The New Highlands Development Replaced The Arena Next Door To The Original Highlands

The Highlands was an amusement park on the current site of the St. Louis Community College Forest Park campus (see Fire Cleared Forest Park Highlands, St. Louis Community College Forest Park Opened 7 Years Later).  Today The Highlands is a real estate development on the site to the west, the longtime location of The Arena.

According to the book “St. Louis Day by Day” by Frances Hurd Stadler, The Arena was dedicated on September 24, 1929 (Wikipedia says 9/23/1929). The former home of the National Dairy Show was razed in 1999 after the Blues hockey team began playing in the Kiel Savvis Scottrade Center.

A business / residential development now occupies the land that the St. Louis Arena called home, including:

Two apartment buildings featuring loft-style units

A Hampton Inn Hotel

1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, an office building home to—among other business—the St. Louis group of Clear Channel Communications radio stations (KSLZ, KMJM-FM, KBWX, KATZ, KLOU, and KSD). A grass plaza, with an oval grass section surrounded by concrete sidewalks now sits at 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West at the location where the original Arena stood.

The Krieger’s Sports Grill on the site closed in early 2008 and subsequently reopened as “The Highlander Pub & Grill” in September of the same year. (Wikipedia)

This post is a look at how the site was redeveloped after The Arena was razed. Let’s start with an aerial overview.

The green center mentioned in the quote and shown above is much smaller than the former Arena, you can compare them at historicaerials.com. The green is smaller but I appreciate the idea and arranging buildings around a central lawn can be powerful. The following photos were taken on the afternoon of Monday July 9, 2012.

I want to continue on Oakland Ave and work our way back to the center.

Now let’s take a look at the building facing Oakland Ave on the east side of the drive as well as the hotel and restaurant.

I was on the adjacent campus of St. Louis Community College after I left the Highlands and saw someone walking with lunch from the Jimmy Johns restaurant in the building with the retail spaces. The Highlands isn’t friendly to those who live or work there and it’s unwelcoming to those on the outside.

Additional housing will soon be built on the remaining vacant land  south of the central lawn:

Balke Brown brought in Humphreys & Partners, a prolific design firm based in Dallas, as the Cortona’s architect. The five-story building will have an exterior “reminiscent of an Italian villa,” with earth-tone panels, the developer said.

When completed in early 2014, the Cortona will have nearly 200 one-bedroom apartments and 80 two-bedroom units. A large courtyard will have a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse, a saltwater swimming pool, an outdoor kitchen and a spa, the company said. (stltoday.com)

Given the fact Balke Brown started with a blank 16 acre site adjacent to a college campus I’d say they did a poor job creating interesting public space. Perhaps it’s sufficient enough to please their investors and those Gen Y types that are afraid  to live in authentic neighborhoods.  Living in a generic office park isn’t appealing to me. Here’s a promo video for the lofts which look like suburban apartments.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CP4bc_OUVs

(view on YouTube)

I just don’t get it.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts On The Not Yet Open O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex

The $21-$22 million dollar O’Fallon Recreation Complex has been finished for a couple of months now but the facility remains closed.  This facility is the north side equal to the facility that opened in Carondelet Park on November 19, 2009:

The City of St. Louis wanted a new community recreation center on the City’s North Side to serve as a youth and elderly outreach facility, encouraging all ages to be engaged in the community. St. Louis City officials determined that there was significant interest in the North St. Louis area to support this new facility. The project is being funded by a one-eighth-cent sales tax approved by city voters in 2008.

The O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex is designed to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certification for environmental design and sustainability. “This new project shows the City’s commitment to improving the quality of life in North St. Louis,” says St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. “This building will be an amenity for nearby neighborhoods and will provide a fun, safe place for children, adults and seniors to go after school and on weekends. It will help make the community healthier, and will help make our northside neighborhoods better places to live and work. The positive impact of this investment will be enjoyed by the community for years to come.” (St. Louis)

But the operating agreement between the city and the YMCA have yet to be approved.

Alderman Antonio French says Mayor Francis Slay has cut a bad deal for his residents. French says the contractor hired to run the facility — the YMCA — wants to charge his residents and the city government too much money, yet can’t assure him needy children will get in for next-to-free. (stltoday.com) 

And the other side:

Jeff Rainford, Slay’s chief of staff, calls the rec center project the mayor’s “baby” and says he’s not sure why French, who was previously happy with the YMCA’s fee schedule and management proposal, is suddenly holding up the bill. The YMCA says they’ll be able to open the center 90 days after the bill is approved.

“Halfway through, he pulled the bill and started criticizing the mayor,” says Rainford. “We want people to be able to use it. It’d be a crying shame to build this palace on the hill and no one can use it.”

Rainsford [sic] says there will be 1,300 guaranteed scholarships given to kids and their families, 650 will be distributed by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, which is supposed to partner with the Y to provide children’s activities. In order to obtain the lower $25 membership, parents will have to show cause for need and bring in a pay stub or W-2 form. (Riverfront Times)

One issue French told me is YMCA formula for calculating a lower fee, the YMCA says their formula is proprietary information. French says that’s fine for other facilities but not one built with tax money and receiving $1.2 million per year operating subsidy.

Right now both sides have dug in their heels:

The YMCA is lined up to operate the rec center. But city aldermen are raising concerns over a $1.2 million subsidy it would need. That’s $500,000 more per year than an estimate done eight years ago.

It’s not clear exactly where the money will come from.

Slay’s office says under a current plan, 1,300 young people would get a $25 dollar- a-year membership for the center.

Alderman Antonio French says he wants commitments in writing. (KMOV)

No shortage of options:

There’s been a lot of back-and-forthing about who would pay what to use the facility and what discounts might be offered to low-income families. Mr. French told us he’d be satisfied if low-income families paid 60 percent of the planned family rate of $55 a month, or $33 a month. If 5,000 low-income families took advantage of a $22-a-month discount, $110,000 a year would be needed.

Here’s a plan: If all the civic groups and corporations who have bemoaned the lack of recreational opportunities in north St. Louis bucked up, 110 grand would be easy.

Mayor Francis Slay’s office thinks Mr. French is playing politics. He is a paid consultant to Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who might challenge Mr. Slay for his job next year. Opening a new rec center on the north side before the March primary election might benefit the Slay campaign. (stltoday.com editorial)

So what do you think? Take the poll in the right sidebar (mobile users need to switch to full website). Poll results on Wednesday October 3rd along with my thoughts on the controversy and a look at pedestrian access to the facility.

— Steve Patterson

Seating For All

For many years the establishment Flannery’s Pub at 1324 Washington Ave has had sidewalk seating. Unfortunately, those seats have been tall seats & tables.

When I started this post it was going to be to thank them for adding regular height tables so the rest of us could eat alfresco.

But thursday night I passed by and these tables I photographed a few days earlier were gone already. What’s the big deal? With help I can get into a high stool but for many that’s not an option. Restaurants need to offer some regular height seating indoors and out.

— Steve Patterson

Culinaria’s Dock & 9th Street Garage Hostile To Pedestrians On Locust

When Desco built the 9th Street garage to support their renovation of the Old Post Office they didn’t design is for a grocery store, even though Desco is Schnuck Markets development arm. If you’ve shopped at Culinaria you’re well aware of the shortcomings inside.  If you’ve walked there you’re likely aware of them from the exterior too.

This time I saw the truck on my way to Culinaria so I stayed on the north side of Locust. Other times I was blocked, I even had to wait once while a truck backed in.

That’s the loading dock, before then is the vehicle exit from the parking garage.

Pedestrians are told through falling signs to use caution because of exiting vehicles. Some garages have an audible sound to alert pedestrians when the gate goes up to allow a vehicle to leave. Not here. Well, I’m sure motorists are cautioned to look for pedestrians.

Nope! Nothing on the ramp to remind drivers to look out for and to yield to pedestrians.  If an audible sound were to go off when the gate goes up that would also help alert drivers to pedestrians crossing their exit route.

Warn the pedestrians about cars but not warn the drivers about pedestrians. Figures.

— Steve Patterson

Update: Park Ave Sidewalk Now Passable

In March I blogged about an ADA issue I spotted from a MetroBus (see: New Driveway Makes Sidewalk Non-ADA Compliant (Updated)). Curbs for the driveway prevented passage in a wheelchair.

The update to that post was this:

This will get fixed as part of a project titled 8496 BROADWAY & 7TH STREET IMPROVEMENTS (PARK AVENUE TO I-55 OVERPASS),FEDERAL PROJECT STP-5422(612), ST. LOUIS, MO : that will have a pre-construction conference on March 7th. Still, this shows clear lack of oversight on the part of inspectors to allow something like this to get built in the first place.

As the city told me, the began right away. I still haven’t visited since the work is just wrapping up, but I’ve been watching as I pass by on the bus.

Once construction has finished I’ll visit the area and take a critical look at the finished product.

— Steve Patterson