A Look at the Butler Brothers Warehouse

For over six years now I’ve had a decent view of the 17th Street facade of the massive Butler Brothers warehouse also bounded by Locust, Olive, & 18th (map).

So when a neighbor posted a link to  ‘718,000sf Butler Brothers Building Set for Residential Redevelopment’ on our condo association listserve I was very interested to hear the development plans. Is residential development imminent? Nope.  The owner has simply listed the property with a different commercial brokerage.

This was the peak of the condo boom downtown, developers were grabbing buildings as fast as they could. The sheer size of Butler Brothers, however, presented overwhelming challenges to potential developers. The Ely Walker building, on the opposite side of my building, was just being finished as lofts by Orchard Development Group of Chicago.  Ely Walker was very large, but not as big:

Originally known as the Ely and Walker Dry Goods Company Building, this seven story building is second only to the Butler Building in overall size. (National Register Nomination — Washington Avenue Historic District)

Part of the marketing in 2007/2008 was also trying to sell the building to a developer like Orchard or Pyramid, but the bottom was falling out. In April 2008 Pyramid went under and in September the stock market crashed. Since then buildings have been rehabbed, now as smaller rental units. Orchard couldn’t sell all the condos in the Ely Walker so their marketing switched to rental.

The market has recovered somewhat, though not for new high-end condos. The existing resale market is coming back, prices have mostly recovered.   That said, nobody is building new for sale loft condos.  The market is good for rental units but with a building this size I’m not sure about such a large number of units coming on the market. Figuring out the right price range(s) and construction/permanent financing will be tricky, seller financing is an option though. Tax credits will be part of the picture:

The property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is presently approved for State and Federal Historic Tax Credits to support redevelopment costs.

Well, not exactly. The building isn’t listed individually on the national register, but it’s a contributing structure in the Washington Avenue Historic District. As a contributing building any redevelopment might qualify for historic tax credits. Like prior years, some in Jefferson City want to cap historic preservation and low-invome housing tax credits.

Let’s go for a walk around the building…

As an immediate neighbor I hope the building sells quickly and gets redeveloped, but I’m not going to hold my breath in the meantime. If the proposed streetcar on Olive moves forward I think interest in this property will as well. There’s plenty of room for structured parking inside, but the streetcar would connect it to the CBD, Midtown and CWE.

— Steve Patterson

Last Remaining Corner of Tucker Project

The rebuilt of Tucker from Washington to Cass is nearly complete, traffic in both directions has been open for a while now. However, crews are still working to finish the last bit of work — the NW corner of Tucker & Washington.

Both sidewalks are being replaced as part of the project. But these sidewalks are far more complicated because of how the building was built in 1901. Like a number of other buildings downtown, the basement was allowed to extend past the property line, under the public sidewalk.  This comlicates matters greatly when replacing sidewalks. Sidewalks usually rest on compacted dirt but here people park their cars under the sidewalk.

It looks like this corner will be done and the barriers removed just before the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge opens to vehicular traffic on Sunday February 9th.

Here’s a couple of prior posts on the Tucker project:

• May 2012: Tucker Tunnel Not Quite Gone
• December 2012: Tucker Tunnel Now Completely Opened Up

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Racial Discrimination Still Exists

More than 65% of those who voted in the unscientific poll last week indicated they witnessed and/or experienced racial discrimination:

Q: Have You Witnessed or Experienced Racial Discrimination Within the Last Two Years?

1. Yes, witnessed 31 [36.9%]
2. No 27 [32.14%]
3. Yes, experienced & witnessed 20 [23.81%]
4. Yes, experienced 4 [4.76%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 2 [2.38%]

When I originally posted the poll my expectations were too optimistic. Part of my optimism is likely because I’ve been out of the office workforce for nearly a decade now. Work remains.

— Steve Patterson

Crossing Tucker at Olive

I’ve written before that Tucker south of Washington Ave needs to be redone. Here’s a reason why: the ADA ramps are incomplete putting pedestrians like me in harms way.

Tucker is excessively wide so crossing it is bad enough, but when there’s no ramp you have to wait for traffic to break so you can use the north-south ramp. A ramp could be added here but this part of Tucker needs curb bulbs like the revolt stretch north of Washington Ave.

Of course bad situations exist all over the city.  As I go to various places in the city I encounter similar problems. I’m not sure how the city prioritizes which streets get new streetscapes, and when. It may take a while…

— Steve Patterson

CORTEX TOD Study From October 2012 Now Online

Last month I wrote Cortex District Needs A Pedestrian Circulation Plan Before IKEA Is Built knowing a master plan was in the works, or had already been approved.  Still, I couldn’t find a copy online. I began emailing CORTEX directly, and then others, until January 10th when I got the response I was looking for:

Good morning, Steve:

John Hoal forwarded me your query about the Cortex Station Area Plan report. I spoke with SLDC, who confirmed that the report was not, in fact, posted on-line. The report has since been posted to SLDC’s website, and the link to the report materials is included below.

http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/sldc/documents/CORTEX-Transit-Oriented-Development-Study.cfm

Thanks, Steve. Please let us know if you have any additional questions or require further information.

Best regards,

Timothy Breihan

H3 Studio

Turns out the report was finalized in October 2012! Fifteen months later, after my inquiries, it was made available online.  This work was funded by tax payers and should’ve been made available when finalized:

The work that provided the basis of this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through East-West Gateway Council of Governments. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government or the East-West Gateway Council of Governments. (Page 2)

Ok, it’s online now so let’s take a look:

From the objective at the start:

Originally developed as a light-industrial enclave, the CORTEX district faces major challenges moving forward to make itself feel welcoming, pedestrian-friendly, and fundamentally connected to its surrounding neighborhoods and amenities. (Page 6)

[snip]

The Transit Oriented Development Study (TOD) for the CORTEX District (the Study) seeks to establish projections for net new riders on the MetroLink light rail system over a 20-year planning horizon resulting from the construction of a new MetroLink station in the CORTEX District. This Study is focused on proposed ridership projections based on planned investments in CORTEX and the surrounding areas. Metro Saint Louis Transit and the Bi-State Development Agency (Metro), owners and operators of the MetroLink and MetroBus transit systems, have established target thresholds as goals for proposed stations.

This station will be an invaluable asset in the future development potential of both the CORTEX district and the region-wide MetroLink system. The proposed station has the potential to function both as a transit option for current and future area residents and employees, as well as a major amenity and connective element for the surrounding neighborhoods and residents. In order to capitalize on years of public and private investment and attract and retain the best and the brightest, it is imperative that development in the CORTEX district unlocks the latent potential present in the district’s enviable location in the heart of Saint Louis. The City of Saint Louis, Metro, and CORTEX possess a significant opportunity to recreate the district as a key link between surrounding neighborhoods, with the ability to tie these neighborhoods together with public spaces, great pedestrian streets, mixed-use development, and multi-modal transit access. (Page 6-7)

The first “consensus issue” surrounding CORTEX is listed as:

1. Forest Park Avenue is perceived as unfriendly to bikes and pedestrians for east-west travel and crossing. (Page 11)

Really? The planning process gets into trouble when too much weight is given to public input. Forest Park Avenue has what they want to create one block south on Duncan Ave.; on-street parking which separates traffic from pedestrians, tree lawns with mature trees, etc. But a few neighbors that probably don’t walk indicated they don’t like Forest Park Ave., possibly because they were steered that way, so it’s dismissed as an east-west pedestrian route.  The crossings do need to be improved to get people into the CORTEX District and to/from the proposed MetroLink station.

Under “scenerio 1” to increase transit ridership they list:

Focus TOD residential and mixed-use development between Sarah Avenue and Vandeventer Avenue and extend planned Duncan Avenue streetscape improvements east to Vandeventer. (Page 14)

But the proposed IKEA will prevent the new pedestrian-friendly Duncan Ave from reaching Vandeventer Ave, occupying most of the residential/mixed-use development area. Will this plan be amended to deal with that new reality? This is why major streets (Forest Park Ave.) shouldn’t be ignored in favor of expendable streets (Duncan Ave). Are ridership projections still valid with a large mixed-use area on the east side of the proposed station?

Let’s continue:

4. ENSURE PEDESTRIAN AND BIKE CONNECTIVITY, SAFETY, AND COMFORT

Transit-oriented developments and districts rely on safe, comfortable, walk-able and bike-able streets and public spaces to provide access to transit. In the CORTEX district, streets are currently designed to give preference to vehicular traffic; most streets have only a 36-foot curb-to-curb width, which accommodates only two travel lanes and two parallel parking lanes. In addition, sidewalks are only 4- to 5-feet wide, pedestrian right-of-ways are often obstructed by utility poles and other infrastructure, and there are few street trees or other pedestrian amenities. Given limited right-of-way width and vehicular traffic restrictions, enhancing bike and pedestrian connectivity, safety, and comfort will need to occur on some streets while vehicular service requirements are accommodated on others. Actions to achieve this strategy include:

• Create “pedestrian first” streets and vehicular-centric streets through the district.
• Repair all sidewalks and maximize sidewalk width in all locations.
• Provide planting strips and/or tree lawns on all streets.
• Relocate utility poles and other infrastructure out of pedestrian right-of-ways.
• Provide lane-width, shared lane markings (“Super Sharrows”) on all streets.
• Provide parallel parking on all streets.
• Provide street trees on all streets with a maximum spacing of 40-feet on-center.
• Provide pedestrian-scaled street lights with a maximum spacing of 80-feet on center.
• Provide trash receptacles, benches, bike racks, safety call boxes, and other street furniture.
• Provide ADA-accessible curb cuts, oriented perpendicular to the street, at all intersections and crosswalks.
• Provide pavement changes at all crosswalks. (Page 22)

Well “pedestrian first” is mentioned earlier (p13) and later on pages 69 & 119, yet nowhere does the report define “pedestrian first”.  To be fair, “vehicular-centric streets” isn’t defined either,  but I think St. Louis has that one down.

The big pedestrian push is Duncan Ave., which will terminate unceremoniously into the side of the IKEA:

A potential major east-west corridor within the CORTEX District is Duncan Avenue, which runs from Sarah Street and Vandeventer Avenue to the east and the Central West End MetroLink Station and Barnes Jewish/Washington University Medical Campuses to the west. Where Duncan Avenue intersects with Boyle Avenue is the heart of the CORTEX District with the CORTEX building to the north and the Solae building to the south. (Page 78)

It does include a list of existing conditions.

ASSESSMENT OF EXISTING SIDEWALK AND STREET PAVEMENT CONDITIONS

BOYLE AVENUE CORRIDOR

• Overall, the street pavement is in poor to fair condition with alligator cracking, sections where base pavement is exposed, and numerous patches of pavement.
• Curb material varies with either granite or concrete curb. Concrete curb is usually in sections where sidewalk has been replaced.
• The standard curb height of six inches occurs mainly in sections where sidewalk has been replaced. Remaining sections of curb are less than six inches due to overlaying of street pavement.
• The sidewalks are mainly in poor to fair condition with broken and uneven pavement. Numerous patches occur in the sidewalk pavement due to underground utility improvements. In areas where new construction or street improvements have occurred at street intersections, the sidewalks are in good condition.

TOWER GROVE AVENUE CORRIDOR

• Some sections of Tower Grove Avenue have been newly overlaid with asphalt leaving them in good condition. Most other areas of the street pavement have alligator cracking, sections where base pavement is exposed and numerous patches of pavement and should be considered in fair to poor condition.
• Overall the sidewalks are in poor to fair condition with prevalent pavement cracking and uneven areas. Some sections of sidewalk have been replaced at intersections with road improvements. Where new building has occurred, new sidewalk has been installed.
• Curbing in this section of Tower Grove Avenue is mainly granite curb with concrete curb occurring at street intersections. Overlaying of the street pavement has reduced the height of the curb to less than six inches.

NEWSTEAD AVENUE CORRIDOR: FOREST PARK PARKWAY TO CLAYTON AVENUE

• The street pavement is in fair to poor condition with numerous patches, large amounts of alligator cracking, and sections of exposed base pavement.
• The sidewalks are in fair to good condition. Decorative medallions have been added to the sidewalk. A short section north of the MetroLink tracks has uneven and cracked pavement, and the east sidewalk from Forest Park Parkway to Duncan Avenue has some remnants of a sidewalk in places.
• Curbing material overall is composed of granite, but some areas closer to Forest Park Parkway are concrete.

DUNCAN AVENUE CORRIDOR: NEWSTEAD AVENUE TO SARAH STREET

• The street pavement is in poor condition with numerous patches, large amounts of alligator cracking, and sections of exposed base pavement from raveling top mat of asphalt and potholes.
• The sidewalks are in fair to poor condition. There are several sections of sidewalk which have been replaced, and those are located on the north and south sides of Duncan Avenue at the CORTEX and Solae Buildings and parking lots as well as the West End Lofts parking lot near the intersection of Sarah Street and Duncan Avenue.
• Curbing material mainly is composed of granite except in the sections of the CORTEX and Solae buildings. (Page 82-83)

No mention of the problem at Duncan & Newstead.

HIERARCHY OF STREET USAGE BY PEDESTRIANS AND BIKES

From Stakeholder meetings with neighborhood committees and residents, City agencies and other concerned parties a hierarchy of primary pedestrian and bike routes were determined to help aid in the development of a Street-Level Connectivity Plan.

East-West Pedestrian Corridor: Laclede Avenue and Chouteau Avenue (Most Preferred) Forest Park Parkway (Least Preferred)

North-South Pedestrian Corridor: Newstead Avenue and Euclid Avenue (Most Preferred) Boyle Avenue and Taylor Avenue (Least Preferred)

East-West Bike Corridor: Chouteau Avenue (Most Preferred) Duncan Avenue (Least Preferred)

North-South Bike Routes: Newstead Avenue (Most Preferred) Vandeventer Avenue (Least Preferred (Page 85))

Hopefully you’ll be able to find detail I missed.  To me this is a plan filled with buzz words that’s already being ignored a year later, business as usual. I’ll repeat: CORTEX needs a pedestrian plan because this isn’t close.

— Steve Patterson