Rethinking the North Grand Corridor for Jobs, Economic Opportunity

Grand Boulevard is one of, if not the most, important north-south streets in St. Louis. It connects north & south St. Louis to the east-west central corridor.  It carries our busiest MetroBus route, the #70.

After visiting the soon-to-close Schnucks at Grand & Kossuth last week it occurred to me the North Grand corridor could benefit from some comprehensive planning to bring needed jobs, housing, retail, etc to north St. Louis. This post isn’t a comprehensive solution it’s an introduction to the idea of concentrating efforts in a linear fashion along Grand north of Delmar.

POSITIVES:

1. Despite massive population loss in the city, especially north city, the areas near Grand remain populated, in-part because of the #70 MetroBus route.
2. The #70 MetroBus route will get five (5) higher-capacity articulated vehicles starting in June, by the end of summer all 12 will be articulated.
3. Vacant land ready to build on.

NEGATIVES

1. Few major institutions to help build support
2. Numerous problems: crime, poverty, unemployment, aging infrastructure & building stock
3. Lack of hope

We could list more negatives, as well as positives. In fact, taking stock of the area is a good first step.

Bringing real jobs to this area won’t be easy. I don’t think we should just sit back and watch as jobs and people continue to leave the area. This is a chance to do some grassroots planning.  Done right North Grand can have a more prosperous future.

 — Steve Patterson

Poll: View on the Origin and Development of Human Beings

Millions have been tuning in Sunday evenings to see COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey on Fox, Mondays on National Geographic. Since the March 9th debut the show some have been upset by the presentation of evolution rather than creation.

The Cosmos reboot was fairly generous as far as leaving room for religious interpretation goes. But apparently, one Fox affiliate station in Oklahoma City decided there was still just a little too much science talk for their liking, so they cut out the 15-second mention of evolution. (Gizmodo)  

That Fox station says the 15-second cut of evolution from the first episode was an “accident.” Right. The poll this week is from a 2012 Gallop poll, here’s a look at the question and answers:

Which of the following comes closest to your view on the origin and development of human beings?

• Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process
• Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process
• God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time in the last 10,000 years or so

The poll is in the right sidebar, the answers will be presented in a random order to each viewer.

— Steve Patterson

No Longer Car-Free

Two years ago I sold the 2004 Toyota Corolla I bought after my stroke, switching to transit for all my trips. I’ve saved tons of money, reduced my carbon footprint, learned how to get around the city by public transit, and had fun doing it.

In February last year my then boyfriend, now fiancé, moved in with me. We became a one-car couple, sort of. We never added me to his insurance policy, so I haven’t driven his car. Though I still take public transit, mostly MetroBus, there are many times he’d drive us places (store, dinner, etc). This week we bought a newer car together; we’re both on the loan, the registration, and insurance. He’ll be the primary driver since he works 5-7 days per week, but I’ll likely drive when we go places together.

Finding a car we liked that was eligible for a loan through our credit union wasn’t easy, they required it to be 2007 or newer or the interest rate would be substantially higher. They also wouldn’t lend on a car with more than 100,000 miles. We wanted a Honda or Toyota, but didn’t want to spend more than $9,000. With 90,000 miles, our Honda Civic EX met everyone’s criteria.

You’ll still see me riding MetroBus, but not as often.

— Steve Patterson

Some Possible Reasons Why the North Grand Schnucks Didn’t Make a Profit

Local grocery store chain Schnucks made a big announcement on Monday regarding a store they acquired in their 1995 purchase of the National chain:

Next month, the region’s leading grocer will have only one store in the city north of Delmar Boulevard.

The Maryland Heights-based company announced Monday it is closing its grocery at North Grand Boulevard and Kossuth Avenue, effective 6 p.m. May 10. (stltoday)

Here is the press release:

ST. LOUIS – Leaders of Schnuck Markets, Inc. today announced they will not renew the lease on the Grand and Kossuth Store (4127 N. Grand, 63107) in north St. Louis. The store will close permanently at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. No jobs will be lost; all 65 teammates will be transferred to nearby Schnucks stores.

According to Schnucks President and CEO Todd Schnuck, the 28,000-square-foot store has consistently operated in the red since it was purchased as part of the 1995 National acquisition. “Closing any store is a difficult decision particularly when we have invested so substantially in the 45-year-old facility including a $200,000 Pharmacy remodel just one year ago. Nothing we’ve done has helped improve the store’s performance.”

“Store Manager Roger Hines and Co-Manager Sharon Evans lead an experienced and dedicated team. Yet despite their best efforts and strong rapport with customers, the store continues to lose money,” Schnuck said. “While customers appreciate the offering we bring to the neighborhood, sales at this store will not offset needed repairs, escalating labor, utility and insurance costs.”

Currently, operating a total of nine stores within the city limits (including Grand and Kossuth), Schnucks continues to demonstrate its commitment to city residents. “In this particular location, we are challenged by lack of population growth and the opportunity to attract new customers,” said Schnuck. “We thank our customers and community partners for their support over the years and we will continue to look for more ways in which to deliver needed services to our customers in St. Louis City.”

Schnuck says that should the landlord entice another grocer to the site, Schnucks would leave the majority of the store’s fixtures in place. In the meantime, the company will start a sell down of goods prior to the May 10 close.

Pharmacy customers may continue to have their prescriptions filled through May 10. Additional information will be provided prior to the close.

Founded in St. Louis in 1939, Schnuck Markets, Inc. operates 101 stores (including Grand and Kossuth) and 95 in-store pharmacies in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa.

# # #

I’d been by this store numerous times, when it was a National I lived not far away in Old North St. Louis, but I’d never been inside. So the day after the announcement I boarded the #41 MetroBus, which stops on Kossuth right next to the store property.   Between downtown (14th & Washington) and the Schnucks a couple of passengers boarded the bus that got off at the Kossuth & Grand stop to do their grocery shopping.   Let’s take a critical look at this store to see why they couldn’t attract new customers.

Now you’ve seen the store, inside and out. Think anyone goes out of their way to shop here? Nope! Anyone pass other grocery stores on the way home from work shop here? Nope! Those who live near this Schnucks likely shop elsewhere if they have a car or access to another bus route.

An ALDI is located  just the other side of Fairgrounds Park, it was built in 1999, the Schnucks was built in 1968. Those who use the #70 route can just as easily go to the much nicer ALDI. Those who drive likely pass other grocery stores on the drive home from work, so they have nicer options. I worked at Union near I-70 when the Schnucks at Union & Natural Bridge opened in 1998, I’d go by sometimes at lunch to get a salad.

The Kossuth Schnucks lacks profitable departments like salad/olive bars, deli, prepared foods, floral, etc. The store is only 28,000 sq ft, about half of most newer Schnucks, but larger than the 21,000 sq ft Culinaria store downtown that has all those departments. A ALDIs doesn’t have prepared foods, floral, etc and manage with 17,000 sq ft stores, but their model is very different from Schnucks.

And hours is another big difference. The Schnucks at Union & Natural Bridge is open, like many Schnucks, from 6am-midnight every day. This allows customers to shop before or after work. The Kossuth store hours have been “Mon-Sat 7am-9pm, Sun 8am-8pm” which means many can’t shop there even if they wanted to.

Is Schnucks the bad guy here? For the most part, no. Schnucks doesn’t own the property, they’re a tenant.

The North Grand building is owned by Marvin Holdings LLC, which lists Mishaal Taqui as its organizer. It acquired the building in the fourth quarter of 2013 and offered to do about $100,000 in roof repairs, said Taqui’s spokesman, Glenn Jamboretz.

Taqui wanted a multiyear lease from the retailer and a small rent increase to offset the cost of the repairs. It had been renting the building year-to-year for about $6,100 a month, Jamboretz said. A sales incentive clause sometimes bumped that monthly payment up to around $6,500.

Schnucks said no thanks to the multiyear lease, and soon after, announced it would close. (stltoday)

The closure of this store will leave a void on the market, the Schnucks carries products the nearby ALDI simply doesn’t stock. Those who get their prescriptions here will need to find another pharmacy, perhaps the Schnucks at Union & Natural Bridge. I can imagine some who are transit-dependant moving closer to another grocery store or a different bus line. The landlord will need to do lots of work to attract a quality store, even then it doesn’t seem likely.

The site is ideal for a 3-5 story urban building with 100,000 sq ft of ground floor retail, much of which could be a grocery store. I’d like to see local upstart Fields Foods consider such a store.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Want Walkability and Long-Term Jobs at NorthSide Regeneration

Last week readers at least 135 readers took the poll, indicating what they’d like to see as priorities at Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration project. Here are the results in the order the software listed, two answers tied for the the top spot.

Q: Paul McKee’s “Northside Regeneration” project is slowly moving foreword, pick your top 5 priorities from the following:

1. Good walkability 76 [11.33% – TIE]
2. Jobs for locals: long-term work at various pay levels 76 [11.33% – TIE]
3. Rail transit connected to downtown 64 [9.54%]
4. Urban form with adequate parking behind buildings 60 [8.94%]
5. Safety 59 [8.79%]
6. Mixed uses, incomes 52 [7.75%]
7. Good street grid with short blocks 48 [7.15%]
8. Architecture that IS historic looking 43 [6.41%]
9. Hoodlum-free zone 39 [5.81%]
10. Renovation of the Clemens Mansion 35 [5.22%]
11. Many builders/developers, not just a few 33 [4.92%]
12. Good bikeability 24 [3.58%]
13. Something…anything ASAP 21 [3.13%]
14. Jobs for locals: short-term construction work 17 [2.53%]
15. Architecture that is NOT historic looking 11 [1.64%]
16. Easy access to highways 8 [1.19%]
17. Plenty of free parking 3 [0.45%]
18. Suburban planning, big blocks and cul-de-sacs 2 [0.3%]

I agree with most of the items in the top 10, very glad to see “Good Walkability” tie with “Jobs for locals: long-term work at various pay levels” at the top, followed closely by rail transit to downtown and urban form. I do take exception with one item: architecture.

I was disappointed “Architecture that IS historic looking” got 43 votes, but “Architecture that is NOT historic looking” only got 11 votes. Buildings in 2014 trying to look like they’re from 1914 end up looking cheesy.  Other cities do a great job building new urban buildings that relate to the sidewalk and neighboring buildings without being faux historic. We need to drop the expectation that every new building be given a bit of red brick on the front and a fake mansard roof on top.

— Steve Patterson