JZ71 says:

Put out an RFP – maybe Rally’s would be interested in building there?! http://rallysfranchising.com/building_options

But seriously, Metro / Bi-State, just like the city, isn’t in the business of being a developer. They’re land owners, they’re stewards of public property. They can be passive landlords, but government is rarely very successful when it comes to competing with private developers or retailers. We shouldn’t spend tax dollars just to “build something to hold the corner” (and here, there is no corner to hold, with a freeway ramp on the SE corner, the city hall parking lot on the NE corner and another plaza on the NW corner) – we need to use our scarce tax dollars wisely! You may view this plaza as “useless”, but when it comes to public space, using the same standards, Aloe Plaza, Memorial Plaza, Kiener Plaza, the Arch grounds and Lucas Gardens would be equally “useless” (since they don’t have street-level retail, either)!

Metro’s budget, for this or anything else, doesn’t come from profits, it comes from the sales, property and income taxes that all of us pay at the local and federal levels. And I, like most other taxpayers, want to see Metro focus on providing and expanding public transit, including pedestrian connections to their stations, not just building random stuff in hopes of attracting street-level retail. Much like Skinker-Debalivere, TOD “should happen” at many stations, but it’s all dependent on the private sector getting interested, seeing the potential to make a profit. Any serious, in-depth “planning” needs to wait until there are viable proposals, actual interest, otherwise it’s just mental masturbation and a waste of everyone’s time and effort. In the meantime, surface parking and useless plazas do a pretty good job as place holders.

For now, the focus does need to be on maintenance – for example, it would be a whole lot less expensive to replace the failing asphalt strips, here, with concrete, than to rip everything out and start over. And, contrary to your assertion, the plaza is not a wasted space when there’s a major event at Scottrade – it provides a space for large numbers of people to congregate before they enter the facility and to wait for public transit after the event. Does this happen as often as it should? No, but it does happen. If you want to talk about “wasted space”, head east and look at the space between the two on ramps. Look south, to all the unused land in the rail yard and on toward Chouteau. This may not be perfect and it may not be “urban” (enough?), but it does serve a needed purpose – go look at the space after a concert or a Blues game, not in the middle of the afternoon . . . .