New Development on Hampton not an Improvement

The vacant Ponderosa Steakhouse on Hampton is no more.

The job site foreman told me the building will have an ADA pedestrian access route along the north side of the property.  That’s good, but the fact the occupied building is at the rear isn’t so good. Many falsely think a new building is better than an old one.  The old Ponderosa was nothing worth saving but it was relatively close to the sidewalk. Adjacent commercial buildings are near the sidewalk so this new development is going against the established pattern. The existing pattern isn’t urban like downtown but it is vastly better than what is replacing the Ponderosa.

As is the case all over the city and region nobody is taking the time to set a vision for the Hampton corridor. The one exception in the region is the Delmar Loop.

 – Steve Patterson

Poll: Will the Cardinals Winning the 2011 World Series Help Get Ballpark Village Built?

Before I start this post let me first congratulate the Cardinals on doing what few thought was possible a month ago. The boost to our civic pride will hopefully last a while. I also hope winning the World Series will help get something built at the long-stalled Ballpark Village.

The day the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2006 World Series they unveiled plans (see post) to build “Ballpark Village” on the site of the old Busch Memorial Stadium (1966-2005). Today the site is parking and a softball field.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-MS5l-S8yc

Yes the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008 and there have been times when it looked like it would start. I’ve lost track on the current status.

I’m just afraid it will still be vacant in another 5-15 years. It took 20 years for the Blues ownership to restore the Kiel Opera House. It was worth the wait but it also wasn’t a vacant hole in the urbn fabric all those years. Still, I’d rather Ballpark Village get built right rather than be rushed.

The poll question this week is: Will the Cardinals winning the 2011 World Series help get the proposed Ballpark Village built sooner? The poll is in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

Pedestrian Access Still an Afterthought at Loughborough Commons

By November 2008 the first of four outparcels at Loughborough Commons was finished — a Burger King.

No sidewalk was built to provide access to the two parcels to the east. Granted, at the time, the parcel to the west wasn’t built upon so the connection to the sidewalk system I fought for in 2005-06. Still it is clear the engineers that planned Loughborough Commons had no provisions for pedestrian access.

The lot to the west now was a Fifth Third Bank, it was under construction a year ago. During construction I raised the issue of pedestrian access. When it opened it did have an access route past the drive thru lanes to the front door facing Loughborhough.

When the bank opened pedestrians had a way to do their banking but not a way to eat at Burger King, not necessarily a bad thing I suppose. Once construction began on the parcel to the east they suddenly realized they needed to correct the earlier lack of sidewalk at Burger King.

Yesterday I took the #70 Grand MetroBus to Loughborough Commons to buy something at Lowe’s. While there I checked out the changes since my last visit. This was my first time there in my wheelchair. View Loughborough Commons in Google Maps here.

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Crosswalk stripes are still needed at the auto drives to Fifth Third Bank and Burger King. After I took the above picture I looked to my left and the last remaining out parcel. At some point they expect to connect it to this sidewalk, right?

They’ve already poured the curb with no provision for an accessible route to the last unbuilt parcel to the south. Talk about poor planning! When that lots sells this work will need to be changed, potentially interrupting this business.

Loughborough Commons is far better than it would have been had I not pushed the issue as it was being built. Still, problems exist that I will elaborate on in future posts. This shows what an afterthought pedestrian access really is. The civil engineers should be embarrassed.

– Steve Patterson

SLU Garage Keeps Sidewalk at Olive & Compton Dead

One hundred years ago the block at SW corner of Olive & Compton contained about a hundred buildings — flats and houses mostly. But also a very large indoor skating rink, complete with electric lights!  Those buildings, and the life they gave to the sidewalks, are long gone.

In 1998 Saint Louis University constructed a massive parking garage on this corner — over 180,000 square feet on the ground floor. It’s impossible to have a vibrant (and safe) street life with such a lifeless structure consuming so much length of the sidewalk.

Of course we must stop building in such a way that kills sidewalks. But what do we do here? What we aren’t going to do is recreate the structures that existed 100 years ago, time marches on.  The massive garage isn’t going anywhere due to remaining debt and need.

But rarely is anyone parked on Olive. Why would they? There are no businesses or residences  to visit.

That’s the solution — squeezing in occupied structures between the garage and sidewalk. The garage would likely require mechanical ventilation since a structure(s) would cut off natural cross-ventilation. Small storefront spaces would occupy the sidewalk level, excellent incubator spaces. Apartments on the 2nd & 3rd floors, an elevator & stair would be in the middle.

Yes, you can point out all sorts of issues but I challenge you to instead think of how to make it work because I’m not satisfied this sidewalk will remain lifeless.

– Steve Patterson

Midtown Warehouse “Improved” With Blank Walls

If we had decent codes in St. Louis the owner of this 1923 building wouldn’t have been permitted to make all the window openings into big yellow rectangles.

Yes, the owner invested in the building. Let’s just hope they don’t invest in others.

 – Steve Patterson