Bike to Work Day Friday May 15th

Tomorrow, Friday May 15, 2009, is bike to work day, as part of National Bike Month:

May 15, 2009, Friday 6:30 – 9:00 AM
Join Trailnet for a continental breakfast during your bike commute to work! Three refueling stations:

• Missouri History Museum is located at Lindell Blvd. and DeBaliviere Ave. on the north edge of Forest Park. Look for the tents at the north entrance to the museum.
  View Google Map
• Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110. View Google Map
• Memorial Park in Clayton is located on S. Meramec Ave., between Forsyth Blvd. and Bonhomme Ave., in downtown Clayton. View Google Map
• Baked Goods provided by Companion Baking
• Big Shark Bicycle Company is offering Big Shark to Work Certificates to all of the riders at all 3 refueling stations “while supplies last”. These are worth $5 in shark bucks.
• Lone Wolf Coffee Company is donating one pound bags of coffee to the first bike commuter at each of our refueling stations
• In Partnership with: Bike St. Louis, City of Clayton, Companion Baking, the Great Rivers Greenway District, HOK, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum, City of St. Louis, St. Louis County Parks.  For more information call Trailnet at 314/416-9930 x 104 or e-mail Marc at marc@trailnet.org.

I work from home and suffered a stroke 15 months ago so…

Well, even I decided to get into the spirit this week:

I didn’t ride far but the important thing is I did ride a bit.  Here is proof:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7NDCIQVWPs

So if I can get myself onto a trike can’t you ride your bike to work tomorrow?

The Convenience Store Used to be the Corner Market

In the times before cars we didn’t have the “convenience store” like 7-Eleven.  Well, we did, we just didn’t call them convenience stores. They were simply the corner market:

Image from the Thomas Kempland Collection.

7-Eleven pioneered the convenience store concept way back in 1927 at the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas. In addition to selling blocks of ice to refrigerate food, an enterprising ice dock employee began offering milk, bread and eggs on Sundays and evenings when grocery stores were closed. This new business idea produced satisfied customers and increased sales, and convenience retailing was born! The company’s first convenience outlets were known as Tote’m stores since customers “toted” away their purchases, and some even sported genuine Alaskan totem poles in front. In 1946, Tote’m became 7-Eleven to reflect the stores’ new, extended hours – 7 a.m. until 11 p.m., seven days a week.  (Source)

Although 7-11 started in 1927, but it was not until 1952 that they opened their 100th store.  It took until 1960 to reach 500 locations but by 1963 they opened their 1,000th store.

The above Kroeger store at Virginia & Fassen (map) is long closed but there is a 7-11 a block to the South and a former 7-11 was a few blocks to the North.  Another within six blocks to the West.  We never totally lost the coener market.  They just morphed into places to drive too.

Media Barred From Public Meeting on Proposed Development in North St. Louis (Updated 3X)

Earlier today I got word of a meeting regarding Paul McKee’s development in North St. Louis.  I posted about the meeting and decided to go.

It looked like a public meeting:

However, the first order of business was an announcement that the meeting, about a development project,  was private and all media had to leave.  I stayed seated until a man came over to me and asked me to leave — saying Central Baptist Church was private property.  I left in shock.  Outside I found reporters from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,  KWMU radio and later KMOV that were not allowed inside.  I guess I was in good company.

The doors were locked so we could not enter the building.  The doors do have panic bars so people could exit.  While outside some regular citizens arrived.  They had to pound on the door to be let in.  Not all persons inside were residents of the two wards that had their Aldermen on the agenda (April Ford Griffin & Marlene Davis).  A third Alderman was present in the audience, recently sworn Alderman Antonio French from PubDef.org.

I’m no expert on Missouri’s Sunshine Law but I’m pretty sure this was a violation.  I’ve already filed a complaint with Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster.

Developer Paul McKee was not at the meeting but the agenda listed William Laskowsky of McKee’s McEagle Development company and a Mark Johnson from Civitas, Inc.  Alderman Davis told us the public meeting would be on the 21st, most likely at Vashon High School. McKee has substantial real estate holdings in North St. Louis.  Stay tuned.

UPDATE 5/11/09 @ 11pm. KMOV reporter Ray Preston blogged about not being able to cover the meeting.

UPDATE 5/12/09 @ 7:50AM – additional coverage

• Post-Dispatch reporter Tim Logan
• Saint Louis Urban Workshop

UPDATE 5/13/09 @3:30PM – response from Missouri Assistant Attorney General Daryl Hylton:

I appreciate and understand your concerns about the meeting referenced.  As I understand the situation, this “meeting” was facilitated by two alderman, so that developers could address concerns of the citizens impacted by the development   Missouri courts, however, have interpreted the sunshine law to not apply to actions of individual members of a government entity when acting independently without any authority of the body;  or to meetings of less than a quorum of the entity absent an attempt to avoid the purpose of the sunshine law. See Colombo v. Buford, 935 S.W.2d 690 (Mo. App. W.D. 1996).

So the meeting was allowed to be closed to the press.  While legal it is not good PR for a project that has yet to garner any good PR.

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Meeting(s) With Developer Paul McKee (Updated)

Word is spreading of a meeting tonight either about and/or with controversial “Blairmont” developer Paul McKee:

April Ford-Griffin has announced a meeting at Central Baptist Church (2842 Washington Ave) this coming Monday 5/11 at 6pm for neighborhood residents and Paul Mckee.

There may also be a second meeting, with tentative date on May 21, possibly at Vashon.

I’ve sent an email to Ald. Griffin (D-5th Ward)  to verify this information.

McKee, through various holding companies, has purchased quite a bit of land in the 5th Ward.  For a map to the church click here.

UPDATE 5/11/09 @ 7:35pm:

As the meeting started the first announcement was the meeting was private and all media had to leave.  I was seated at a middle table with others and a man came over and asked me to leave.  More in a new post shortly.  In the meantime check out the agenda.

MX Doesn’t Mark the Spot

In September 2007 the mood downtown was optimistic.  On September 27th Pyramid construction held a lavish street party as they opened the Laurel project in the former Dillard’s building.  Two years earlier, in September 2005, Mayor Slay was beating up on the then owner of the St. Louis Centre about the need to pull down the massive bridge over Washington Ave.  But at the party marking the grand opening of the Laurel it looked like the bridge might finally come down.

The area around the old downtown mall was being branded as the Mercantile Exchange:

A Pyramid press release tells of the heavy hitters as part of the project:

The MX will create a vibrant atmosphere in Downtown St. Louis, combining nationally-known retailers with a strong mix of local merchants. Apparel, furniture, exciting restaurants, entertainment, public art and intimate music venues are all planned. The new district will add 160,000 square feet of new retail space to the existing 300,000 square feet Macy’s.

Pyramid has aligned itself with General Growth Properties to bring the retail experience of the MX to life. General Growth’s portfolio includes St. Louis’ premiere indoor shopping mall, the Saint Louis Galleria, and the famed Water Tower Place in Chicago.

“We are very excited about the plans for the Mercantile Exchange,” said Mark Hunter, Vice President of Leasing and Client Services at General Growth. “We chose to be a part of this project because we believe in its ability to bring dynamic retail to the city of St. Louis. We look forward to working with the development team and government officials to bring the vision to reality.”

“General Growth is one of the most diversified and successful operators in the retail business,” Steffen said. “Their involvement in the MX demonstrates the untapped potential for exciting street-level retail in downtown St. Louis. We are delighted to have a company with such a sterling national reputation working with us on the MX.”

Pyramid is partnering with Spinnaker Real Estate partners LLC, based in Connecticut. Spinnaker is a national developer that has redeveloped several downtowns across the U.S. including the 3,000 unit development in the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon and a 70 acre mixed-use project on Long Island Sound.

Yes, that General Growth Properties, the over leveredged investment trust now in bankruptcy.  Pyramid went under in April 2008.    All that remains is shuttered buildings, that bridge that was such a big deal to Mayor Slay back in 2005, and fadding fading marketing materials.  MX doesn’t mark the spot.