The Leather Trades Artist Lofts opened a few months ago across Locust from my building.
It has been a joy seeing lights on in the building and seeing people come and go. But passing by on 16th and seeing art in the windows has been great. I’ve even seen people painting in a studio space. It’s amazing how little it takes to bring life and interest to a sidewalk.
– Steve Patterson
Downtown St. Louis can be reached via car from all directions. None is particularly a nice drive, although I do like entering from Illinois via the Eads Bridge. When the New Mississippi River Bridgeopens in 2014 motorists on I-70 from Illinois and west of St. Louis will have a new option, an exit that takes them to Cass Ave and directly onto a new alignment of Tucker Blvd into downtown.
A short stretch of the rebuilt Tucker recently opened to traffic. I’ve had a chance to drive it twice and walk part of the sidewalk. It’s too early to do a review of the design of the road & sidewalks but so far it looks good with only a few problems I’ll note in a later post once more is opened.
The good is the road is only two lanes in each direction. Rather than have three per direction with the outside used for parking or buses, the third lane isn’t a through lane. Space is provided for buses and parking but the road doesn’t feel excessively wide the way say Jefferson does between Olive & Natural Bridge. New new road, median, planted areas at the edges and street trees will make a great first impression. But when motorists look past the new sidewalks they will likely be disappointed by what they see. Great buildings like the one above, instead of housing retail storefronts, has the city’s Mosquito & Rat control division, aka Vector Control. Welcome to St. Louis!
Most of the land is vacant — empty or surface parking lots as you near Washington Ave. Right now the only planning that’s been done is via Paul McKee’s Northside Regenerationplan:
The Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation are working together to construct a new bridge that spans the Mississippi River just north of downtown St. Louis. The new bridge has the potential to become both a catalyst for the revitalization of the area in the immediate vicinity of the “landing†and a new entrance into downtown St. Louis. For the catalytic effects of the new bridge to be fully realized, transportation improvements are needed in the area around the bridge ramps beyond what MoDOT has planned for their 2011 construction. McEagle has been working with the City of St. Louis and MoDOT to create a more efficient flow of traffic into the downtown and NorthSide areas from the new bridge. Along with the new N. Tucker Boulevard alignment planned to begin construction in spring 2010, McEagle has proposed two additional off ramps to the MRB interchange and a new Mullanphy Street realignment and bridge over the MRB Landing (MRB Extension). This Extension will provide a direct connection for west-bound traffic to the NorthSide as well as provide an alternative route for eastbound traffic to access the MRB interchange. The development yields for this area have been projected as follows:
- Office/Business space: 860,000 sq ft
- Retail: 173,000 sq ft
- Residential: 2019 units
- Hotel: 120 rooms
Regardless of your views on Paul McKee’s project you have to give him credit for recognizing the opportunity to develop new housing, offices and retail.
I’m still concerned the new buildings will lack connections to adjacent sidewalks. St. Louis now has a “Complete Streets” policy, but no requirement for adjacent properties to connect. The ADA requires minimal connection but a building can be built and occupied without it, leaving enforcement up to those who complain. If we take McKee, and his consultants, at their word the area will be pedestrian-friendly. My preference, of course, would be a requirement by ordinance. Former 5th Ward Alderman April Ford-Griffin never would initiate such a requirement and I don’t expect any of the three woman running to fill the vacant seat to do so either. The election is December 20th. Good or bad, McKee has the Tucker & Cass area under control. But what about south of Biddle St? The 1986 McDonald’s was just razed and replaced. The new one does have an ADA access route from one of the four streets bordering the property, but it’s still a prototype  best suited for a suburban/rural highway exit.
The west side of Tucker needs urban buildings up to the sidewalk, like they are on the east side.
This is one of those opportunities that doesn’t come along often. Will we step up and take the necessary actions to ensure Tucker develops right over the next 20-30 years?
– Steve Patterson
The tallest building in St. Louis is Metropolitan Square at 593 feet, just under the 630 foot Arch. The Devon Tower under construction in downtown Oklahoma City reaches a height of 850 feet! Wait, what?
Yes, Oklahoma City is getting a massive new tower added to it’s skyline. More like dwarfing the rest of the skyline. Tuesday I posted about how Chesapeake Energy is redeveloping retail shopping adjacent to it’s campus and today the story of another OKC corporate giant, Devon, changing Oklahoma City. Cost estimates are $750 million.
The 2nd tallest building in OKC is the 1971 Chase Tower at 500 feet. The 3rd is the 493 foot First National Center built in 1931. Forty year gaps between these buildings, though I doubt in 2051 a building will top the Devon Tower. Â I won’t be around anyway…
Devon’s employees are already downtown, just in various buildings. Consolidating into one facility makes sense but the scale is enormous. I look forward to seeing the completed building and how well it connects to the streets.
Meanwhile in St. Louis we don’t seem to have any companies even considering a new building. Â We certainly have plenty of available land.
– Steve Patterson
Over the last 6-8 years I’ve watched the corporate campus of Chesapeake Energy Corporation in Oklahoma City grow and grow and grow. But I wouldn’t use the old phrase “sprawling campus” because the site has developed quite dense and walkable. Â Most of you in St. Louis have likely never heard of Chesapeake so here is a summary from Wikipedia:
Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States, a top 15 producer of U.S. liquids and the most active driller of new wells, according to an August 2011 investor presentation. It recorded 2Q 2011 natural gas production of an average of approximately 3.049 billion cubic feet (86,300,000 m3) of natural gas equivalent, a 9 percent year-over-year increase. The 2010 full year was Chesapeake’s 21st consecutive year of sequential production growth.
The company had a few buildings in an older office park when I first visited an employee. Recently those original buildings were razed.
From such humble beginnings, the company’s Oklahoma City footprint has multiplied an astonishing 450 times. The Chesapeake campus now measures 2.7 million square feet. Employees work in 24 buildings, and there’s another half million square feet of office space under construction. (source)
They even have a page to talk up their campus:
Chesapeake’s 72,000-square-foot Fitness Center is located on campus, and plays host to a wide range of recreation programs, group exercise classes, cardio machines, weight room, basketball courts, racquetball courts, swimming pool, fitness assessments and preventative health screenings. Our adjoining athletic field hosts a variety of outdoor events during and after work, including coed flag football, soccer, kickball, team Frisbee, softball and personal training, and includes a quarter-mile track.
Also on campus are three restaurants, The Wildcat, Fuel and Elements, which offer a wide variety of healthy choices for breakfast and lunch. From a fresh salad bar, to made-to-order deli line and grill, employees have a variety of healthy alternatives to choose from.
The impressive fitness center was one of the first new buildings constructed as expansion began. Even though they have three restaurants for employees on campus they have developed shopping across Western Ave to the west. I posted about ClassenCurve last year.
Last month a new Whole Foods opened at The Triangle at ClassenCurve. Chesapeake is located on the edge of Nichols Hills (map), a small but very affluent suburb of Oklahoma City, their version of our Ladue. Tulsa has had a Wild Oats/Whole Foods for years, located in a space vacated by a former chain grocery. There have been several times I would stop at the Whole Foods in Tulsa to pick up items to eat at my parents house in Oklahoma City.
Now I can stop at the huge new Whole Foods store in OKC when I’m visiting family. Â The thousands of workers on Chesapeake’s campus can walk across the street to get a salad, food from the hot bar or pick up a few groceries. Whole Foods is in Oklahoma City now because of Chesapeake.
The campus-adjacent shopping isn’t just intend for Chesapeake’s employees, all can enjoy — assuming they can afford the types of shops locating in the retail spaces. By my standards the retail developments are barely walkable but compared to most of OKC they are a pedestrian paradise.
The architecture of the retail is a complete contrast to the campus. The campus has Georgian red brick structures while the retail is dark, modern and sleek.They compliment without copying. The retail doesn’t have any of the materials, look or logo of Chesapeake.
I can’t think of any Fortune 500 company in St. Louis that has done what Chesapeake has done. A-B? Nope. A.G. Edwards (now Wells Fargo)? Nada. What about institutions with deep pockets like Saint Louis University? Yeah right!
Chesapeake’s campus, like most corporate & institutional campuses, has lush lawns, water features, plantings and lots of parking. It’s edges separate the public from private but it does so in a friendly way. Architect Rand Elliott:
“We’re really fortunate,” Elliott stated “to have a number of CEO’s in this community, including Aubrey certainly, who believe that architecture is a powerful statement, and an important one for our community and for their businesses, as well.”
I was fortunate to have been paired with Rand Elliott on a project in middle schools during my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma College of Architecture. We need CEOs that will create walkable campus-adjacent space in the St. Louis region.
– Steve Patterson
The proposed demolition of the historic, and urban, Pevely Dairy complex at Grand and Chouteau is on today’s Preservation Board agenda, but won’t be heard:
St. Louis University’s request for permits to demolish the Pevely Dairy buildings is off Monday’s agenda of the city’s Preservation Board but that does not mean SLU is abandoning its effort to raze the historic complex.
A university spokesman said today that seeking a delay for a hearing on its request for demolition permits gives SLU more time to present its case to the city panel. SLU has said it wants to replace the Pevely complex with a building for its SLUCare physician’s practice. (STLtoday.com)
Part of me doesn’t trust that the issue won’t be decided at today’s meeting. But, it’s quite possible the staff will indicate the issue will be on the December agenda.The main problem I have is SLU’s false claim the historic structure is in the way.
Given the history of Saint Louis University these past two decades the Pevely building and smokestack aren’t in the way of a new building. No, they are where SLU President Fr. Biondi wants  grass and a fountain. Trying very hard not to use a few choice expletives!
Biondi hates urbanity, or maybe he just doesn’t know what makes a good city. The SLU campus is very pristine and in the center, interesting, But the edges are dead zones due to all the fenced lawns created by Biondi. Intended to make the area safer, SLU policies suck life out of the area to the point the sidewalks are nearly vacant, which isn’t safe. People create safety.
The smokestack and building at the corner, with the rooftop sign, are the two elements that should be saved. The warehouse elements in the foreground (above) should be replaced, just not with lifeless iron fencing with lawn. Â New medical buildings can be built around & embracing the old. The smokestack could be the centerpiece of a courtyard. The architectural possibilities were explored during a recent design charrette:
After a thorough discussion of the site’s dimensions, SLU’s extensive landholdings in the area, and the university’s probable needs, participants subdivided into four groups. Each focused on a different approach, including converting the corner building into doctors’ offices with a larger modern addition, adapting it into market-rate housing and ancillary facilities for the medical school, finding additional on-site locations for new buildings, and generating an overall site plan to connect this corner to the rest of the university. (SLU Says It Can’t Reuse the Pevely Buildings; Local Designers Beg to Differ)
I look forward to seeing the many varied solutions these teams developed.
We must resist SLU’s efforts to destroy both Grand & Chouteau corridors. Biondi has already done a number of Grand at the main campus and the medical campus but hope remains for Chouteau and eventually Grand can be urbanized again, largely by  building over Biondi’s lawns.
Where SLU has replaced walkable urban buildings with acres of fenced lawn we can build new 1-2 story “liner buildings” to recreate the walls of the urban street. The SW corner shouldn’t be destroyed, liner buildings can fix the anti-urban SE corner but two such corners would be a disaster.
The NE corner is a suburban fast-food chain and the never urban NW corner is being cleared for more dead SLU grass. Yawn.
The Grand viaduct is being replaced and the MetroLink station getting rebuilt. The #70 Grand bus is Metro’s busiest and the #32 MLK bus travels up and down Chouteau & Manchester. If developed right, Grand & Chouteau could be a great pedestrian environment. Chouteau is important for connecting Lafayette Square & Downtown  to The Grove.
My guess is Biondi has surrounded himself with yes men that tell him he’s done a great job with the campuses. Well, on the chance he’ll read this post: