‘Sunday Morning’ Showcased Century/Old Post Office Issue

This mornings CBS News ‘Sunday Morning’ showcased preservation battles in three cities, New York, a Chicago suburb and here in St. Louis.

I like that CBS showed the National Trust for Historic Preservation advertisement about trying to save a school from being torn down for a parking garage. The same National Trust has done a 180 and now finds it acceptable to sacrifice one historic building for another. They need to change their name to the National Trust for Every Other Historic Preservation.

Among the many points that couldn’t be made in such a segment is parking could have been built on the vacant lot on the North side of the Old Post Office. Yes, three sides of the Old Post Office had spectacular original buildings while the fourth side had already lost its historic structure and now serves as a surface parking lot.

Another key point is the historic Century could have been modified to to serve as a parking garage. Thats right, if parking was so critical to the success of the Old Post Office why not place it in an existing building? The simple answer is the developers would have made less money from development fees and other development incentives!

Part of the picture is that for decades we’ve been alterting our downtown, city and region in the name of progress — read: the car. Streets have been widened. Buildings razed for parking. Lots of buildings gone for lots of parking. Leaders in other cities have learned from their similar mistakes and begun the process of mending. But not in St. Louis. Our “leaders” are decidedly old-school.

Parking is still king in downtown St. Louis. The city still bends over to take whatever the suburban monied set wants to do downtown. Oh they’ll brag about all the new downtown loft residents, of which there are many, but when it comes to setting a vision for an urban and walkable downtown the residents take a back seat. We need change at city hall — top to bottom. Elected, appointed and staff. We need to start over.

– Steve

I Was Wondering Today

Is the City of Sunset Hills Violating Missouri Sunshine Laws?

I received the following notice via email today:

The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen called a special meeting today to consider giving Novus Corporation an extra 20 million in TIF funds in addition to the 42 million it has already voted. This meeting is in direct violation of the Missouri Sunshine Law and the Attorney General’s office should be notified. It was posted yesterday afternoon which is not in in accord with the Law. All those throughout the metro area are encouraged to come at 4:00PM to the Sunset Hills Municipal Building at 3939 S. Lindbergh. The announcement can be found on Page 14 of today’s Post-Dispatch.

The applicable section of the Sunshine Law is ” 610.020 #2″ related to notice of meetings. “Notice …shall be given at least 24 hours ,exclusive of weekends and holidays when the facility is closed, prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical….”

What municipalities won’t do for big developers…

– Steve

Moonlight Ramble® Raises Thousands for Hosteling, But Where is the Hostel?

Since 1964 the Gateway Council of Hosteling International has held the “world’s oldest and largest night-time bike ride” known as the Moonlight Ramble®. For years the event has been a huge success attracting thousands of riders. This years ride is Saturday August 20th at midnight. But I’m not here to promote the ride. Instead, I’m questioning where the money has gone each year.

“The Gateway Council is the local branch of Hostelling International located at the corner of Big Bend and Clayton road in St. Louis. This office serves a region that includes Missouri, Northern Arkansas, Eastern Kansas, and Southern Illinois.

Recent history has seen the Gateway Council take its place as a leader among councils in the United States. Outdoor recreational programming has been and continues to be the strength of the local council. This strength lends recognition and vitality to the organization that now begins the task of adding a strong hostel and travel component to the mix.”

“Now begins the task of adding a strong hostel?”

WTF? The organization covers all of Missouri as well as parts of Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois and they are looking to add a hostel? That is right! This “hosteling” group that has been holding a major fundraiser for four decades has no hostel in its service area including major cities of St. Louis and Kansas City not to mention smaller cities like Springfield & Jefferson City, Missouri.

This is not to say we don’t have a hostel in St. Louis, we do. The Huckleberry Finn Youth Hostel is located at 1904-08 South 12th Street
Saint Louis, MO 63104 (314) 241-0076. Before I get people saying this hostel is part of Hosteling International or that it is closed let me set the record straight.

I called the Huck Finn hostel and spoke to a very friendly woman that gave me some insight on their operation. This hostel has been privately operated by Tom & Sheela Cochran for over 20 years. In 2005 they severed their association with Hosteling International. The hostel is dorm style with over 30 beds available for $20/night. A $5 key deposit is required. A kitchen is available if people want to cook their own meals. Most occupants arrive in St. Louis via Greyhound bus. As a result most are dependent upon our mass transit while in our area. Some, like a recent visitor from Japan, arrived via Amtrak with his bike. Another recent visitor was from Korea. I think it is fair to say that traveling youth often judge a city by its hostel.

What does it say that our Hosteling International Council operates a hugely successful annual fundraiser yet doesn’t operate a hostel? To me it says we’ve been suckered into supporting a ride with the impression that we’re supporting hosteling. In defense of the Gateway Council they do seem to appear to have a long list of local bike rides and hikes. Outdoor activities is certainly a part of the mission of Hosteling International.

Reading through the Gateway Council’s newsletter archives I found a number of references to a new hostel. All reference hoping to open a hostel by 2007. It appears attempts were made to purchase and renovate one of our many closed schools for a hostel. A 2003 annual report (page 2) says the national organization is not focusing on creating new hostels so the local group is on their own. I found one site on cheap places to say in the St. Louis area which said, “They have just signed a contract on a building in downtown St. Louis and hope to have a 100 bed, year-round facility close to Union Station by the spring of 2002.” So they’ve been trying to open a hostel for quite a few years?

Volunteers? Well, not exactly. The current newsletter lists a number of staff members. Their office is located at 7012 Clayton Road, 63117. Their website has a link to donate which switches you to a site where you can see detail about the organization before you make a donation. This site and report is located here. It is quite telling.

At the end of their 2003 fiscal year (March 31, 2003) they were over $18,000 in the hole (liabilities vs assets). A year later they were ahead by over $6,000 with an annual profit of over $24,000. Not bad but certainly a long way away from building and operating a hostel. Unfortunately this site has not been updated with their financials for the year ending March 31, 2005. With numerous corporate sponsors and over 12,000 riders a year I’m baffled more money isn’t available to fund a hostel.

Registration this year is $25 for adults and $10 for children for probably at least $200,000 in registration fees. Corporate sponsors add another $20,000 to the take. Booth rentals bring in additional money.

I’ve only done the Moonlight Ramble® once and I have to say it was fun. Seeing that many bicyclists in one place is inspiring. So if you plan to do the ride I think you’ll enjoy doing so. Just don’t be fooled into thinking you are supporting a local hostel.

[UPDATE 9/20/05 @ 7:30AM – A couple of additional thoughts I didn’t mention above. Hostels are a key ingredient to local tourism. Collecting hotel tax on expensive hotel rooms is important to our tax base. Having a steady stream of young folks interested in using our mass transit and learning about out city cannot be ignored. These young people are potential students at our educational institutions and more importantly they are potential residents. Supporting a local hostel should be a priority to St. Louis.

I don’t know if this means helping the existing Huckleberry Finn Youth Hostel or aiding the Gateway Council of Hosteling International in acquiring and operating a new hostel. If the latter it is clear they will need to set up a capital campaign and hopefully earmark a portion of the funds raised from future Moonlight Rambles® to go into this fund rather than their general operating budget. This capital campaign may also require some corporate and foundation support. I’d like to see some assistance from the hotel community and the Convention & Visitor’s Commission.]

– Steve

CBS’ ‘Sunday Morning’ To Look At Landmark/Preservation Issues

Sunday August 21, 2005 Martha Teichner, Sunday Morning Senior Correspondent, will look at three recent landmark/preservation issues in New York City, Chicago and St. Louis.

NYC’s Two Columbus Circle, a 1964 modern building designed by Edward Durell Stone, has been the center of controversy among preservationists over a plan to raze/alter the structure. The Landmarks Preservation Commission has, so far, refused to even hold a public hearing to consider the building for Landmark status.

Chicago’s North Shore has seen a rash of McMansions built on the sites of more modest houses, including some significant mid-century modern homes.

In St. Louis preservationists lost a battle to save the Century Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, for a parking garage. Much of the controversy around this project was the fact the National Trust for Historic Preservation sided with developers in razing the historic marble-clad structure citing it was necessary to save another historic building, St. Louis’ Old Post Office.

‘Sunday Morning’ airs at 9A.M. Eastern/8A.M. Central.

– Steve