Poll: Name the future commercial district along Grand at the Old White Water Tower

My post last Monday was about the commercial district along Grand Ave around the Old White Water Tower (Grand Ave Water Tower Commercial Area Had Such Potential, Still Does). Although all the original buildings on the circle have been razed, I still see potential for the area.

Every good commercial district needs an identity (See The Loop, Grand South Grand, Cherokee, etc) so I figured why not see what we could collectively come up with for the stretch of East Grand Ave centered at the Old White Water Tower at North 20th Street.

The area is entirely in the College Hill neighborhood:

The name College Hill was given to this area because it was the location of the St. Louis University College Farm. This area, bounded generally by Warne (O’Fallon Park, I-70, Grand Blvd. and West Florrisant was acquired by the University for garden and recreation purposes in 1836, it was subdivided in the early 1870’s. The Bissell Mansion, the Old Water Tower at 20th Street and East Grand Avenue, and the Red Water Tower at Bissell Street and Blair Avenue are mainstays in this old Northside neighborhood and are testimony of a rich historical heritage. The housing of this neighborhood dates back between 1880 and 1920. Town and four family flats predominate the neighborhood, with a mixture of single family brick dwellings. The houses have large yards and are ideal for landscaping. The homes located near the crest of the hillside bluff enjoy a view of the river and its valleys. Nearly half of the housing dwellings are owner-occupied. Historically the area’s commercial center has been concentrated along East Grand around the Old Water Tower with a strip along West Florissant.

The neighborhood map looks like this:

The poll this week asks you to name the commercial district. I’ve provided the following answers:

• 20 Grand
• Bissell Point
• College Hill
• Grand College Hill
• Grand Water Tower District
• Old White
• The Column
• The Corinthian
• unsure/no opinion
• Doesn’t matter, will never become a commercial district again

You can also provide your own answer if you don’t like any of those provided.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Was MetroLink a Good Investment?

Eighteen years ago today St. Louis’ initial light rail line, MetroLink, opened for service:

Construction on the initial MetroLink alignment from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to the 5th & Missouri station in East St. Louis began in 1990. The portion between North Hanley and 5th & Missouri stations opened in July 31, 1993, and the line was extended westward to Lambert Airport Main station in 1994. At that time another station, East Riverfront, was opened in East St. Louis. Four years later, in 1998, the Lambert Airport East station was added. The capital cost to build the initial phase of MetroLink was $465 million. Of that amount, $348 million was supplied by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

MetroLink exceeded pre-opening ridership estimates, but the system has expanded slowly. Construction on proposed extensions has been delayed by the increasing scarcity of FTA funds. As time has passed, an ever-greater share of the costs has been borne by state and local governments. The most recent work has been entirely funded by local dollars. (Wikipedia)

The fact we had the Eads Bridge, existing tunnels under downtown, and unused railroad right-of-way, created the needed local match to get federal funding the initial project.

Since today is the 18th anniversary I thought I’d do the weekly poll question about MetroLink: was it a good investment?

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Missouri Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday a Good Idea?

Poll: Should Preservation Review be Citywide or Continue Ward-by-Ward?

The city of St. Louis is divided into 28 wards and each alderman has authority over his/her ward, the city as a whole be damned.

As the above map show, eight of the twenty-eight wards are excluded from the city’s other  Preservation Review Districts:

Any demolition application in a Preservation Review District will be referred by the Building Division to the Cultural Resources Office for review. No demolition permit may be issued without the approval of the Office.

Criteria for Review:

The Office will consider these criteria in making its determination:

• redevelopment plans passed by ordinance;
• the building’s architectural quality;
• its structural condition;
• the demolition’s effect on its neighborhood;
• the building’s potential for reuse;
• urban design factors;
• any proposed subsequent construction;
• any commonly-controlled property.

So in 30% of the city buildings can be razed without any review by the staff hired to protect our cultural history. There are some exceptions, such as the 7th ward. It appears the CBD does have preservation review and other parts of the ward would be reviewed as part of of a National Register historic district. The same thing occurs in parts of the other seven non-review wards. Forget Team Four, lack of preservation review in six north side wards has done great damage.

But ward boundaries change this year due to redistricting. Preservation Review districts don’t automatically change, these must also be changed with new legislation.  That is, unless it was simplified and covered the entire city. Here is an example of the description of one of twenty districts:

PRESERVATION REVIEW DISTRICT THIRTEEN

Beginning at the intersection of the centerlines of Kingshighwayand Lindell, and proceeding in a generally clockwise direction east along the centerlines to Taylor, north to Maryland, east to Boyle, south to West Pine, east to Sarah, south to Laclede, east to Spring, south to Market, east to Grand, north to the Forest Park Parkway, east to Compton, south to Chouteau, west to Grand, south to Park, west to 39th, south to Blaine, west to Tower Grove, south to Interstate 44, west to Kingshighway, north to the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway tracks, west to Hampton, north to Manchester, west to Graham, north to Oakland, east to the southern prolongation of Euclid, north to Barnes Hospital Plaza, west to Kingshighway, and north to the point of beginning. (source)

Think of all the staff time to write new legislation, to alter the city’s property database.

My loft will go from being in the 6th ward to the 5th ward, from preservation review to non-review. The buildings above, in the block to the west of me,  will also go from 6th to 5th, will suddenly be at greater risk of being razed without public input once the preservation review districts are revised. The substation is on Landmark’s 2010 Most Endangered List.

All this is to introduce the poll question for this week: Should Preservation Review be Citywide or Continue Ward-by-Ward?  The poll is located in the upper right corner of the blog.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Should St. Louis County & City Require Prescriptions for Cold & Allergy Medicines to Stop the Production of Meth?

You thought manufacturing had left the St. Louis region? Not so, the manufacturing of meth is going strong. Not in the city, but in the rural fringes:

Leaders in four area counties announced on Thursday a regional anti-meth drive — pushing simultaneously to require prescriptions for cold and allergy medications containing the key ingredient used to make the illicit drug.

Officials in St. Charles and Franklin counties say they’ve already lined up enough votes on their governing boards to pass countywide prescription requirements for products with pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed. The measures would apply both in unincorporated areas and cities.  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

St. Louis County & St. Louis City are not part of this effort and some think those making meth with drive in to buy cold & allergy medication. So my poll question this week asks if St. Louis County & City should also require prescriptions for cold and allergy medications now sold over the counter?

– Steve Patterson