Low Enrollment at Webster University’s Old Post Office Campus

ABOVE: Webster University in the Old Post Office

Webster University’s main campus is in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, but they’ve had a downtown campus for years.  For a long time they had classeroom space in the Lammert Building at 911 Washington Ave.

Webster was a driving force behind the latest renovation of the Old Post Office and the razing of the historic Century Building across 9th Street for a parking garage.  Back in 2003 the predictions were big & bold:

Webster plans to duplicate the programs offered on its Webster Groves campus when it opens in the Old Post Office building in 2005. Initially, about 1,200 students will attend classes at the Old Post Office, a number university President Richard Meyers expects to mushroom to 1,700 by 2007 or 2008.

That could create enough demand to justify building dormitories downtown — especially since the university’s latest dormitory project on its 47-acre Webster Groves campus will leave no space to develop more student housing. (St. Louis Business Journal)

Current enrollment? Only about 600, far from 1,700!  Don’t look for any new downtown dormitories anytime soon, unless they can convince the state to pay for the construction and lease them to the university below market. Webster’s Old Post Office website.

ABOVE: Webster University in the Old Post Office

I visited the Webster University space in the Old Post Office last week.  Despite being a block from the 8th & Pine MetroLink light rail station, driving & parking is what is encouraged.  I found two versions of a “campus parking” guide.  These similar flyers give detailed driving & parking directions and barely mention taking transit.

ABOVE: Map given to students doesn't even show the MetroLink station at 8th & Pine

And as you can see above, the map doesn’t show where the MetroLink station is located.  A tri-fold brochure on the downtown campus did have a small map indicating the station.  The state of Missouri owns both the Old Post Office and the 9th Street Garage — I think we need to be concerned about the financial liabilities here.

- Steve Patterson

Culinaria Increasingly An Accessibility Nightmare

A year ago yesterday Culinaria, a Schnuck’s Market, opened in the ground floor of the 9th Street parking garage.  You know, the parking garage that replaced the historic Century Building.  The intersection of 9th & Olive was the last intersection in St. Louis’ CBD that still had it’s pre-WWII buildings on all four corners. More on the Century in a bit.

ABOVE: Entry to Culinaria lacks auto opener for disabled

The store has been open a year now yet there is no door opener on either front door. Because of the settings on the door closer it is nearly impossible for me to enter without help from others.  I exit by pushing the door open with my wheelchair.

Inside the situation is getting worse.  The once attractive store has every bit of floor space occupied my an increasing number of display boxes.  They change based on what company is paying them.  Trying to access a freezer case was difficult the other day because a stack of product on the floor next to the door handle prevented me from getting in the right position.

A year ago I was impressed by the design of the store.  Today I use it as a convenience store, the bulk of my groceries comes from other grocery store and markets. I need to go once a month for my prescriptions but I try to avoid the place now.  It is hard to access and circulate, increasingly not worth the hassle.

I’ve asked before about a door opener.  “We are working on getting the state to pay for it.”  You see, Schnuck’s is a tenant in the state-owned parking garage. The garage wasn’t designed for a grocery store but the developer was DESCO which is owned by members of the Schnuck’s family.

Which brings us back to the 1896 Century Building. Local property owners & residents (and friends) Roger Plackemier & Marcia Behrendt had sued various entities prior to the destruction of the Century, questioning the legality of the process used in the garage project. In 2004 they were unable to raise the money to post a bond and the demolition of the Century began.

In April 2005 the developer and development agencies of the city & state sued Plackemeier & Behrendt for “malicious prosecution“, seeking $1,000,000 in damages. The trial has been scheduled several times and each time the plaintiffs request a delay. The trial was to begin on Monday of this week but once again they were granted a delay.

For over five years now two citizens have had a million dollar lawsuit against them and those suing them keep delaying the trial.  Talk about malicious prosecution!

- Steve Patterson

Plaintiffs Delay Century Case Again

After demolition of the historic Century Building began in the Fall of 2004, the lawsuits by two downtown residents seeking to prevent the demolition became a moot point.  On April 19, 2005 the State of Missouri and the City of St. Louis, through entities, joined with the developer of the Ninth Street Parking Garage and filed a Malicious Prosecution claim against Marcia Behrendt & Roger Plackemeier. The plaintiffs are seeking $1,000,000.

After numerous delays the trial was scheduled to finally get underway tomorrow ( 9/14/2009) at 9am.  But last Friday, at the request of the Plaintiffs, the case was again delayed.  The parties have a new date of 10/26/2009 — that date is just to determine the future trial date.  Most likely we are looking at 2010 for the trial.   When your motivation is to discourage public participation it makes sense to drag these things out.

I should disclose that I personally know both Marcia Behrendt & Roger Plackemeier.  Marcia was the person that found me after my stroke on 2/1/2008.  So I’m not an impartial observer in this issue.  To file such a claim and then delay for years is just wrong.

MISSOURI DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BOARD VS BEHRENDT, Case #22052-01373, can be viewed at http://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet.  The poll this week asks your view on the city & state suing these two for the last four + years.   Right or wrong?

- Steve Patterson

National Trust Opposes SLAPP Suit Against Two St. Louis Residents

A lawsuit against two downtown St. Louis residents has been ongoing now in excess of four years.  Recently (8/11/09) another St. Louis resident posted a question on the Facebook page of The National Trust for Historic Preservation:

Could you please ask your redevelopment corporation to drop the lawsuit against the two St. Louis citizens who filed suit to save the 1896 Century Building?

Nine days later (8/20/09) the National Trust for Historic Preservation posted the following response:

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is not a party to this litigation and has no control over it. Our subsidiary investment arm holds only a .01% stake in the project, and all authority to pursue litigation of this type lies in the limited partnership’s general partner alone. We have urged that party to reconsider their actions, but to date they have not heeded our request. We believe there are ways to learn from the Century Building controversy and advance the cause of historic preservation and community revitalization. This lawsuit is not the way to achieve those goals.

Agreed, this lawsuit is not about advancing anything other than instilling fear in the public so they won’t challenge the status quo, such as awarding a historic building to a connected developer without putting the building out for proposals.

The trial date is currently set for September 14, 2009.  The plaintiffs have asked for yet another delay.  Sorry good ole boys, no matter how long you delay your case won’t get any better.

- Steve Patterson

24/7 Old Post Office District Closed on the Weekends

Part of the justification offered for razing the Century Building, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was that it had to be sacrificed for parking for the Old Post Office  – the centerpiece of a 24/7 district.

It has been a couple of years now and I’m still waiting for the area to get beyond 11/5:

The Pasta House Pronto,  located in the Old Post Office, is not offering 24/7 fare.  Granted, the customers are not there.  But if they were, they’ve got plenty of parking.  Most of the exciting 24/7 areas I know of in other cities are known for their numerous businesses and shortage of parking.

Non-profit, government  & library tenants also aren’t known for their contribution to 24/7 living.

When the Schnuck’s grocery store, Culinaria, opens next week I hope they maintain at least the daily 7am to 9pm hours that City Grocers has had for years.  My fear is they will cut back on days and hours within a year.  I hope my fears prove unfounded.

Maybe they will be open 24/7?

- Steve Patterson

Downtown Gets Yet Another Plaza

Today (4/3/09) at 4pm Mayor Slay will officially open The Old Post Office Plaza. This is more open space in a downtown with too much open space but not enough quality urban public space.  And though it may look like it, this plaza is not public.

This 3/4-acre plaza is owned, not by the city, but Downtown Now/The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.  The plaza is to the North of the Old Post Office, across Locust between 8th & 9th (map).

Don’t confuse this new private plaza with the private plaza one block East, that unused plaza will soon become another parking garage.

The plaza is considered a key piece of the emerging Old Post Office Square, which includes the renovated Old Post Office building across the street at 815 Olive St. and Roberts Brothers Properties’ planned $70 million, 24-story residential tower adjacent to the Roberts-owned Mayfair Hotel at Locust and Eighth streets. (source, August 2007)

The plaza’s designers, BSN Architects of Toronto, describe the project:

The winner of an invited architectural competition, this new public Plaza celebrates the adjacent historic Old Post Office of St. Louis and actively engages the surrounding urban form.  A dramatic three dimensional armature is proposed to provide substantive user amenity and involve the public in the unfolding urban drama of the revitalized downtown. Its morphology incorporates surrounding built features into a dynamic stage for public life inspired by an operatic interpretation of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus.

Yes, some architects actually talk like that.

A year ago the project hit a snag which delayed completion:

In August 2008 construction was well underway:

A couple of days ago it now looked like:

As you can see it is mostly a hard surface plaza.  This, I believe, is appropriate for an urban context.  Except for the fact we already have the Arch grounds, Kiener Plaza, Gateway Mall, Baer Plaza, etc…  We need less open space to help create more urban space.  This block, like all the others, used to be filled with buildings.

When it came time to renovate the Old Post Office a 2nd time, the need for immediately adjacent parking was cited by potential tenants.  So although this site existed to the North of the Old Post Office, we instead raze the marble-clad Century Building which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Some said a garage could not be built on this site.  I say BS.

Hardscape plazas can be interesting.  No doubt Dundas Square (Wikipedia, map) in Toronto was an inspiration:

Above: Dundas Square in July 2006

Dundas Square is a wonderful urban space – very dynamic.  When I visited Toronto in July 2006 my hotel was just a couple of blocks away.  I saw the space on normal days as well as packed for a large annual event.

I haven’t been in the Old Post Office Plaza yet because it has been fenced off as construction was being completed.  I’m looking forward to experiencing the space this afternoon.  I did roll by along the sidewalk on the South edge:

It is shiny & new.  It is more interesting than the old collection of surface parking lots.  But from the outside looking in I could see (not see?) one glaring omission: bike parking.  Holding large events in a vibrant urban area naturally draws crowds on bikes.  Well designed spaces make sure cyclists have a place to secure their bikes.  Such was the case at Dundas Square:

Yet this new $8 million + facility doesn’t have a single bike rack that I could see.  I guess everyone is expected to drive to the plaza to help justify the garage that replaced the historic Century Building?

The ribbon cutting is 4pm today with activities this weekend.

Mayor Slay, Geisman, & Rainford To Be Deposed in Century Case

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman and chief of staff (now campaign manager) Jeff Rainford have all been served subpoenas to be deposed in Century case against my friends Roger Plackemier & Marcia Behrendt.

Plackemeier & Behrendt have been accused of “malicious prosecution” over their previous legal challenges to the Old Post Office redevelopment project, which included preventing the historic Century Building from being razed and replaced by a parking garage.  The deposition date is February 27th.  The lawsuit,  first filed on April 19, 2005, will begin over four years later on Monday April 27, 2009.

I personally believe the case to be a SLAPP suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation, see Wikepidia).  Slay, Geisman & Rainford will be questioned about the withdrawal of an alternative plan for the redevelopment of the Syndicate Trust/Century Building by a development team that included Craig Heller and Kevin McGowan.  Heller was later able to obtain and renovate the Syndicate Trust.

Both sides will be presenting motions before the court this morning at 9am.  See all my Century Building related posts dating back to 2004 here.

Century SLAPP Suit Pushed to April 2009

The trial against downtown residents Roger Plackemeier & Marcia Behrendt, both friends of mine, over past efforts to save the historic Century Building had been scheduled to start today.  However, according to MO Casenet, the trial has been pushed to April 27, 2009 – over four years after the suit was first filed on April 19, 2005.

I believe the case to be a classic SLAPP suit – a strategic lawsuit against public participation (see wiki entry).  In the case Plackemeier & Behrendt are charged with “malicious prosecution.” Presumably the city & state, through agencies, have unlimited funds to pursue these two individuals for years.

Century Case Set for Trial Next Month

Even though the historic Century Building has been razed for a few years (replaced by yet another downtown parking garage), the legal issues continue. Downtown residents (and friends of mine) Marcia Behrendt & Roger Plackemeier had filed cases questioning the project’s procedures back around 2002. They had sought to save the Century from the wrecking ball. After the building was razed the entities responsible turned around and sued Behrendt & Plackemeier in April 2005 for “malicious prosecution”. Myself and others consider this to be nothing more than a SLAPP suit.

In December 2007 I updated you on the status of this case. At the time the plaintiff’s (The Missouri Development Finance Board, The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St Louis, NSG Developers LLC, and St Louis Custom House and Post Office Bldg and Associates) filed motions to add another count and to add Behrendt’s & Plackemeirer’s lawyer, Matt Ghio, as a third defendant. Ghio filed a motion for summary judgment to have the whole case thrown out. I was there in the court room as the lawyers presented their arguments before the judge.

According to Missouri’s Case.net judge McCullin denied these motions on March 26th. The case is now set for a 4-day jury trial starting on September 22nd before Judge Thomas C. Grady. I’ve got work and class at SLU but you can be sure I’ll find some time to stick my head in the courtroom that week

Update 8/16/08 @ 8:15pm:

After the above post I received the following from a reliable source:

Just to clarify, Judge Grady is the judge in Division 1. Div. 1 is where civil cases get assigned to a trial division, so the case will not be tried there.

The Century Bldg. case has been what’s called “peremptorily set,” which means Judge Grady will assign it to one of our trial divisions in a couple of weeks.

Check Casenet again in a couple of weeks to see what division it’s going to (or shoot me an email to remind me and I’ll look it up)

Century Building Case Continues Wind Through Court System

Yesterday I spent a half hour sitting in a courtroom listening to lawyers support and counter arguments in the case against two friends of mine, Marcia Behrendt and Roger Plackemeier.  Each filed lawsuits a number of years ago once it was realized developers sought to raze the historic Century Building for a parking garage.

Ultimately the developers got their financing and began demolishing the long-standing building — the very one the city had only a few years earlier told the then owner it should not be razed for parking. That started on the evening of October 20, 2004 — they had to quickly damage the building beyond repair.  As Behrendt & Plackemeier had sought to save the building, the one remaining and active suit was dropped.
In April 2005 the state (via the Missouri Development Finance Board) the city (via the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority), the developers NSG Developers LLC and St. Louis US Custom House and Post Office Building and Associates (aka Steve Stogel and Mark Schnuck) decided to sue Behrendt & Plackemeier, claiming “malicious prosecution.”

Recently they are asking the court to name attorney Matt Ghio as a defendant as well.  By doing so, he could represent himself but not B&P.  Doug Down, now representing NSG and the Post Office Associates, made Ghio out to look like an evil lawyer run amuck – handing out bad advice to B&P.  Dowd then told judge Donald McCullin that they’d sue Ghio individually if he were not added a defendant.  Ghio, in rebuttal, indicated this simply proved the developers, state and city sought to separate Ghio from defending B&P.  Ghio, having been involved in these cases for a good five years or so, knows all the issues quite clearly — that removing him would “prejudice his clients.”

Before Judge McCullin now are motions from each side.  The plaintiffs (developers, city, state) seek to add Ghio as a defendant (a motion to leave) as well as add another charge of “abuse of process” to B&P.  The defendants (B&P) filed a “motion for summary judgment” — asking the judge to throw out the case all together.  I’ll keep everyone posted once the judge makes his ruling on these motions.

[Photo by Alan Brunettin from Remember the Century pictorial.]