In the poll last week readers picked price as their top factor in deciding there to shop this holiday season. Early in the week convenience was the top answer but it ended up just one vote behind price.
ABOVE: Brothers Randy (L) and Jeff Vines (R) of STL-Style on Cherokee at Compton.
Q: Factors influencing where you’ll shop this holiday season (pick up to 3)
Price 41 [21.24%]
Convenience 40 [20.73%]
Selection 27 [13.99%]
Sales/Specials 24 [12.44%]
Shipping 14 [7.25%]
Customer service 12 [6.22%]
Ownership 9 [4.66%]
Politics of retailer 8 [4.15%]
Other: 8 [4.15%]
Employment policies 6 [3.11%]
Unsure, N/A, no answer 3 [1.55%]
Layaway plan 1 [0.52%]
Financing terms 0 [0%]
Interesting results, a decade ago I doubt shipping would’ve gotten any votes.
A week ago today the Urban Land Institute (ULI) presentation by their Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) regarding transit-oriented development (TOD) at the Grand MetroLink light rail station. The real estate experts from the ULI were asked by Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) to consider short and long-term solutions.
ABOVE: Gwen Knight led the CMT/ULI Grand MetroLink presentation on November 13, 2012. Click image for info on the presentation, including a link to the slides.
The long-term section included three bold ideas that would evoke an “audible gasp”. First, look again at the Chouteau Greenway concept linking downtown to Forest Park. Second was a high speed rail station at Grand since plenty of room exists.
ABOVE: Concept from ULI presentation shows development along the bridge/viaduct as well as the Chouteau Greenway
The final bold idea generated was to move from focusing on the station which sits below grade to building above the station – a platform development at street level. Some of the merits of this type of develoopment included:
Place parking on first 2-3 stories, easily fitting below bridge
Place commercial, retail and/or residential on top of parking, level with the bridge platform
Embraces light rail and bus connectivity
Builds connection between SLU campuses
Enhances travel along Grand and encourages pedestrian use
In addition to building structured parking the area could have office and condo uses to compliment the street-level retail. The office space could include high-tech bio-med facilities as part of the CORTEX plan.
This bridge turned retail street could serve as a needed campus hangout area for both SLU campuses. It could include a coffee house (or two) as well as a copy center like a Kinko’s.
With plenty of structured parking, on-street parking, bus routes and MetroLink this could be a happening spot! With land on each side of the tracks and highway we’d be building not bridges but buildings that happen to have a floor that aligns with the bridge sidewalks.
Before all the naysayers try to explain why we cannot be urban let me try to address a few points. The area has already been blighted and is going to be redeveloped. Building new buildings up to the existing bridge is feasible, perhaps more so than the plan to add width and medians to the current structure. Also, we can be urban and what better place to create an urban street than at a location with a MetroLink light rail stop and between two major university campuses.
ABOVE: Underused land is adjacent to the viaduct, the tracks are contained to a small area.ABOVE: The ULI panel specifically mentioned relocating this gas company to another location so this land could be developed.ABOVE: Looking south from a lookout pointABOVE: At the south end the grade difference disappears.ABOVE: One possible problem is the curb on both sides would prevent accessible entrances unless it could be cut away as needed.
If only the viaduct/bridge had been designed to facilitate development at the edges, simply by removing sections of railing. Still, as ULI’s experts how shown, it is still a viable bold idea worth considering.
In 2016 the nearly identical parking garages known as “Stadium East” and “Stadium West” will turn 50 years old. Despite the milestone, I don’t expect preservationists to give tours, or oppose the alterations I propose below.
ABOVE: The 8th Street face of the Stadium West garage. The pedestrian ramp to the street crossing isn’t ADA-compliant, Stadium East doesn’t have a similar ramp.ABOVE: The first thing is repaint the structure to something other than white, or red. White is so bright, it demands attention. Bright colors advance, dark colors recede.ABOVE: Remove inaccessible walkway, freeing up space for small storefront spaces to be used during games or other special events.ABOVE: A sidewalk vendor during one of the last Cardinals home games is the type of vender that could occupy a tiny storefront space.ABOVE: Filling in the center recess with glass-friont retail will help lesson the visual impact of the massive garages facing the future “Ballpark Village”.ABOVE: The garages will never disappear but they can’t be toned down considerably.
I’ve written before that I’d like to see these garages razed but they’re in good condition and fill a need. They just need to fade into the background, a color change will accomplish that.
It was three years ago today that many gathered on the lawn in front of one of the most historic properties in St. Louis: The Clemens Mansion, located at 1849 Cass Ave.
ABOVE: Blueprints for the adoption of the Clemens Mansion to senior apartments was on display on November 17, 2009ABOVE: St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay signs a bill for Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration project
From The Beacon:
Mayor Francis Slay put his ceremonial seal of approval Tuesday on the first step of the $8.1 billion plan to redevelop a large portion of north St. Louis, but he remained noncommittal on what developer Paul McKee considers a key part of the project.
The signing ceremony for two bills passed by the Board of Aldermen — the bills were actually signed into law by the mayor on Friday — took place under a tent on the front lawn of the Clemens House, one of the most visible properties in the McKee project area. (St. Louis Beacon)
Initial work had begun on the renovation but work stopped when part of the financing fell through, I believe a low-income housing tax credit. Soon much of McKee’s project will have a final airing in court.
The state Supreme Court has set Nov. 28 as the date for oral arguments in the lawsuit that has blocked McKee’s massive NorthSide Regeneration project for more than two years. There’s no telling how long after that a ruling might come down, but that ruling will help the project advance, McKee said. (stltoday.com)
Disclosure: I was a very minor consultant on the Clemen’s Mansion project, assisting with accessibility and starting to look at traffic calming and walkability along a larger stretch of Cass Ave. Hopefully the project can be completed in the future.
Signs are all around us, sometimes in confusing proximity to each other.
ABOV, center: A sign for parking below a no-parking sign for a bus stop.
If you’re familiar with the Delmar Loop area you’ll likely know the blue sign is for the large parking lot behind the buildings. With so many signs is there a tipping point where they just get ignored? Placing these on separate polls/posts a few feet apart wouldn’t necessarily be an improvement.
Sign placement and effectiveness needs to be evaluated by someone, especially in busy commercial districts.
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