A bank is now located at 14th & Washington Ave. Well, not exactly, a Commerce Bank ATM & surface parking lot now occupy this corner. In February 2007 the vision was much grander:
Metropolitan Development Enterprises is planning to build a $67 million, 22-story condo tower in the heart of the Washington Avenue loft district. The tower is the largest new-construction residential building proposed for downtown.
Chicago-based Metropolitan was expected to present plans to build the mixed-use building at 1400 Washington, on the site of Erlich’s Dry Cleaners, at a Tax Increment Finance Commission meeting Feb. 22. Metropolitan has requested $12 million of TIF for the project. (St. Louis Business Journal)
Rendering of the condo tower proposed in 2007The corner had old buildings when the project was announced.On October 10, 2007 a big deal was made about razing the old buildings. Click image for video of the first wall coming down.By May 2012 an attempt to do a 2-story office/retail building had also failed. Click image for 2008 article on the end of the Skyhouse projectMay of this year work began on the parking lotYesterday a sign company was adding another sign.
Surface parking is a good short-term land banking strategy. Now the land can bring in revenue until funding is fully in place for the next phase at this corner. I just hope that next phase begins within the next 5 years.
Over the years I’ve been asked how I find things to write about, the answer is always easy: I go places like the grocery store, to dinner, or, yesterday, to buy a gallon of paint.
Able-bodied pedestrians follow the green line but those of us in wheelchairs must follow the red
When cars are stopped at the stop line they still block the curb ramp. This is similar to a situation on Magnolia at Grand, I posted about it in 2007 (St. Louis Crosswalk Ignores ADA Ramps). That got fixed quickly by moving the stop line back, but this seems a bit more complex. The sewer inlet and light post (just out of frame) make a ramp a tight fit. Curb bulbs like a few blocks north on Grand would provide the space needed.
Event areas shouldn’t have curbs! Yes, in most areas curbs are necessary for water flow and keeping cars off sidewalks. Yesterday I posted about a conflict between major events and transit access, primarily at 14th @ Chestnut. Today is about curbs — actually my wish for no curbs when a festival area gets designed in the Gateway Mall.
The problem with holding events in an area not designed for events is crowd control and accessibility. Here crowd control blocks access to the curb rampsThe two blocks of Washington Ave feature a mostly curb-free design
When the two blocks of Washington Ave from Tucker to 14th are closed for an event the design doesn’t present accessibility issues.
Of course there are many other issues to consider when designing a festival area: power distribution, lighting, sound, sanitation, etc. Flexibility is important too. Event planners need to be a part of the planning & design process.
14th Street is a very popular north-south street through downtown St. Louis. Unfortunately, it’s too popular. Nearly every MetroBus that comes into downtown uses 14th just as nearly every event shuts down at least one intersection along 14th, usually at Chestnut, requiring many buses to reroute.
14th Street was closed between Clark & Pine recently for the Taste of St. LouisFrom Metro’s downtown detail map we can see the six bus routes that pass through the 14th & Chestnut intersection: 10, 32, 41, 74, 94, 97. The 4, 11, 30, 58x, 410x use 14th St south of Market14th Street closed at Pine on a thursday morning to set up for a weekend event
It seems like twice per month there’s a festival, concert, run, walk, bike ride, parade, or something that totally screws up the bus routes and schedules. All because the events shut down the primary route used by the buses. Because we’ve messed up our street grid for years by removing streets and making others one-way 14th St is the only choice for these bus routes. The reroutes that go into place are time consuming, making that route late everywhere it travels.
The solution is to remove the conflict, not close 14th St. How you ask? Not possible right now, but perhaps once the area is redesigned.
The Gateway Mall Master Plan calls the area around Soldier’s Memorial the “Civic Room”, click image to see section. 14th St separates the left third from the right two thirds+.
From the Master Plan:
The Civic Room will create a large unified space well-suited for civic events, markets, festivals and concerts. In order to achieve this, it is anticipated that Chestnut Street would be closed incrementally over time, beginning with temporary closures for festivals, and ultimately considered for permanent or seasonal closure. though still allowing emergency and service vehicles access. Chestnut Street should be still be hard surfaced with a paving different than surrounding areas, to accommodate tents and other services necessary for festivals. Locations for performance stages and cultural or art annexes should be provided to further define the civic character of the space and create attractions to activate the mall.
This is good, just the wrong location. Rather than Tucker (12th) to 15th I think it needs to be 14th to 17th or 18th. 18th St is a busy street but it doesn’t have any bus routes, close it for an event to combine with Aloe Plaza to 20th. But from 15th to 20th the space is narrow, from Market to Chestnut only.
If the St. Louis Streetcar gets funded and built, 14th St will need to stay open so I hope someone creative can find a way to hold events here while still allowing all transit vehicles continuous access to 14th St.
Transit is important but so are events. One shouldn’t be compromised by the other. Tomorrow’s post will be about design issues with the current area around the Soldier’s Memorial along with some possible solutions.
Construction workers are busy building a new child care center near the Wellston MetroLink station:
The Wellston Developmental Child Care Center is a key component of the Wellston Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative Masterplan. Located adjacent to a Metrolink Light Rail Sytstem (with which it will share parking) as well as being in close proximity to the Metropolitan Enterprise Center (a new job training center) will allow the Development Center to attain the goals of providing early childhood education in a depressed neighborhood, preparing children for the K-12 system, and providing day care assistance for parents training for new jobs.
The 14,650 SF building is oriented primarily on an E-W axis maximizing orientation for energy efficiency and daylighting. The building footprint had been placed on the site to minimize driveway length and take advantage of the adjacent public parking. Stormwater from the site will be handled by a series of micro-detention areas integrated with native landscaping. The program includes public, administrative, infant/toddler, classrooms and support spaces. (Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects)
I’ve requested the site plan & Wellston masterplan from the architects & county economic council, neither have been received.
Construction of the building in Powell Park, seen from the far end of the station’s park-n-ride lotLast year Powell Park was just a field that area residents cut through to reach the bus & train. Click image for post.The long used shortcut is now blockedFrom the parking lot we see the point where the shortcut comes through the greenery
The shortcut was the most direct path for pedestrians to reach public transit. It wasn’t even paved, but since 1993 it was heavily used. However, I support building on the field — especially facilities that’ll benefit the community.
How will pedestrians now reach the station?
Rather than cut through the field to the right, pedestrians must now walk along Werley AveJust past the construction fence is the west edge of the large station parking lot.Turning east we see the parking lot, the station is at the bottom of the hill. The stop for the #94 MetroBus is on the left
The new child care center will use the existing parking, rather than have a separate parking lot. Still, the parking lot remains a divider between train, bus, residents, and new child care center. It’s possible pedestrian routes will be constructed in the parking lot to connect these elements. Without pedestrian connections the new construction is just transit-ajacent, not transit-oriented.
Once I see an actual site plan I’ll post an update.
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