Researching 2817 Cherokee Street

Recently while driving down Cherokee Street I noticed something I had never noticed before.

I’m usually so distracted by the beautiful glazed terra-cotta on the building on the right above, 2817 Cherokee. But the void between the buildings is what caught my eye.  The short stone wall with the break and steps.  Was there a narrow building between these that was torn down, I wondered?  The answer is yes and no.  The building we see today was constructed in 1936. The date on the building on the left is unknown except it is newer.

From the alley on the side of 2817 Cherokee to the corner at Oregon Ave contained five one-story brick homes (pink) with wood back porches & sheds (yellow) at the 9ft alley in 1909.  What was platted as five parcels of approximate equal width in 1909 is now three parcels of different widths (27.5ft, 25ft , & 75ft).  The above 1909 Sanborn Fire Insurance map is from the University of Missouri Digital Library.

Neighborhoods and streets are not static.  As the streetcar line on Cherokee Street brought more and more people to the street homes gave way to commercial development.

- Steve Patterson

Gentrification in St. Louis

Commercial districts throughout the City of St. Louis have changed dramatically throughout the city’s history, take Cherokee Street as an example:

ABOVE: Cherokee St at Ohio, 1930s

ABOVE: Cherokee St at Ohio, March 2010

As districts evolve over time the clientele changes. In my 19+ years in St. Louis I’ve seen dramatic changes to a number of districts:

• Cherokee St  East of Jefferson was very much antiques.  Cheap Trx, now on South Grand, sold refinished furniture.
• Cherokee St West of Jefferson wasn’t much of anything except a place for prostitutes and drug dealers.
• South Grand (Arsenal-Utah) didn’t have much going on either except for the old diner and various Asian restaurants.
• Euclid Ave North of Lindell was the center of gay life, including playing host to the then much smaller annual Gay Pride Parade.
• Morgan Ford, Ivanhoe and Macklind don’t stand out in my memory.

In a recent post, St. Louis’ Cherokee Street developing organically, I mentioned a discussion to be held tonight (3/4/2010) on gentrification. The discussion in the comments was so lively I thought I’d share my thoughts on the subject.  The first place to start is the definition.  Merriam-Webster defines gentrification as:

Main Entry: gen·tri·fi·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌjen-trə-fə-ˈkā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 1964

: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents

The origin of 1964 is important for it was then that we began to see a backlash to massive federal urban renewal projects.  The classic Death and Life of Great American Cities was published three years earlier in 1961 so you will not find gentrification in the index.  “Gentrification” was the large scale displacement of the poor through large-scale “slum clearance” projects.  Today, however, the term is often use to express displeasure with the natural evolution of a commercial district or residential neighborhood.

Back to Cherokee Street.  It has seen substantial investment over the last 15 years from White and Latino businesspersons.  The intersection of Cherokee St & California Ave, two blocks West of the above intersection, is the center of the Latino businesses on the street.  I love the current vibe on the street.  I had dinner at Don Carlos Restaurant (new advertiser) on the SW corner of the intersection two nights ago with a Latina business owner.  I learned many Latinos own their properties — a smart move as popularity (and rents) increase.

But many storefronts facing Cherokee from Jefferson to Compton remain vacant.  Along the cross streets just around the corners you see there is still a need for more investment.

ABOVE: California Ave. just South of Cherokee St.

The key is to try to find ways to ensure existing merchants are not unwillingly squeezed off the street as buildings are renovated and rents rise.  But understand the rise, fall and rise of commercial streets is a natural process when it happens over long periods of time. Discuss below and tonight at City Affair XIV.

- Steve Patterson

St. Louis’ Cherokee Street developing organically

ABOVE: STYLEhouse (STL-Style), Fort Gondo & Tower Taco.

I recently attended an evening open house on Cherokee Street.  Not the blocks immediately East or West of Jefferson, but on the block East of Compton (aerial of Cherokee & Compton).  Slowly and organically storefronts along Cherokee Street have been filled by various businesses.

Pictured above is local garment company STYLEhouse (advertiser STL-Style), gallery Fort Gondo (compound for the arts) and restaurant Tower Tacos.   Across the street snowflake/citystock was hosting an event as well. To the West is a new independent bookstore,  The Archive.  See Dotage St. Louis for a list of independent bookstores in the City of St. Louis. All Along Press was on this block but they recently moved East on Cherokee Street.

What is great about Cherokee is that the rebirth is very organic.  There was no grandiose plan, no multi-block project.   Building by building the area is coming back.  Collaboration among the individuals and entities has been important but that is different than a big physical project.  In places where you have strong urban context intact all you need are measures to ensure the urban/walkable building fabric remains — no razing a block for a drive-thru.  In those parts of the city what the urban fabric has already been lost you need good form-based codes to guide new construction so you eventually end up with good walls along the streets.  With good zoning in place, the infill can also happen organically over time.

Whenever you have the transformation of a street or neighborhood one word often comes up: gentrification.   As it happens, gentrification is the discussion topic for the March 4th City Affair to be held at STYLEhouse (STL-Style) on Cherokee:  CITY AFFAIR XIV: GENTRIFICATION.

- Steve Patterson

Brick by Brick: 2857 Cherokee Street

At the West end of the Cherokee Station Business District lies a three story brick storefront property. Ruined by years of neglect, this rotting structure stands in defiance of being utterly forgotten by its owners.

The city finally issued a condemnation notice last week. The door had been kicked in by vagrants, unmasking the internal ruin. This debris-filled stairwell degrades right inside of the front doorway. Plainly visible to any passerby; and enticing to anyone needing a free place to stay the night.

Saint Louis doesn’t need to be losing any more buildings, that goes especially for 107 year old brick storefronts. South City has done a remarkable job of avoiding the wholesale tear-downs that ravaged North City. South City has thoroughly rejected bulldozers and the McKee’s that circle over them. Thanks to dedicated landlords, an undaunted Alderman, energetic entrepreneurs and activists, and a sprinkling of idealistic artists Cherokee Street has managed to save, restore, and invigorate its numerous historic buildings.

2857 is the only building within the mixed-use/commercial district in the shape it’s in.

20th Ward Alderman Craig Schmid, once contacted about the property’s condemnation, committed to finding what resources the city has in getting the property into the hands of a responsible developer.

The situation is ripe for a community-driven rehab project. As a resident and proprietor on Cherokee Street, I have a vested interest in seeing this building reconstructed. Other stakeholders, business owners and residents, have expressed interest in pooling what resources they have to save this building.

To be sure, this is a major job. The structural report states plainly that whole walls will need to be relaid. Internal damage is severe, water has had nearly every window open to its invasion. Plants have managed to grow from the windowsills and a tree has sprung out of the garage.

This post is a call for more involvement. Brick by Brick Saint Louis needs to be preserved. If you are a rehabber, a member of the Cherokee Street community, or simply a fellow Saint Louisan dedicated to the preservation of architectural history I ask that you join this project.

For more information on how to get involved please contact me.   With enough volunteers we can start putting together an organization and a plan to save this building.

Update: Before I’ve even managed to post the first installment, new developments have arisen. On Saturday, June 20th, workmen were spotted making superficial fixes on the building. A real door has been placed in the front; no other changes are visible.

Photos provided by Cranky Yellow’s photographer Amanda Beard; www.amandabeardphotography.com. All rights reserved.

- Angelo Stege

St. Louis Neighborhood Mixed-Use Circa 1909

The term “mixed-use” is a relatively new term.  Before Euclidian zoning was universally adopted to keep uses (say residential & commercial) apart, St. Louis had buildings that freely mixed it up.  And they did so beautifully:

Many of you have probably seen the Oscar Schneider Studio on the 3300 block of California.  This 5,000+ square foot four-unit building sits on a lot that is just inches over 40 feet wide.

The Cherokee Street commercial district runs side to side in the above aerial image.   The building is marked “A.” As you can see it is closer to Utah on the North than to Cherokee.  Additional “mixed-use” storefront are on the corner at California & Utah.

The storefront facade is old, but not original.  The Vitrolite glass was not yet available, to my knowledge,  in 1909 when this building was constructed.  This was likely a 1930s or 1940s remodeling.

Photography was so different back then.  They used this stuff called film.  Photography was expensive so you made the most of it.  I found a great collection of images online taken by Oscar Scheider at this studio, they were restored from glass negatives.  View the collection here.

This property is within the Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb National Register Historic District.

Gravois–Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District
(added 2005 – St. Louis County – #05000115)
Grovois and S. Jefferson, S. Jefferson and S. Broadway, Meramac, S. Gran and Gravois, St. Louis (Independent City)
(7180 acres, 4635 buildings)  [Source]

Yes this area was considered a streetcar suburb.  Mixed uses in the suburbs.   The single-family house to the South was built 5 years earlier.

Our ideas about mixing residential & commercial soon changed.  What used to be normal developmemt now requires numerous hearings & variances to get approved.  I can’t imagine the owners of a single-family home today accepting a four-unit building next door that contains three residential units and one commercial unit.

They had it right 100 years ago — build it compact, mix it up and have fixed-rail transit very nearby.

The Future of a Tiny Vacant Lot on Cherokee Street

For decades a handsome 3-story building stood over the SE corner of Cherokee & Texas (map).  The building served as home to the Empire Sandwich Shop.

Above: Building at Cherokee & Texas before being razed in the Spring of 2006. Source: City of St. Louis.

By 2005 the Empire was closed.  The building’s owners, unable to sell the property, “gifted” it to the City of St. Louis.  Within months the roof caved in.  9th Ward Alderman Ken Ortmann was faced with a “heartbreaking” reality: emergency demolition of the building.

Source: Google Map's Street View

In the 3 years since the building came down the city owned corner has changed little.  The ground is uneven and bare.  It is a hole in an otherwise mostly intact and up and coming commercial district.  The other three corners at the intersection are in the 20th Ward represented by Ald. Craig Schmidt.  Furthermore the South side of Cherokee Street is the Gravois Park neighborhood while the North side is Benton Park West.  Add in the Cherokee Station Business Association and you quickly get a lot of interested parties.

In October 2008 it was announced “the Incarnate Word Foundation has agreed to invest $25,000 to seed what those who care about the neighborhood decide would be most effective in answering these questions.”  A meeting was held to get ideas.  Out of that came three concepts: a free wi-fi network for Cherokee Street, a community garden and a plaza on this vacant corner lot (more info from Cherokee Street News).  In November a community vote on the 3 concepts was held.

The plaza on the vacant city owned lot won the vote, eventually.  Voting took place over a couple of months.  The plaza idea was announced the winner in late January (view).

Alderman Ken Ortmann refused to release the lot, he wants to keep it available for new construction.  He supports grass but with the city staying in control of the lot.  I agree the lot needs to have a building.  There is no such thing as a temporary plaza.

A couple of people brought the issue to my attention.  I called Ald. Ortmann to discuss.  I’ve been at odds numerous times with Ald Ortmann before but in this case I think he is right to hold out for a new building. I agree with him that a miscommunication occured.  This is why email makes such a nice record.

So what is the wait?  Yes, the current economy is a mess.  But 3 years later no grass?  No RFP (Request for Proposals) issued by the city to unload the lot and get a new building?

Further reading:

• Cherokee Street at Texas Avenue: A Lot of Contention (RFT 4/16/09)
• Posts at Cherokee Street News on the plaza dubbed the ComeUNITY Hub

All this talk of Cherokee Street has me thinking I need to find a smoke-free place there for some good Mexican food!

Cherokee Street May Remain a “dry” Street

Ald. Craig Schmid (D-20th) is continuing his anti drinking establishment campaign in the 20th ward, which includes parts of Cherokee St West of Jefferson Ave. Schmid has introduced new legislation titled “Prohibiting package liquor in the 20th Ward.” (see BB47) The exception is for restaurants that get at least 35% of their revenue from food sales.

Schmid’s attitude is summed up in the bill as legislative findings:

The existence of alcoholic beverage establishments appears to contribute directly to numerous peace, health, safety and general welfare problems including loitering, littering, drug trafficking, prostitution, public drunkenness, defacement and damaging of structures, pedestrian obstructions, as well as traffic circulation, parking and noise problems on public streets and neighborhood lots. The existence of such problems creates serious impacts on the health, safety and welfare of residents of single- and multiple-family residences within the district, including fear for the safety of children, elderly residents and of visitors to the district. The problems also contribute to the deterioration of the neighborhood and concomitant devaluation of property and destruction of community values and quality of life. The number of establishments selling alcoholic beverages and the associated problems discourage more desirable and needed commercial uses in the area. In order to preserve the residential character and the neighborhood-serving commercial uses of the area.

Wow, why do we allow such debauchery to run rampant throughout the rest of the city? Gee, maybe because he is operating under the false impression that prostitution will cease to exist if only people can’t buy a drink at a bar.

Oh but it gets better:

the Excise Commissioner shall have authority to:

(3) Issue a drink license only with the following conditions applied and enforced in an area with a Cherokee Street address from the west curbline of Iowa Avenue to the east curbline of Nebraska Avenue
16
A. No package liquor and premises must be operated as a restaurant with gross food sales constituting at least 35% of gross sales; and
B. Operator of the premises must have and maintain at all times written permission to use a public commercial parking facilities within 350 feet of the premis:
with a minimum of at least 15 parking spaces (paved, striped, having a six foot good quality, sturdy ornamental metal fence surrounding it and adequate lighting, and with concrete wheel stops, all complying with City of St. Louis requirements); and if there is live entertainment or live performances, with a minimum of at least 30 parking spaces (paved, striped, having a six foot good quality, sturdy ornamental metal fence surrounding it and adequate lighting, and with concrete wheel stops, all complying with City of St. Louis requirements); and having at a minimum at least 30 additional parking spaces for every 1000 square feet of business space in excess of the first 1000 square feet of business space.

Well, there we have it. More parking in an urban neighborhood commercial district.

And we all love establishments with cafe tables — as long as they keep a clear path. But what about a cafe table behind a 4ft high fence?

J. Sidewalk tables for restaurant purposes only may only be permitted in accordance with an extension of premises permit with an appropriate 4 foot high good quality, sturdy, black ornamental metal fence separating the tables from the rest of the minimum 4 foot wide public sidewalk;

The reality is nobody is going to open a wine bar under such conditions which probably suits Schmid just fine.  This isn’t a class thing for Schmid — the person who downs a $2 bud is just as bad as friends that share a $40 bottle of wine.

To the business association this legislation would be an impediment to competing with other commercial districts where the rules are less restrictive.  To me Schmid only knows how to run off perceived problems — he hasn’t a clue how to bring life back to a once thriving commercial street.

Scenes from St. Louis’ National Park(ing) Day

Friday in St. Louis was a busy day. Taste of St. Louis was setting up for the last time in the section of the Gateway Mall that is planned to become a sculpture garden (they will relocate next year), citizens rallied to support Fire Chief Sherman George on the steps in front of City Hall and the Board of Aldermen had their first session after summer break. Among all these items was St. Louis’ first attempt at participating in National Park(ing) Day — the world-wide event whereby groups “lease” an on-street parking space by way of feeding the meter so the can make a statement about the need to green areas.

So where does St. Louis selected for the first location? On an excessively wide street surrounded by park space!

Above, Chestnut Street was intended for the installations — the city even had the meters marked as no parking. Here, in the shade of some nice mature trees, groups were to set up in the angled parking spaces to show a need for more green in the city. WTF?

Above, at 15th & Chestnut looking Westbound the street is completely blank — no parked cars, activists or even auto traffic. Chestnut is one-way Eastbound so it basically gets its traffic during the morning rush. This was early afternoon.

Above: Two groups did set up their own parks next to a park, but on Market rather than Chestnut.

Although still next to a full city block long razed to create park space, these two spaces were within full view of the Mayor’s office on the 2nd floor of City Hall shown in the background. Unfortunately the City Hall entrance on the Market Street side has been closed for a few years — probably since 9/11/01.

Pedro’s Planet — the office supply company that delivers and takes your recycling at the same time had a nice space complete with desk, turf and a much needed shade umbrella. The light blue bag is their well-known recycling bag which is handy next to the office copier.

Next to Pedro’s Planet was the HOK Planning Group. HOK is one of the largest architecture, engineering and planning firms in the world — based right here in St. Louis. They employ over 2,000 people globally — not your typical granola anti-car protest crowd.

As you might expect from a group of architects, engineers and planners — the space was a thing of beauty — with sections of lawn and brick paving. An informational sign, placed next to the parking meter, gave information to passers by and parking enforcement about the event and why these busy professionals were sitting in lawn chairs on a major street on a Friday.  I’ve got a link to the PDF of the sign below.

Part of their display I really loved, the symbolic crushed car. They had hoped to get a real crushed car for the project but it proved too challenging logistically. As it was, they arrived at 6am to set up their park — convincing a building inspector to give up the space.

Above, a couple of architects from HOK talk to visitors as the meter shows 33 minutes remaining. They had a stack of quarters so they could continually renew their short-term lease. Clearly HOK and Pedros Planet had spent some time thinking about what they’d do for the day. Talking with them I knew they ‘got it.’ I think we’ll see them again next year but in parking spaces that will actually demonstrate the need for green.

One group in the city made a last minute decision to make a statement.

Above, residents and business leaders in the diverse Cherokee Station commercial district enjoying their park. This area has seen disinvestment for decades and as such street trees are scarce.

They selected a spot (and a half) on Texas at Cherokee — next to a bare lot where a building once existed. Mature Bradford Pears on Cherokee are the only signs of green in the area but you can practically knock them over by blowing on them. These are slowly being replaced. But it is the side streets that are sorely lacking greenery.

Amid the exposed ground, broken glass and crumbling sidewalks these citizens created a colorful demonstration project. I talked with a couple of women leaving the Globe Drugs who asked me what was going on — I explained it as a “demonstration about the need for more green in the city.” One responded, “oh, that is what I thought.” The project in the right location becomes apparent.

More information:

• HOK’s handout

• KSDK’s Coverage w/video (includes brief interview w/me). 

• National Park(ing) Day official website

• My additional photos on Flickr

• The Flickr National Park(ing) Day Pool of images
• St. Louis’ webpage on National Park(ing) Day

Hopefully next year we’ll see many more groups out on the streets of St. Louis in places where it makes sense — those barren areas of concrete and asphalt.  I’ve added next year to my calendar so that I can give a 2 month advance notice to help spread the word.

Cherokee Street: Big Controversy Over Tiny Place

You’ve all heard the story by now, Ald. Craig Schmid has a moritorium on liquor licenses for the 20th Ward. You want to sell beer, then you need to have 50% of your revenues from food. In other words, restaurants are OK, bars are not. Enter Steve Smith, owner of The Royale on Kingshighway near Arsenal. Smith wants to open a bar along Cherokee street and and serve no food in the space located at 3227 Cherokee known as “Radio Cherokee.”

The controversy has escalated to the point that Schmid, a 12-year veteran at city hall, is being challenged by resident and business owner Galen Gondolfi in the election for alderman to be held on the 6th of March. This issue has some fun little twists and turns that I have not seen in the media.

First, opponents cite a number of concerns. One is parking, another is food sales. Of course, I fail to see how Smith getting 50% of receipts from food sales lessons the parking issue any — it might in fact make it worse? Parking too seems like a red herring, the city has literally thousands of corner storefront places but we cannot expect them to each have a dedicated parking lot without destroying the character of our neighborhoods.

Above is the location in question, located on the NE corner of Virginia (street on left) and Cherokee. The very tiny storefront can only hold so many people and quite a bit of on-street parking is available along the side of the building above (on Virginia). Similarly, more cars could easily be parked on the west side of Virginia.

“The neighborhood is not ready,” was one comment I heard. Well, what defines ready? What is the plan to get the area ready?  Granted, this property is much closer to Gravois and is therefore not part of the main commercial area we think of as Cherokee.  This is outside the Cherokee community improvement district.  Still, every block between here and the main section of Cherokee contains at least a single storefront, in many cases several.

On the same block as “Radio Cherokee” is the former Cherokee Auto Parts with a greenhouse/nursery business on the end of the block.  In the background of the picture you can see a corner storefront on the next block.  Back to the site in question.

The small place is actually part of a 4-unit building, with one residential unit above and two attached but set back from the street.  The building lot is only 24ft 8 inches wide.  So as you can imagine, both the residential units and the bar space are narrow.

Peaking inside through the front door glass we can see a place basically ready to go.  No major build out or extensive rehab required.  Currently the space is simply sitting empty, not being productive for the neighborhood or city.  Now, I’ve never been in the food services business (well, except those 4 days at Arby’s when I was 16) but logic tells me you need a certain volume of business to operate a restuarant.  With such a small place and lacking a kitchen space it seems unrealistic to expect this space to be anything but a bar.

Sure, I suppose it could be gutted and turned into a retail space of sorts but that seems even more likely to fail.  Retail operations would do better in the main commercial district.

Currently, to my knowledge, Cherokee street has no master plan — no vision has been established.  In looking at the blocks on this end with a mix of storefronts of varying sizes, flats and single family homes I see a small bar fitting in nicely, nothing too big.  A block or two east is the old Black Forest restaurant which has been closed for sometime.  That is a very large space with a large kitchen (I’ve shown the building to prospective buyers so I’ve been through the whole thing).  It is even complete with a parking lot.  But the pro-forma to buy and renovate that place relative to this is night and day.  In reality, both spaces need to be open and active.  We just can’t fault Steve Smith for not having the cash/credit of a say Joe Edwards.   The old Black Forest space will make an excellent restaurant once again.  As a bar only, it would be way too big.

So my solution to this issue is this — for Cherokee Street only:  Set up a sliding scale, the very tiny Radio Cherokee space that Steve Smith is interested in should have a zero percent food requirement.  On the other end, spaces like the large Black Forest should be required to have 50% food.  Other storefronts, such as the old Auto Parts place, might fall somewhere in the middle.  What this does is set up a guideline along Cherokee only where small bars can be introduced and have a chance to succeed while the larger spaces cannot be bars only.  This should be implimented along the length of Cherokee from at least Jefferson to Gravois while the area works on a master plan for Cherokee.
In the interest of disclosure, I have not spoken with either candidate about this concept but I did happen to run into Steve Smith yesterday and he seemed to think it might be a good compromise.  In researching this post I discovered that Galen Gondolfi owns the property in question along with another person.  He also owns the old auto parts place on the same block.  He owns larger buildings in the next block east where he lives, has a gallery space and leases out a storefront to a cafe.  He clearly has a vested interest in seeing this section of Cherokee street succeed and prosper.

Power Shift on Cherokee Street

Earlier today control of the Cherokee Station Business Association shifted to a new and diverse group (see prior post):

In front from L to R is: Minerva Lopez (VP), Karen Abounader (board member), Patavee Vanadilok (board member). In back from L to R is: Jason Deem (Pres), Will Liebermann (Treasurer). Not pictured, Andrew Liebermann (board member).

The meeting was long and not without conflict. The new group provided roughly 20 proxie votes from business owners that could not attend the mid-afternoon meeting. SLDC staffer Harry Bennett and Ald. Ken Ortmann saying they’d need an opinion from the City Counselor’s office before they could accept the proxies. After long debate the new group, thinking they had enough votes anyway, dropped the issue.

And boy were they right. I watched as Ald. Ken Ortman and Ald. Craig Schmid unfolded and counted the ballots. Basically the old guard ran a full slate of candidates (same officers I believe) and the new group did the same. Based on what I could see it was a good 4-1 margin of victory in favor of a change of leadership.

Part of their victory, I believe, was the fact they ran a diverse group of people for the positions and you could tell from the packed room their base of support was as diverse as the street itself.

One of the issues that I think sent them over the edge was the recent paving of three vacant lots owned by the association. All three were paved over at a cost of $9,687.18 per the Treasurer’s report handed out at the meeting. The report shows another $2,471.06 in wrought iron expenses.

The new board felt these lots should have remained as grass and that for this type of cost they could have been maintained. They also mentioned to me their concerns about water runoff with the impervious paving. Though not designed as parking, you can already see a car parked on this lot. Perhaps that is where the wrought iron fencing will come into play? Still, that is a lot of their improvement fund to be used — roughly 40% of their total.

Aldermanic candidate Galen Gondolfi was present at the meeting although he could not vote as his property is just a block or two beyond the boundaries of the CID (Community Improvement District). Interestingly, new board member Patavee Vanadilok was also not able to vote. As an attorney she is not required to have a business license and only those with a business license can vote. Yet, she was able to be elected and serve on the board. One of the priorities of the new board will be to revise and update their bylaws to fix past loopholes and simply items that were unforeseen when the organization was first established.

The next trick will be to get someone interested in re-opening the old upstairs bowling alley on Cherokee Street. Yes, Cherokee had a pretty awesome bowling alley at one time. Mr. Edwards, can we talk over a taco?

BTW, I had planned to attend the E&A meeting on the TIF for St. Louis Centre (see post) but this meeting ran too long. For coverage of that meeting check out Lucas Hudson’s report over at the ACC.