History Museum Applied For Demolition Permit Less A Month After Buying Delmar Property

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been looking into the Missouri History Museum’s 2006 purchase of property on Delmar from former mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., here is the issue:

The Zoo-Museum District board has questioned the museum’s 2006 purchase of a one-acre parcel on Delmar Boulevard from former St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. The museum spent $875,000 to buy the land and at least $100,000 more in additional expenses. (stltoday.com)

In most of their stories they refer to land but rarely mention the existing building, a former McDonald’s, was razed after purchase.

In a few stories I did find a reference to the building being razed after being purchased by the museum, but no concern about the loss in value as a result.  When you buy an occupied commercial property that had numerous big investments in the past few years that is part of what you are buying. Raze the building and you destroy some of the value.

But the boards must have taken that into consideration as they studied the options behind their new acquisition, right? Probably not. The Post-Dispatch says they closed on the property on Thursday November 9th, 2006. City records online say the sales date was the following Tuesday the 14th, maybe the actual recording date into city records.

The Wednesday after Thanksgiving, Bellon Wrecking Co applied for a demolition permit, estimating the cost at $10,000.   Permit #387069 was issued on January 23, 2007 and by February 27, 2007 the building was gone.

What was the rush? Couldn’t they have leased the restaurant to someone else while they raised funds for the community center? We know from the Post-Dispatch investigations there was little oversight into the purchase so the decision to quickly discard a functional building was also made in the same manner.

I’m curious how the improvements could be assessed at $67,800 in 1997-98, $60,200 in 1999-2000, -$2,800 in 2001-02, and $100 for the years 2003 through 2010. The other question I have is why the Missouri History Museum felt it was in their role to build a community center in the first place? Is a community center what is needed in the area? My guess is something generating property taxes, sales taxes and jobs for the community would be a better fit.

This site will be on the new Loop Trolley route, it needs density.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Optimistic or Pessimistic About The City+Arch+River Project?

By now work was to be underway remaking Kiener Plaza, but you may have noticed nothing is happening there. Work on designs and trying to secure funding has been ongoing though.

So far, around $57 million (the bulk of it is federal and state money) has been set aside to construct the lid in time for the Arch’s 50th anniversary in 2015. (KMOV)

We should see this “lid” work begin next year.

Three years from today a big party will be held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Arch, but the question in many minds is how much of the ambitious plans will be completed?

The poll question this week is are you optimistic or pessimistic about the project? This might mean are you optimistic it’ll get funded, that most will get built?     The poll is in the right sidebar, mobile readers need to switch to the full layout to see the sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Reading: To The Top! A Gateway Arch Story By Amanda E. Doyle, Illustrated By Tony Waters

Everyone loves the Arch, right? But kids especially seem curious about the monument, now there’s a book to help them understand it:

Take the children in your life on their own journey of discovery: tag along with Ella, her impatient little brother Jake, and their Grandpa as they explore the outside, inside, and very, very top of the Gateway Arch, on the Mississippi riverfront in St. Louis, Missouri. While Jake just wants to get to the top as fast as possible, Ella is intent on impressing Grandpa with everything she has learned about the landmark and its history. Together, the family discovers fascinating artifacts-a bison, a great grizzly bear, a tall statue of Thomas Jefferson-while Grandpa spins tales of his own memories, as a young man, of watching the Arch being built. More than just an architectural feat, the Arch embodies the history, culture, and spirit of westward expansion, exploration, and individual dignity. Don’t worry, they ?nally make it to the top . . . and what Jake wants then will resonate with your own young explorers! Amanda E. Doyle is an ardent St. Louis transplant, writes about the city for visitors and locals, and spends lots of time looking up with her own intrepid family. She is the author of the popular St. Louis title “Finally, a Locally Produced Guidebook to St. Louis, by and for St. Louisans, Neighborhood by Neighborhood.” (Reedy Press)

The book doesn’t address  the 40 city blocks that were cleared to make room for a monument before a competition was even held. That’s best left for a different book I suppose. This hardcover book is $16.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the final piece of the Arch going into place in 1965.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Should Follow Seattle’s Recycling Efforts

St. Louis needs to look at taking recycling to the next level, the way Seattle has done. Starting earlier this year restaurants in Seattle had to recycle — no more single-use packaging. This means use of items that can be composted.

The City hopes participation of the new ordinance will help prevent 6,000 tons of food service-ware and leftover food from entering landfills.

The compost process at Cedar Grove takes about eight weeks, depending on the time of year. From there, it sits a few weeks to darken before it can be sold as compost for use in gardens and landscaping. (source)

Seattle is the first to do this.

Some of you are now upset and having your right to produce waste infringed. As an equal member of society I shouldn’t be burdened by all the waste you produce.  Just look at the amount of stuff you discard at a fast food place that goes into land fills.

From Seattle’s website:

Composting and recycling items that used to be considered waste starts July 1 at Seattle restaurants, coffee shops, food courts, cafeterias and other food service businesses in a major change driven by a new Seattle ordinance.

Customers can now put napkins, paper bags, wooden coffee stir sticks and many types of take-away containers into new in-store compost collection bins. Hot and cold beverage cups and lids will now go into recycling containers instead the trash.

Seattle’s ordinance, which requires all food service businesses to stop throwing away single-use food service ware and packaging, takes effect July 1.

“With our requirement that food service packaging must be compostable or recyclable, Seattle has taken a big step toward a zero waste future,” said City Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “You have to ask yourself why we should make stuff just to throw it away. With compostable and recyclable food containers, we’re closing the loop.”

“For the past year-and-a-half Seattle restaurant businesses and the City of Seattle have collaborated to make the new food packaging requirements work well for the industry, restaurant patrons and the environment,” said Timothy Croll, solid waste director for Seattle Public Utilities. “We hope that customers in coffee shops and quick-serve restaurants will take a moment at the end of their meals to learn the new system. After a few months, we expect it will be routine for everyone.”

“By offering their customers recycling and composting choices, Seattle restaurants will help prevent up to 6,000 tons of food service ware and leftover food from being sent to the landfill every year,” said Croll. “That’s the equivalent of a garbage train more than 100 cars long that will just disappear.”

Taco Time, a northwest chain of 70+ locations, has started implementing these guidelines at locations outside the City of Seattle. National chains that operate in St. Louis & Seattle, like Taco Bell & McDonald’s, must comply.

— Steve Patterson

http://atyourservice.seattle.gov/2010/06/30/seattle-restaurants-switch-to-composting-and-recycling/

Hotel Has Used State-Owned Retail Storefront Rent-Free For A Decade

Last month I posted about a vacant retail space in a state-owned parking garage  (see: Storefront Still Vacant A Decade Later, Tax Dollars Wasted?). Some said perhaps the Renaissance Grand Hotel used the space for storage, but that didn’t seen likely to me. Well, turns out the retail storefront has been used by the hotel for storage rent-free for a decade!

The Missouri Development Finance Board (MDFB) built and owns the garage, the attached ballroom building has separate ownership. The vacant storefront is just to the south of the auto exits from the garage.

For a decade now the state has received $0.00 in rent for this space while visitors to St. Louis see a poorly papered over storefront. The MDFB mission is:

To assist infrastructure and economic development projects in Missouri by providing the critical component of the total financing for projects that have a high probability of success, but are not feasible without the Board’s assistance.

How does leaving this storefront vacant for a decade support their mission?  I talked with a hotel employee in the finance department who said if someone wanted to lease the storefront they’d remove their stuff. Retail spaces don’t lease themselves, it takes work to get tenants.

Even if the space was leased to a business for next to nothing it would be better for the city’s image of the city if it was occupied by an active business. — Steve Patterson