Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge Ribbon Cutting Saturday Afternoon

This coming Saturday those willing to brave the cold weather can walk/bike/jog across the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Here’s information on Saturday’s events:

• 8 a.m. – 6K Run. Details on cost, where to meet and registration are available at: bigriverrunning.com/bridgerun.
• 10 a.m. – Cycling Time Trials. Space is limited. Details on cost, where to meet and registration are available at bigriverrunning.com/bridgerun. In addition, those interested can participate in the biathalon, which allows them to compete in both the 6K run and the cycling time trials.
• Noon – the bridge opens to the public.
• 2 p.m. – ribbon cutting ceremony.
• 3 p.m. – Ceremonial first crossing. Participating in the crossing is limited to various military and classic car groups. All available spots for the crossing are filled.
• 4 p.m. – The bridge closes to the public.

You must be registered to be on the bridge before noon.  Additional information can be found at http://www.newriverbridge.org, including a shuttle bus from the Convention Center MetroLink.  I’ll probably take a regular MetroBus.

Still hard to believe this day is almost here.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Flag Approved 50 Years Ago Today

In less than two weeks St. Louis will celebrate its 250th birthday, but 50 years ago today the city officially adopted a new flag design, replacing a 48 year old design from 1916:

The design submitted by Professor Emeritus Theodore Sizer, Pursuivant of Arms at Yale University, and now on file in the office of the City register is approved, adopted and designated as the official flag of the City. The flag with a solid red background has two broad heraldic wavy bars, colored blue and white, extending from the left top and bottom corners toward left center where they join and continue as one to the center right edge. This symbolizes the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Over the point of confluence a round golden disk upon which is the fleur-de-lis of France (blue) calling attention to the French background of the early city and more particularly to St. Louis of France for whom the City is named. The golden disk represents the City and/or the Louisiana Purchase. (Heraldically, the disk is a “bezant” or Byzantine coin signifying, money or simply purchase.)

The flag’s colors recall those of Spain (red and yellow or gold), Bourbon France (white and gold), Napoleonic and Republican France (blue, white and red), and the United States of America (red, white, and blue). (St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 1.20 Official Flag)

As far as I know, the design is universally loved. For more on prior St. Louis flags see my post from four years ago.

The flag is so beautiful we have one hanging in our loft.  The flag’s designer died three years later in 1967 at approximately 75 years old (Find-A-Grave). So happy 50th to our city flag and happy 250th to our city!

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Your thoughts on the number of St. Louis Police districts being reduced from nine to six

For decades the Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department has had nine districts.  Effective last Monday the number was reduced to six. A week ago Chief Sam Dotson wrote on his blog:

The redesigned police districts will be more fully staffed, more streamlined, more efficient and more precisely balanced in terms of calls-for-service and crime numbers. The new system more readily lends itself to our core strategy of hot-spot policing. The transition has given us an opportunity to re-assign key personnel and give the new districts more cohesive and well lead management teams.

And yet for all the history-making significance of redistricting, the impact on the public will be so minor, I doubt most people will even notice.

You can see maps on Dotson’s proposal here.

I know St. Louis often resists change, so the poll this week asks for your thoughts on the number of St. Louis Police districts being reduced from nine to six. You can take the poll in the right sidebar. 

— Steve Patterson

Another Parking Meter Test Starts Monday

The previous St. Louis Treasurer, Larry Williams, conducted limited testing of modern parking collection technology on South Grand in 2006. There were a couple of blocks of pay-per-space and a few pay-n-display. (FYI: In St. Louis the treasurer is responsible for parking revenue.)

What’s the difference between the two types?

• With pay-per-space each fixed-length parking space is assigned a number. After parking you walk to a nearby pay station, enter the space number where you  parked, and pay.
• With pay-n-display you park, walk to a nearby pay station, buy time, return to your vehicle and display  the receipt on the inside of the windshield.

Each has pros & cons compared to each other and against individual meters. In 2006 it was concluded neither pay-per-space or pay-n-display were right for St. Louis. I say the design of the test was flawed — only 2-3 blocks of each and they were next to each other. Someone might park in front of a store and use pay-per-space and a few days later park a block away and use pay-n-display.

Monday St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones will announce new pilot programs testing new parking technology. The treasurer’s office director of communications, Deborah Johnson, told me via email:

The city has previously tested “pay-n-display” units, where the customer must walk to the unit, print a ticket, and walk back to their car to display the ticket. The multi-space units this pilot is testing will use the “pay by space” method, where the customer types in the 4 digit space number they are parked in and does not have to return to their vehicle to place a ticket. Instead, the system automatically monitors and communicates with enforcement officers.

I reminded her both pay-per-space & pay-n-display were tested simultaneously.

In response to another question she said:

The pilots are in four locations in the city: 10th Street between Chestnut and Washington; Broadway and Pine; Euclid and Laclede; and Euclid and Maryland. The pilot will be in place for six months.

The new equipment is already installed on 10th Street, I posted the following picture to Twitter & Facebook yesterday:

Of note is the stations on 10th accept coins, bills, and credit cards. You’ll even be able to extend the amount of time via phone!

From the site:

Extend-by-Phone is an innovative service that enables the parking meter to send you a text message reminder when your parking is about to expire, and allows you to add time to your parking by simply replying to the reminder message with the amount of additional minutes you need.

The FAQ answers common questions, such as fees.  Of course this could mean even more people stay parked longer than the 2-hour limit, see St. Louis Not Enforcing Short-Term Parking Limits.

I’m glad to see recent testing isn’t limited to a very tiny test area as in 2006. I also appreciate the caution given the infrastructure costs to change, but I’d hoped for something more modern years ago. Treasurer Jones has only been in office a little over a year and for someone who campaigned on not wanting to be a “parking czar” she and her staff are making changes at a record pace compared to her predecessor.

I look foreword to hearing the official details on Monday.

— Steve Patterson

A Look at the Butler Brothers Warehouse

For over six years now I’ve had a decent view of the 17th Street facade of the massive Butler Brothers warehouse also bounded by Locust, Olive, & 18th (map).

So when a neighbor posted a link to  ‘718,000sf Butler Brothers Building Set for Residential Redevelopment’ on our condo association listserve I was very interested to hear the development plans. Is residential development imminent? Nope.  The owner has simply listed the property with a different commercial brokerage.

This was the peak of the condo boom downtown, developers were grabbing buildings as fast as they could. The sheer size of Butler Brothers, however, presented overwhelming challenges to potential developers. The Ely Walker building, on the opposite side of my building, was just being finished as lofts by Orchard Development Group of Chicago.  Ely Walker was very large, but not as big:

Originally known as the Ely and Walker Dry Goods Company Building, this seven story building is second only to the Butler Building in overall size. (National Register Nomination — Washington Avenue Historic District)

Part of the marketing in 2007/2008 was also trying to sell the building to a developer like Orchard or Pyramid, but the bottom was falling out. In April 2008 Pyramid went under and in September the stock market crashed. Since then buildings have been rehabbed, now as smaller rental units. Orchard couldn’t sell all the condos in the Ely Walker so their marketing switched to rental.

The market has recovered somewhat, though not for new high-end condos. The existing resale market is coming back, prices have mostly recovered.   That said, nobody is building new for sale loft condos.  The market is good for rental units but with a building this size I’m not sure about such a large number of units coming on the market. Figuring out the right price range(s) and construction/permanent financing will be tricky, seller financing is an option though. Tax credits will be part of the picture:

The property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is presently approved for State and Federal Historic Tax Credits to support redevelopment costs.

Well, not exactly. The building isn’t listed individually on the national register, but it’s a contributing structure in the Washington Avenue Historic District. As a contributing building any redevelopment might qualify for historic tax credits. Like prior years, some in Jefferson City want to cap historic preservation and low-invome housing tax credits.

Let’s go for a walk around the building…

As an immediate neighbor I hope the building sells quickly and gets redeveloped, but I’m not going to hold my breath in the meantime. If the proposed streetcar on Olive moves forward I think interest in this property will as well. There’s plenty of room for structured parking inside, but the streetcar would connect it to the CBD, Midtown and CWE.

— Steve Patterson