries of Charity sisters do a lot to serve the needs of the people in the area. I have never seen more dedicated women who serve the needs of the poor, the abused, the homeless, and the dying. I volunteer with them. They have after-school programs, shelters for abused women, a soup-kitchen and very importantly, they provide free JOB assistance to individuals, and they pay the rent of so many individuals.
They are located at 3629 Cottage Ave, St Louis, MO 63113. One block from Grand by Sts. Teresa and Bridget Catholic Church.
Visit them and I’m sure you’ll be very impressed as I was. Their assistance is unparalleled in that neighborhood.
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ve added them to the online map.
Steve, are you going to try to get these organizations to meet?
Yes, my goal is to get people to focus on North Grand. Through these posts I’ll be laying out the case & process I think will work. I’ll do my best to get them interested in participating.
Why do you think it is they are not doing this already? The conditions in the area have needed work for decades. What’s stopping them from making improvements?
Nothing is stopping them, but each individual/institution/business has a mission which isn’t revitalizing a major street in an economically depressed area. To my knowledge, nobody is working on this. If they are, it’s top secret.