Please vote in the poll, located in the right sidebar
The poll this week is pretty straightforward, attempting to see if readers are more optimistic or pessimistic about the future of St. Louis. The poll is at the top of the right sidebar, results will be presented on January 1, 2014.
It’ll be interesting to see the results. It would also be interesting to see the demographics behind the responses – younger versus older, native versus transplant, city resident versus non-resident, looking at the city, alone, versus looking at the larger St. Louis region, current employment status versus long-term aspirations / career path, ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship status and political views, to name just a few. Obviously something that can’t be done in a simple poll, but would still help inform and interpret the results. I’m guessing that if you choose to be here that you’re more optimistic about the future than if you feel like you’re trapped here.
I am usually a diehard optimist, but I am really troubled by the Paul McKee Northside project of which so little planning information is available. It is a project that could be instrumental in St. Louis regaining its prosperity or it could contribute to the further stagnation of St. Louis.
If this is not the time to rethink how we are building the city then when is, fifty years hence when a majority of ecosystems have collapsed?
Even from only an urban quality standpoint what happens now is extremely important. There should be more transparency for the project than there is at this time. Let’s face it McKee has received millions upon millions of public money already and the Alderman just approved millions upon millions more. All without a plan. It is hard to believe a major investor (the taxpaying public) in McKee’s project has no say in what is happening.
So yes, it’s a real problem for St. Louis. The question does not seem to be on the radar of any news outlets nor City governance. This, even though potentially it is the most influential project to be undertaken in St. Louis in decades, in fact what exactly is it even comparable to?
So I have to come down on the side of being a pessimist. There appears to be no real leadership in the City, not about this issue or the many others that face St. Louis. It has come to the point in history where governing in a status quo mode is no longer acceptable.
McKee’s project is the best thing to happen to the Northside redevelopment area in 60 years. The man is putting up millions of his own money on a flier. More power to him! McKee’s investment in the city is a sign that things are getting better. Rather than the city front-loading the risk/cost of this venture, McKee put his own money on the line. Forget about the tax credits. Millions of McKee’s own dollars are at risk here, along with the (hopefully) leagues of other builders/developers to follow.
Without the tax credits, he never would’ve “put up his own money on the line”, so I’m not really sure how we can forget that he is using public money for this, and the public should have some say in this development for that reason.
The public has lots of say, but McKee was putting money into this area long before he had any assurance of tax credits. The DALTC (Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit) program was approved by the state of Missouri in 2007. Reports dating to 2003 indicate first site acquisitions in the Northside redevelopment area by the McKee shell company “Blairmont”. http://www.builtstlouis.net/northside/blairmont00.html
The public has had a say. The project was approved by the Board of Aldermen,
who were elected by the people. We live in a republic, where we elect persons
who are supposed to study the issues, react to citizen groups and then cast
votes in a regular procedural manner. This is far preferable to ceding
planning decisions to which group shows up a a public meeting and shouts the
loudest and longest.
AARP Livibility Index
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Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
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a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
It’ll be interesting to see the results. It would also be interesting to see the demographics behind the responses – younger versus older, native versus transplant, city resident versus non-resident, looking at the city, alone, versus looking at the larger St. Louis region, current employment status versus long-term aspirations / career path, ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship status and political views, to name just a few. Obviously something that can’t be done in a simple poll, but would still help inform and interpret the results. I’m guessing that if you choose to be here that you’re more optimistic about the future than if you feel like you’re trapped here.
I am usually a diehard optimist, but I am really troubled by the Paul McKee Northside project of which so little planning information is available. It is a project that could be instrumental in St. Louis regaining its prosperity or it could contribute to the further stagnation of St. Louis.
If this is not the time to rethink how we are building the city then when is, fifty years hence when a majority of ecosystems have collapsed?
Even from only an urban quality standpoint what happens now is extremely important. There should be more transparency for the project than there is at this time. Let’s face it McKee has received millions upon millions of public money already and the Alderman just approved millions upon millions more. All without a plan. It is hard to believe a major investor (the taxpaying public) in McKee’s project has no say in what is happening.
So yes, it’s a real problem for St. Louis. The question does not seem to be on the radar of any news outlets nor City governance. This, even though potentially it is the most influential project to be undertaken in St. Louis in decades, in fact what exactly is it even comparable to?
So I have to come down on the side of being a pessimist. There appears to be no real leadership in the City, not about this issue or the many others that face St. Louis. It has come to the point in history where governing in a status quo mode is no longer acceptable.
McKee’s project is the best thing to happen to the Northside redevelopment area in 60 years. The man is putting up millions of his own money on a flier. More power to him! McKee’s investment in the city is a sign that things are getting better. Rather than the city front-loading the risk/cost of this venture, McKee put his own money on the line. Forget about the tax credits. Millions of McKee’s own dollars are at risk here, along with the (hopefully) leagues of other builders/developers to follow.
“Forget about the tax credits.”
Without the tax credits, he never would’ve “put up his own money on the line”, so I’m not really sure how we can forget that he is using public money for this, and the public should have some say in this development for that reason.
The public has lots of say, but McKee was putting money into this area long before he had any assurance of tax credits. The DALTC (Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit) program was approved by the state of Missouri in 2007. Reports dating to 2003 indicate first site acquisitions in the Northside redevelopment area by the McKee shell company “Blairmont”. http://www.builtstlouis.net/northside/blairmont00.html
The public has had a say. The project was approved by the Board of Aldermen,
who were elected by the people. We live in a republic, where we elect persons
who are supposed to study the issues, react to citizen groups and then cast
votes in a regular procedural manner. This is far preferable to ceding
planning decisions to which group shows up a a public meeting and shouts the
loudest and longest.