THF Big Box vs. Planned Creve Coeur Downtown

This story caught my eye back in July:

THF Realty, a major developer of Walmarts and other big-box stores, is sniffing around the Orchard Lakes subdivision just north of Creve Coeur and near busy Olive Boulevard and Interstate 270.

A company representative met with subdivision trustees on June 3 to discuss a potential buyout of the entire subdivision, according to a subsequent letter from the trustees to subdivision homeowners. (STLToday)

Not surprising since vacant highway-adjacent parcels no longer exist. The subdivision of 256 single family homes is adjacent to I-270, extending more than half the distance from Olive to Page.

ABOVE: Blue box indicates Orchard Lakes, click to view map in Google Maps

THF Realty wants to make sure all those motorists driving on I-270 can see the generic big box development they are planning.

ABOVE: View of I-270 from Orchard Lakes subdivision

I knew where the subdivision was located but had never driven any of it’s streets, so last month I drove each street in the subdivision.

ABOVE: Orchard Lakes entrance sign

I grew up in a subdivision of similar vintage as Orchard Lakes. From a check of St. Louis County records these houses were built between 1961-66.   There is nothing particularly unique about the homes or the subdivision itself. With a few exceptions, all the homes looked well maintained. Many have newer windows and roofs.

The ranch houses of Orchard Lakes are typical of others from the period in the St. Louis region.

Few sidewalks exist in this subdivision, it’s not at all urban. Not rural either, decidedly suburban. There is no orchard, probably never was.

ABOVE: The only "lake" at Orchard Lakes is a decent pond at best.

There are lots of very nice mature trees though.

ABOVE: Leaving Orchard Lakes to the south the sign reads: Creve Coeur welcomes you.

Orchard Lakes is in unincorporated St. Louis County – barely. Creve Coeur has annexed commercial property along Olive Blvd but they didn’t want the adjacent residential areas. For a while now Creve Coeur has been planning to remake Olive & Ballas into their downtown.

In April 2002, the City of Creve Coeur adopted the Comprehensive Plan. Together, with the Pedestrian Plan and Design Guidelines, these plans set a standard for protecting community assets and strength- ening community character. Among the numerous recommendations made in the Comprehensive Plan are several for the Central Business District. Specifically, the Comprehensive Plan recommends the creation of a downtown (or town center) in the vicinity of the Olive-New Ballas intersection. (Plan PDF)

Orchard Lakes is just north of their proposed downtown/central business district:

The strong real estate market in Creve Coeur is anticipated to continue to be a basis for strengthening residential areas while at the same time stimulating major reinvestment in aging or underutilized commercial areas.

Clearly Creve Coeur’s planners didn’t envision the surrounding residential getting replaced by high traffic big box. To a degree this is what Creve Coeur gets for incorporating only the commercial areas along Olive, but not the adjacent residential to the north. Will be interesting to see if either gets built.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Should zoning laws allow kids to sell cookies, lemonade, etc in front of their homes?

The St. Louis region made the national news this month:

In Hazelwood, Mo., Carolyn Mills and her daughters, Abigail, 14, and Caitlin, 16, have sold Girl Scout cookies from their driveway for years. But after a neighbor complained that the cookie stand created too much traffic and was causing dogs to bark, city officials told the Millses that selling cookies there violated the city’s zoning code.

Hazelwood officials say scouts are allowed to sell cookies in the city but must go door to door or set up at a place like a grocery store parking lot (with the store’s permission). So while the front yard snack stand is one American tradition, the lawsuit is another. The girls urged the family to sue, and it did. (NY Times)

Other national coverage:

• Perez Hilton
• Huffington Post

But the lawsuit didn’t go far:

CLAYTON • A St. Louis County judge [Circuit Judge Maura McShane] has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the mother of two Hazelwood teens who were ordered last spring to stop selling Girl Scout cookies in front of their home.

In her dismissal, McShane wrote that the Mills first should have exhausted their appeals asking the city to reconsider barring cookie sales before taking the case to circuit court. (STLtoday.com)

This  recent history is to introduce the poll question this week: Should zoning laws allow kids to sell cookies, lemonade, etc in front of their homes? The poll is in the upper right corner of the blog. Results on Wednesday August 31st.

- Steve Patterson

Civic Space in Rock Hill Missouri

ABOVE: Rock Hill Public Library at 9741 Manchester Road

The Rock Hill Public Library is just down the street from the Rock Hill City Hall. Both are located in generic strip centers, with the library in the newer of the two.  One benefit is each is near food, the library has a pizza buffet next door while city hall is next to a chop suey place.

With the most important civic spaces in a municipality just a storefront among many it is no wonder they don’t care to save the historic 19th century church I posted about on Tuesday. How could I expect this community to value history, good design, or anything without a massive asphalt parking lot?

- Steve Patterson

Rock Hill to Trade Namesake for Gas Station & Convenience Store

Pretend for a moment the modest stone church at the the NE corner of Manchester & McKnight was built in 1945. It would be old enough to be historic just based on age. In reality, though, the church was built by slaves in 1845. The City of Rock Hill, where the church is located, took it’s name from the church. Serious history!

Rock Hill has foolishly agreed to allow a developer to raze the recently vacated church for a gas station and convenience store. Seriously.

The 1845 limestone church, located at McKnight and Manchester roads, could very well be razed to make way for a gas station and convenience store. Rock Hill Presbyterian Church is one of the earliest churches to be established in the greater St. Louis area. Until August 2010, it was the oldest Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi to hold worship services on a continuous basis in the same structure, according to a history from the Rock Hill Historic Preservation Commission.

U-Gas, based in Fenton, has reached a purchase agreement with the property owner, Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Inc.

Adjoining the church on the same property is the city-owned Fairfax House. The house was built between 1839 and 1842.

Plans call for the house to be moved to the northern end of the two-acre tract, with the move paid for by U-Gas. Bill Biermann, the attorney representing U-Gas, spoke at the July 5 board of aldermen meeting. (Source)

Incredibly shortsighted! It sounds like the purchase agreement is contingent on being able to build the gas station, so it may be possible to save the last bit of history in the area.

ABOVE: The modest church was rebuilt following a fire in the early 20th century

However, the developer must wait  6 months to see if someone can be found to relocated the stone structure. In the meantime, those seeking gas in the area will have to hope they have enough fuel to drive 825 feet further west, or another 1,200 feet beyond that.

ABOVE: Former gas station across McKnight to the west

The Fairfax house has been moved three times already, the most recent in 1997 from property across Manchester Rd.

The lovely timber frame home known as Fairfax is built to fit the Golden Mean in architecture. The appealing structure of four rooms joined with a central hallway is held together with tenon joinery, its frame resting upon massive oak sills hand hewn on site. Each window and door is delicately held together with a series of carefully placed hand carved wooden pegs. Delicately carved muntins lay across the panes of glass in the double hung window sashes. A brick lined food cupboard reaches floor to ceiling in the dining room and two massive Rumford Chimneys reach from cellar floor through rooftop. The hand turned newel post is still pinned underneath the first floor visible from the basement after being in constant use for some 160 years! (source)

The house would be moved a fourth time.

ABOVE: in the background is the 1950s addition designed by P. John Hoener & Associates and the Fairfax House

To see the architect’s sketch of the addition click here.

ABOVE: Fairfax House

I propose that, if the church is razed, the city change it’s name to one of the following:

• U Gas Hill
• Gas Hill
• Sprawl Hill
• Un-Rock Hill

Driving through Rock Hill is pretty depressing, these two structures are the only thing pleasant along this stretch of Manchester Rd. Take them away and there will be no relief from the sprawl.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on the Regulation of Food Trucks & Carts?

ABOVE: Customers lined up to buy pizza from Pi on Locust St recently

Saw this bit of information last week about a new regulation regarding food trucks in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights:

The code requires rolling merchants to operate within health regulations and have a trash receptacle available. They may operate only on occupied properties, with the owner’s permission, and only while the primary establishment is operating or for 12 hours, whichever is less. Also, they may not establish a stand within 25 feet of a public road. (STLtoday.com)

Unlike urban places, I don’t think Maryland Heights has any on-street parking, except maybe in residential neighborhoods. Still, food trucks are booming in St. Louis:

The food truck trend has hit St. Louis with a bang, with more trucks than ever now trolling the streets to serve up everything from pizza to tacos to cupcakes to hungry St. Louisans willing to track down their mobile meals on Facebook and Twitter. (Sauce Magazine)

Cities, including the City of St. Louis, are grappling with how to regulate food trucks and other food vendors. Health regulations seem a no-brainer but the issue of where they are or are not allowed to vend is the big issue.

ABOVE: Mangia Mobile at the recent GroupHugSTL event

Officials may long for the day when the most mobile food vendors just had a stainless steel hot dog cart.

There are 190 food-service establishments in downtown St. Louis, and some restaurateurs fear being pushed out of business. “Inherently, it starts out being unlevel, because of the cost to operate a food service in a truck versus an established lease,” said Maggie Campbell, president and CEO of Partnership for Downtown St. Louis. While food trucks reflect the vitality of the neighborhood, Campbell wants to make sure their presence doesn’t end up hurting brick-and-mortar restaurants. “The most ideal outcome would be for food trucks to enjoy being downtown and have a strong enough customer base to invest in a storefront,” she said.

So there you go, regulation isn’t about public safety, it’s about protecting other businesses. Pi has two locations in the City of St. Louis and will open a downtown location at 6th & Washington in the Mercantile Exchange bldg (formerly known St. Louis Centre).

ABOVE: Sarah's Cake Stop vending at a recent event downtown

I personally love street food from carts and trucks.  I’ve purchased food from all four trucks pictured in this post, but I understand the need to have some regulations in place so it’s not a free for all (like valet parking).

ABOVE: The Fire and Ice Cream Truck is often on 9th Street in Citygarden

I recently started a Street Food STL list on Twitter to help track the growing number of trucks and other mobile food vendors.  The newest truck on Twitter is literally the oldest:

The Fire and Ice Cream Truck beat the food truck trend by a few years, quietly selling locally made ice cream from a rehabbed vintage fire truck along the riverfront. But now the truck has joined the fray, moving to a semi-permanent location on Tenth [Ninth!] Street between Market and Chestnut, in the middle of Citygarden (Ninth and Market streets; 314-802-9571 or citygardenstl.org). And it couldn’t be more perfect. (Riverfront Times)

The poll this week seeks to find out reader’s thoughts on efforts to regulate mobile food vendors. The poll is in the upper right corner of the blog, results will be published Wednesday June 29th.

- Steve Patterson

Pedestrian Access Route Completed at Schlafly Bottleworks

Last October I posted about the lack of a pedestrian route to reach the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.  Pedestrians were forced to walk in spaces designed for cars, not people.  Pedestrians deserve their own route separate from crossing through automobile parking lots.  Furthermore, American’s with Disabilities Act guidelines requires such:

4.3.2 Location.

(1) At least one accessible route within the boundary of the site shall be provided from public transportation stops, accessible parking, and accessible passenger loading zones, and public streets or sidewalks to the accessible building entrance they serve. The accessible route shall, to the maximum extent feasible, coincide with the route for the general public.

Failure to provide this route is a civil rights violation, as well as being very anti-pedestrian.

I’m happy to report Schlafly has just completed constructing an access route!

ABOVE: new paving leads the pedestrian from sidewalk toward the building entrance.

Schalfly knows good  food & beer, not pedestrian access.  Responsibility to plan for pedestrian access falls to the architects & engineers hired by business owners. Unfortunately too many of these professionals fail their clients and the public by not considering how the pedestrian on the sidewalk will reach the front door.

ABOVE: Bottleworks in October 2010

I’m convinced that if design professionals actually informed their clients of the need to provide a route for pedestrians we’d see buildings get placed closer to the public sidewalk to reduce the expense of the concrete.  My preference, of course, would be for the buildings to abut the sidewalk — with no parking in between. Building codes must get caught up so this becomes something plan reviewers and building inspectors will check for.

In the meantime I’ve got thousands of business & property owners to persuade to do as Schlafly has done. I’ll probably start with Schlafly’s original location, The Tap Room, located in west downtown.

- Steve Patterson

Readers Split on New Urbanist Village at Nearly Dead Jamestown Mall

ABOVE: Two of four anchors remain open at Jamestown Mall; Macy's & JC Penny

As I expected, there was no consensus among readers on the poll last week:

Q: Thoughts on the Plan to Raze Jamestown Mall and build a New Urbanist Village?

1. The sooner we rebuild auto-centric suburbs into walkable communities the better 23 [21.7%]
2. Nice concept but will probably require too much public subsidy 18 [16.98%]
3. Huge waste of time, money and energy to try to make the suburbs walkable 16 [15.09%]
4. The mall is privately owned, St. Louis County shouldn’t be involved at all 14 [13.21%]
5. New Urbanism is artificial urbanism 13 [12.26%]
6. Other answer… 11 [10.38%]
7. Government must change the zoning to do anything different with the site. 6 [5.66%]
8. unsure/no opinion 4 [3.77%]
9. Jamestown Mall should not be razed 1 [0.94%]

For a while the huge waste of time answer was in the top spot, glad to see it drop to #3.  The reason St. Louis County is involved is the property is located in unincorporated St. Louis County.  The county is taking a proactive step in figuring out what is best for the area so that zoning and other land-use laws can be modified to ensure what happens at the site is what the community wants.

1. the development area is in a far corner of NoCo, right idea, wrong place
2. Seems too far removed from major pop. to be worth the money.
3. The plans formulated today will someday fail just as those of our forefathers.
4. They should build an Ikea there instead
5. Return it to greenspace
6. Wrong location, location, location.
7. If we don’t redevelope, we’ll soon be a community of empty shopping ce
8. Turn it into something different.
9. Downzone to agriculture/mix. Anything but this dumb idea!
10. Location, location, location!
11. Work with the active business owners to create a revitalization plan

To me the site is the ideal location for such a retrofit. I visited the mall before my original post, arriving on a MetroBus from the Hanley MetroLink station.  I was impressed how busy the bus was all along Lindbergh. I’ve visited the area again during the poll, this time I drove up 367 from North St. Louis and then south on Lindbergh (67) when I left. Google Maps is a great resource but it is no substitute for seeing a place first hand.

ABOVE: The area north of Lindbergh Rd is still pretty rural

To many living in a new home where they can walk to shops and be surrounded by a green ring is idea, very English.

ABOVE: New home under construction less than 3/4 of a mile west of Jamestown Mall

And new homes are being constructed very close to the mall, mostly along Lindbergh Blvd.  The above example is on Misty Crossing Ct, in the Misty Hollow subdivision.

Pure economics dictate the mall site will never be agriculture or green space ever again, the four concepts for the site included one that was pretty green.

ABOVE: The "Garden Suburb" is one of four concepts for the site. Click image for PDF report

The “Garden Suburb Plan” is the most green of the four, although most leave the SW tip undeveloped. Note the existing houses immediately to the south and west of the site (aerial view). Two dead end streets for the existing Fox Manor subdivision would be connected to the redeveloped site in this plan and two others. Currently the adjacent Fox Manor subdivision has only one way in or out – directly onto Lindbergh Blvd. These existing homes would now be connected to other homes and businesses.

The comments on the post were interesting but often way off base like these poll answers.

- Steve Patterson

Sprawl in South County 20 Years Ago

In 1991 I took these three pictures somewhere in south St. Louis County. The three pics were taken from the same spot rotating from left to right.

At the time it was a new subdivision.  Note that some homes have front-facing garages while others have rear-entry garages and paved backyards.

I just wish I could remember the location so I could return. Maybe it is best I don’t know, I’m sure they lovely rolling hills in the background has now been destroyed by two decades of “progress”.  I’m also pretty sure all those new streets still lack shade trees.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on the Plan to Raze Jamestown Mall and build a New Urbanist Village?

ABOVE: A customer leaving Jamestown Mall yesterday

Jamestown Mall (map link) isn’t even 40 years old but St. Louis County officials are ready to put it out of it’s misery:

Jamestown Mall opened in 1973 offering regional commercial merchandise on the suburban fringe of St. Louis, in anticipation of residential development moving into the area. The anticipated residential units never materialized and unfortunately, in recent years, new regional shopping destinations that are located closer to larger populations of shoppers have degraded the effective trade area of Jamestown Mall, causing a decline in sales and foot traffic. Over time, the quality of merchandise offered has declined and is now misaligned with the needs of the North County community. Today, although two of the mall’s anchor buildings are occupied, its other two anchor buildings are vacant and portions of the mall have been walled off to reduce the appearance of vacant space. (Executive Summary PDF)

The idea is to raze most of the mall and build a New Urbanist village following one of four concepts: The traditional neighborhood development plan, the garden suburb plan, the central common plan, or the park & village plan:

The Traditional Neighborhood Development Plan features a block and street network creating a complete village. A diverse village center is focused on the northwest parcel and could extend to the plaza at the center of the neighborhood. This scenario develops the site fully including the southern parcel by Coldwater Creek. The operating anchor stores remain as the village center and neighborhoods develop around them. If the existing anchor stores close, the parcels can be redeveloped to create a more complete neighborhood. As with the other scenarios, a diversity of housing is offered including townhomes, live/ work units, duplexes, multi-family buildings and small homes on private lots.

The Garden Suburb Plan features curvilinear streets, center median boulevards, and larger parks and retention areas throughout the village. Neighborhoods are planned around a network of enhanced natural systems that connect throughout the site and to the natural flowways of Coldwater Creek through the open space systems of neighboring subdivisions. Retail is contained within the northwest parcel, resulting in a focused amount of neighborhood retail. The plan identifies a potential location for a sports complex prominently on Lindbergh Boulevard. The southern portion of the site is illustrated with an amphitheater and a large park that would connect to the Great Rivers Greenway trail system.

The Central Common Plan starts with the premise that all of the mall property comes under single ownership of a master developer. This scenario allows the property to be developed in a manner irrespective of the existing property lines, roadways, underlying infrastructure, and buildings. With more freedom to form plan geometries, a larger central gathering space surrounded by shops and townhomes, similar to Lafayette Square in St. Louis, could be possible. It should be stated that any of the four scenarios would benefit from and could be implemented under single ownership and a master developer.

The Park & Village Plan is one in which portions of the site are transformed into a regional park while others are cleared of their existing conditions to reduce blight, but are held until economic conditions are more favorable to development. The northwest parcel could develop with a small village center with a neighborhood serving retail and expand in the future. Farming may continue on the eastern outparcels. This scenario could be considered an interim stage to the other development scenarios.

The St. Louis County Economic Council has detailed information on the proposal here.

ABOVE: Most of the food court is closed, only four stalls still operate

Alex Ihnen writing at NextSTL has advocated a “no build” option, taking a hands-off approach:

Reinventing suburbia is sexy somehow. I guess we have a general idea that something’s wrong with it. But this reinvisioning never really touches on roads or cul-de-sac neighborhoods, no, when we talk of a new suburbia we’re speaking of rebuilding retail. Add in a couple apartments and voila, it’s a Live-Work-Play (maybe even Pray) community. It’s also a ridiculous and wasteful idea.

No where is this absurdity highlighted more than with the current effort to build a new development on the 142-acre Jamestown Mall site.  (THE NO BUILD ALTERNATIVE FOR JAMESTOWN MALL)

The Post-Dispatch touching on doubt for the proposal:

Jamestown Mall, after all, is still open. It has a Macy’s and a J.C. Penney outlet, a movie theater and perhaps two dozen stores along its cavernous concourses. County leaders say they want to involve those businesses in whatever comes next. The site itself is owned by five different entities, in nine chunks. Assembling the land under one owner would make redevelopment easier but will cost money. And the development itself could cost $300 million, according to a rough estimate attached to the plan. (STLToday: Makeover for Jamestown Mall is unveiled)

The reality is 142 acres is a very large site and five ownership entities isn’t that many. The land has been developed for nearly 40 years but the five owners couldn’t do anything different with the site without significant changes to the outdated Euclidean zoning in the region, and that site specifically.

The proposed replacement of this dead mall is the topic of the poll this week.  To vote see the upper right of the site.  On June 8th I will post the poll results and give my reasons for supporting the New Urbanist village concept.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Should Zoo-Museum Institutions Offer Discounts to City & County Residents?

Interesting story in the paper last week:

Property owners in St. Louis and St. Louis County paid more than $70 million last year for the region’s premier arts and culture attractions. But when it comes time to visit institutions funded through the zoo-museum tax district, they’re often treated the same as people who didn’t pay a dime.

Now, a member of the public board that supervises the 40-year-old tax district is asking whether that’s fair.

Gloria Wessels recently suggested that four of the five institutions funded by the zoo-museum district offer discounts on parking, concessions and special exhibits to visitors who live in the taxing district. If necessary, those discounts could be funded through price increases for visitors who live outside the district, she said. (STLToday)

Gloria Wessels is the wife of long 26-year alderman Fred Wessels (D-13). Should those of us who pay taxes to fund these attractions get a little something others don’t? The Missouri Botanical Garden already allows city & county resident in for free on Wednesday & Saturday mornings.  The article points out the logistical nightmare of trying to verify who would qualify for free parking.  Besides the last thing we need is to encourage is more cars trying to get to the zoo & museum.

During its thirty-seven years of operation the District’s annual tax revenue has increased from $3.9 million dollars in 1972 to more than $72 million dollars in 2009. In recent years, approximately 85% of the tax revenues come from the County taxpayers while City residents provide 15% of the District’s tax revenues.

The expansion of the number of Subdistricts from three to five is indicative of the success and vitality of the original concept of a tax supported cultural district. Today, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District is, perhaps, the largest tax supported cultural district in this country. It is a model that other cities have often attempted to emulate. (mzdstl.org)

The five subdistricts are the Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Zoological Park, Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Science Center and Missouri History Museum.

The poll this week asks you to weigh in on this issue. The poll is in the upper right of the blog.

- Steve Patterson