Harris-Stowe State University Campus Disconnected From Adjacent City

In the 21+ years I’ve been in St. Louis I’ve watched Harris-Stowe State Universitygo through name changes and a major expansion of their campus.

This was done under the leadership of university president Dr. Henry Givens Jr., now retired:

Givens managed to grab the LaClede Town housing project land – valued at roughly $17 million – for $10 after the federal government shut it down and turned it over to the city in the 1990s. His hard work and relentless political negotiating got him the old Vashon Community Center and three surrounding acres for another $10. The historically black college for teachers kept adding buildings – along with students and degree programs – and eventually earned full-fledge university status in 2005. (West End Word)

In 2006 Harris Stowe added their first dormitory.

In August of last year they opened a second  residence hall:

Harris-Stowe State University celebrated the opening of its second residence hall and new student dining facility on Friday, August 12. The university named the recently completed 65,000-square-foot, four-story structure in honor of attorney Freeman R. Bosley Jr., the first African-American mayor of the City of St. Louis and long-time advocate of the university and its mission. (St. Louis American)

Combined the two residence halls house 428 students.

With two residence halls and more and more academic buildings just south of the emerging Midtown Alleydistrict:

Boutique hotels and trendy restaurants today are sprinkled among [marketing] agencies with names like “Scorch,” “Four Alarm” and “Spoke.” The development makes it difficult to envision that barely ten years have passed since the Thoelkes brought their shop specializing in cultural events and institutions to Midtown. (STLtoday.com)

What an exciting environment to have adjacent to a college campus! The closest establishment to campus is the hugely popular Pappy’s Smokehouse but also close is The Good Pie, The Fountain on Locust and opening this coming Saturday, Hamburger Mary’s. The students must walk to Midtown Alley all the time. Well, I’m sure they would  if they could.

To be fair to Harris-Stowe, when they acquired the LaClede Town land the area now known as Midtown Alley had yet to begin developing. In planning their campus they used the same failed logic as Saint Louis University — the area outside of the campus border has nothing now nor will it ever so it’s best we just turn out backs and keep the students safe from the big bad world.

TOKY Branding + Design opened on Olive just east of Compton in 2002.  Two years later the Emerson Performance Center (lower left, above) opened permanently blocking access to Cardinal Ave and Olive St.  Just reaching the bus stops at that intersection is a challenge for students.

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Hamburger Mary’s will likely draw huge crowds starting Saturday. I’m afraid students or others will get hurt trying to cross Olive St at Cardinal Ave to reach the new bar & grill. A strong campus connection at Cardinal Ave would have made pedestrian signals at Olive easier to justify. I cross at Compton Ave but I doubt others will go out of their way to do so.

Like Saint Louis University to the east, Harris-Stowe State University has very nice buildings, green grass and an orderly campus. Both fail at connecting to the city. – Steve Patterson

Hartford Now Two-Way…Briefly

The other day I was driving westbound on Hartford heading to Grand (map) and I noticed the street changed from being one-way westbound to two-way for a short distance east of Grand.

This probably changed months ago but I drive so rarely I hadn’t noticed. But why change such a short distance and not the entire street? Most likely the city didn’t want motorists to be able to avoid the light on Grand at Arsenal to go eastbound on Arsenal. You know, use the street grid as designed.   All over the city we’ve destroyed the grid, forcing drivers to use the main roads, not allowing  the use of the grid. Cars sit and idle at long traffic lights that all traffic must flow through. Hopefully someday we will allow the grid to be opened so traffic isn’t concentrated.

 – Steve Patterson

GOOD IdeasForCities in St. Louis — Creative Teams Deadline Tomorrow

GOOD Magazine is bringing their IdeasForCities event to St. Louis on Thursday March 8th but the team registration deadline is tomorrow:

GOOD Ideas for Cities is coming to St. Louis! Apply here to be chosen as a creative team for the event. Selected teams will be paired with a challenge issued by a local urban leader, and work with that leader to create a potential solution. The teams will present their solution at the event in front of a live audience, engage in a discussion with their urban leader and GOOD Ideas for Cities editor Alissa Walker, and have their work showcased on GOOD.is

Answers to questions you may have:

•  A team can consist of as many people as you want, but only one or two people can present at the event
• All team members must live and work in the St. Louis metropolitan area
• Team members can work at different firms, or all at the same firm
• You must be able to be at the event Thursday, March 8 in order to participate
• We will contact selected teams shortly after the deadline
• Deadline is January 6, more details here http://www.good.is/post/good-ideas-for-cities-is-coming-to-portland-and-st-louis/

One reason St. Louis was selected this year, along with Portland OR, is editor Alissa Walker grew up in St. Louis.

St. Louisans groan when local, creative 20-somethings take their talents elsewhere. But the fact that 1995 Parkway West grad Alissa Walker moved to Los Angeles may be a boost for our town. (St. Louis Beacon — article highly recommended!) 

I look forward to seeing teams tackle their assigned challenge. UrbanReviewSTL, along with numerous other media outlets in St. Louis, is serving as a media partner for this event.

– Steve Patterson

We Need A Form-Based Code

On Monday the St. Louis Preservation Board approved the demolition of some buildings at the Pevely Dairy site but denied the two most critical, the corner structure and the smokehouse. Facebook & twitter were on fire afterwords with people celebrating. This is a victory but much work remains to be done to win the war. I’m personally tired of fighting small battle after small battle yet feel like we are losing the war on urbanism.

Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi has demonstrated for decades he doesn’t respect the public street. Under his leadership SLU has invested in millions on turning it’d back to public space. Green grass, fountains and sculpture are offered as a consolation prize for creating dull & lifeless public space. To me this is unacceptable. People I consider friends think the Pevely building should be razed — they see it as vacant and useless. I strongly disagree.   If they want vacant and useless they just need to look at the vast expanses of high-maintenance lawn across Grand.

Urban streets are defined by buildings on both sides with doors, windows and activities adjacent or near the sidewalk. When St. Louis was built this was the natural way of building since everyone was a pedestrian. Today we need to recognize that most are motorists and build in a way that works for both pedestrians and motorists. It doesn’t need to be one or the other, we can accommodate both.

If St. Louis had a form-based code in place for the city, or at least midtown, SLU wouldn’t have planned new construction set behind a lawn. They would have realized since they had to maintain the building line that it made sense to retain the corner structure all along. To move our city forward and become more urban and friendly to both pedestrians and motorists we must completely replace our zoning which was written to support urban renewal through the destruction of all things urban. The 1947 plan called for leveling & reconstruction of Soulard!

We must determine which corridors should be reurbanized and which, if any, will be allowed to be suburbanized. Let’s stop this continual piecemeal battle over individual buildings and properties.

– Steve Patterson

Parking on 14th Street Sidewalk…Again

A few years ago I blogged about city employees parking on the eastside 14th Street sidewalk which resulted on a policy change and keeping the sidewalk open for pedestrians. Last weekend driving home I saw a more egregious use of  the sidewalk for parking.

I was livid as I watched a pedestrian forced to walk in the roadway. Fourteenth Street has four lanes yet someone decided cars should take over the sidewalk too!?!

A new effort is underway to plan streetscape changes on 14th from Washington Ave to Clark St., I’ll need to suggest street trees and/or bollards to physically protect the pedestrian space. I shouldn’t have to spend so much time just trying to keep cars off sidewalks downtown.

 – Steve Patterson