It was three years ago today that many gathered on the lawn in front of one of the most historic properties in St. Louis: The Clemens Mansion, located at 1849 Cass Ave.
ABOVE: Blueprints for the adoption of the Clemens Mansion to senior apartments was on display on November 17, 2009ABOVE: St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay signs a bill for Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration project
From The Beacon:
Mayor Francis Slay put his ceremonial seal of approval Tuesday on the first step of the $8.1 billion plan to redevelop a large portion of north St. Louis, but he remained noncommittal on what developer Paul McKee considers a key part of the project.
The signing ceremony for two bills passed by the Board of Aldermen — the bills were actually signed into law by the mayor on Friday — took place under a tent on the front lawn of the Clemens House, one of the most visible properties in the McKee project area. (St. Louis Beacon)
Initial work had begun on the renovation but work stopped when part of the financing fell through, I believe a low-income housing tax credit. Soon much of McKee’s project will have a final airing in court.
The state Supreme Court has set Nov. 28 as the date for oral arguments in the lawsuit that has blocked McKee’s massive NorthSide Regeneration project for more than two years. There’s no telling how long after that a ruling might come down, but that ruling will help the project advance, McKee said. (stltoday.com)
Disclosure: I was a very minor consultant on the Clemen’s Mansion project, assisting with accessibility and starting to look at traffic calming and walkability along a larger stretch of Cass Ave. Hopefully the project can be completed in the future.
Signs are all around us, sometimes in confusing proximity to each other.
ABOV, center: A sign for parking below a no-parking sign for a bus stop.
If you’re familiar with the Delmar Loop area you’ll likely know the blue sign is for the large parking lot behind the buildings. With so many signs is there a tipping point where they just get ignored? Placing these on separate polls/posts a few feet apart wouldn’t necessarily be an improvement.
Sign placement and effectiveness needs to be evaluated by someone, especially in busy commercial districts.
Buildings are largely permanent structures, although a demolition crew can change that quickly. Much of what we build stays with us for decades. Lowest common denominator auto centric structures, such as gas stations, seem to live on forever.
Early gas stations of the 1920s were small, much closer to the sidewalk and had details similar to housing of the day. Today these are often viewed as charming.
ABOVE: The former QT on Gravois in the Bevo area is something new, not sure what though.
Get off the bus or just walk down the sidewalk this spot is an urban void. What are the hours of this business? A menu? Heck, how do I even get to the front door?
ABOVE: The former convenience store structure built in 1991 is set far back from the sidewalk unlike adjacent properties.
Check out the aerial on Google Maps here to see how this is a radical departure from the long-established commercial district. This never should’ve been built 21 years ago. Too late for Bevo but we must prevent further such atrocities to happen to our urban commercial districts.
Hopefully I’ll see the day a new 2-3 story commercial building is built, up to the sidewalk, on this site.
ABOVE: After leaving the train two head though the opening in the fenceABOVE: This route is a well-worn path in the field on the opposite side of the track from the University of Missouri North Campus.
Like other stations, this has been in use for over 19 years now. The campus side of the station wasn’t designed for pedestrians and the other side has been ignored.
ABOVE: The “desire lines” are very evident despite the fact nothing new has been built oriented to transit. Click image to view in Google Maps
I’m not optimistic about how this area will get developed, when it does eventually. I’m afraid it’ll end up like other stations — very auto-centric rather than being pedestrian-centric. The potential is enormous.
The North Hanley MetroLink station (map) was one of the original stations when our light rail system opened on July 31, 1993. Unfortunately, after 19+ years, it has yet to see any Transit Oriented Development (TOD). But finally it is getting some attention:
CMT received a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to look at areas surrounding MetroLink stations in our communities. We are asking for your help to create a healthier place to live through better use of our transit system.
Our goal is to get the community’s opinions about development near MetroLink and walkable neighborhoods. What do you like about the station? What would you like to see near your station? How is access to your station?
The North Hanley Station is located in unincorporated St. Louis County. How does this effect the zoning around the station?
We will a facilitator on-site to lead us on our walkabout and to help facilitate conversations about the possibilities for the community. (CMT)
I attended this walkabout as I’d never explored the area before, though I had switched from light rail to MetroBus here a few times.
ABOVE: Julie Padberg-White (left) led the Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) walkabout at the North Hanley MetroLink station on October 12. 2012.ABOVE: The only structure at North Hanley is a parking garage, added after the station opened in 1993.ABOVE: The only thing at the station currently is 1,583 parking spaces (926 surface, 657 in garage)ABOVE: Developer & CMT Chair Don C Musick plans to develop the land to the south of the station property. Photo from May 28, 2011.ABOVE: The likelihood anyone, except service employees, are going to walk past the parking garage and through the parking lot to cross University Pl Dr is slim. The blue arrow and circle shows the point where transit riders are concentrated.
What about the headquarters of Express Scripts you might ask. Yes it is located next to the light rail line and is visible from the station platform, but at best it is transit-adjacent development. Although just a short distance, employees use a bus shuttle rather than walk because of the poor physical design of the station. Again, the surface and structured parking are a huge barrier.
ABOVE: The red line shows the current pedestrian path around the garage to Express Scripts HQ (right). The blue and green lines are possible more direct routes. The blue shapes are building sites to make the walk more interesting. Click image to view a larger version.ABOVE: The large blue section from the arial above is the background here with Express Scripts just to the right. That blue section is buildable land and due to the grade change a lower level could face the sidewalk and an upper level could face north.ABOVE: Going up the hill toward the station the sidewalk on one side ends, forcing you to cross the bus access drive.ABOVE: Looking down the hill from the top level of the garage we see a sidewalk on one side, not the side nearest the track. Again, the tip to the left of the drive can be developed. The area with the trees on the left is more complicated.ABOVE: Inside this overgrown area is water runoff collection area. Express Scripts roof is visible in the background. Everyone seems to assume this entire area as off limits, including the section near the road. I propose a water feature like Uptown Circle in Normal IL to deal with the water, click image for info on Uptown Circle.
I say build a hotel on the dry hilly part, excavating most of the earth for a lower level to have a restaurant or two serving hotel guests and Express Scripts employees. The forest/drainage area can become a green entry to the hotel. By doing this you’ll make it possible to simplify the walk from the station to Express Scripts.
Scroll back up and look at the map again, the existing route, shown in red, requires pedestrians to cross the same access drive twice. Trying to get pedestrians to take extra steps, cross in front of buses twice and going around a huge parking garage it is no wonder nobody walks to work. But, it can be fixed!
ABOVE: Moving closer to the station we see the point(s) where we could have sidewalks from the station to the left. Buses wait at this point until it is time to move up to the area to load passengers.ABOVE: A trash dumpster is the only thing in the way of extending the existing station sidewalk in the right direction, making it unnecessary to cross the access drive at all.ABOVE: this point is close to where MetroLink passengers leave the platform and is convenient for those using MetroBus as well.ABOVE: Closer up we see the dumpster enclosure blocking the most direct route to Express Scripts.
Maybe a hotel isn’t the best option for that site, although officials said a hotel has been desired for years. If built, it would be the first hotel a traveler could reach from the airport via MetroLink. Also, a hotel adjacent to one of the region’s largest employers would benefit both. The topography would allow for two different levels at grade (north vs south) and the height could be as needed.
I look forward to seeing what CMT’s team comes up with for North Hanley.
AARP Livibility Index
The Livability Index scores neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. for the services and amenities that impact your life the most
Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
Geo St. Louis
a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
