I’ve made this argument before, but it’s worth repeating: Clark Street needs to be a connector street. On the west end, at 18th, you have Union Station. At 14th you have the Scottrade Center, home of the St. Louis Blues NHL team, and the Civic Center Transit Center/Station. To the East at 8th Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village. People are already walking back & forth between these dots along Clark, despite the poor conditions. Just imagine if we improved the streetscape along both Clark Ave and 7h Street.
Triangle Plaza at 14th & Clark is lifeless, but will remain when the Civic Center Transit Center is expanded. Click image to see yesterday’s post.Map showing Clark (horizontal) and 7th (vertical) with Edward Jones in upper right, Ballpark Village in lower right, and Union Station at left end of red line. Click image to view in Google MapsThe south side of Clark at the two I-64 on ramps from 14th & Clark aren’t friendly or ADA-compliantThe venues on the ground floor of this public parking garage at Tucker & Clark attract many sports fansWhen the previous Treasurer bought this building the plan was to turn the ground floor into leasable restaurant space once the adjacent garage opened.The SE corner of 11th & Clark is park of the Cupples Warehouse district, an ideal candidate for infill construction.Joe Buck’s BBQ in on the ground floor of an old warehouse facing ClarkMore ramps for I-64 create an odd parcel, well suited for an iconic structure facing Clark
The [parcel on the NW corner of 9th & Clark is awaiting new constructionb
b
Looking north on 7th Street from Washington Ave, Embassy Suites hotel with the Edward Jones Dome in the backgroundTwo years ago the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis held an event focusing on several streets downtown, one was 7th. Here the 7th St group is crossing Locust, in the center is former Partnership President Maggie Campbell and Ald Phyllis Young
Just as Washington Avenue serves as the connector for the downtown loft district, 7th and/or Clark could serve to connect our sports venues to each other, to entertainment venues, hotels, transit, etc.
— Steve Patterson
Currently there are "13 comments" on this Article:
The three venues are already connected by Metrolink, with stations located at/close to each venue, and which many fans already use to reach these destinations. The difference between Washington Avenue and professional sports venues should be obvious, since they function very differently. Fans are going to a Cards game OR they’re going to a Blues game OR they’re going to a Rams game. They’re headed to a specific destination, they’re not interested in strolling between them! Making the streets more attractive will do little to encourage suburbanites to linger downtown, and when games aren’t happening (which is the bulk of the time), there’s nothing to really attract casual walking around these venues (unlike Washington Avenue, the CWE or the Loop, which have activity EVERY day).
You’re wrong, sports fans are going to the bars & restaurants downtown before and after baseball, hockey, and football.
Suburbanites especially love Ballpark Village, which plays games on the big screen. A 20-something reader and his friends recently met at BPV and then walked to Scottrade for a Blues game.
I actually live downtown, observe & talk to people here.
You’re right, “sports fans are going to the bars & restaurants downtown before and after baseball, hockey, and football.” Unfortunately, they’re mostly all within a block or two of whatever venue the team is playing in – BPV is directly across the street from Busch and a block from the Metrolink Station.
Really? You’ve mapped them? But yes, Maurizios & Joe Buck’s BBQ are just a few blocks from Svottrade & Busch — that’s my point. We have existing venues attracting the sports public and they’re waking back and forth.
This is an opportunity to build on our strengths so that over time more people make journey, more businesses open, and possibly new buildings go up. It won’t magically happen on its own!
Large crowds regularly walk the two blocks between Union Station and Scottrade Cemter, a new streetscape and marketing would encourage more walking from place to place to place.
I remember your previous argument before and I think it is a great idea. A couple questions maybe you may have info on….
– There was an announcement maybe a year ago about a group wanting to put in a Saint Louis Sports Hall of Fame behind Union Station; if memory serves me well, it was even a proposal for new construction. Any insight into whether this may still be in play?
– You mentioned “venues” in the parking garage attracting sports fans…. I know of Mauruzio’s; is there something else now in as well?
– For some reason I was believing that the green space across from the Eagleton Court House was there for security purposes and infill was not in the cards. Did I make this up?
– The other thing that comes to mind was the redevelopment plan for the vacant Civil Courts Building next to City Hall…. it sounds like that project may be dead but the plan did include a parking garage with street level retail spots across from Keil/Savvis/Scottrade/Whatever it is Now Center.
Anyway, I agree with you that with some streetscaping and infill, this could be a great corridor. Let’s also keep in mind that we now have BPV and a pretty solid redevelopment effort at Union Station. Clark Street by far is the fastest pedestrian corridor linking those two tourism destinations.
– Lodging Hospitality will be changing the area under and behind the old train shed, I’ve not seen anything new since May 2013 when we heard about the STL Sports Hall of Fame.
-I’ve seen a bar/club entrance onto Tucker with a different name than Mauritzio’s you enter on Clark, they might be one in the same. Maurizio’s is open until 2:30am 7 days a week.
– The half block fronting 10th is taken, although I think it should be developed. The quarter block at 9th & Clark, however, is left for development. Prime location a block from the courthouse, Busch, MetroLink station, BPV, I-64 exit/on ramps, Stadium West Garage, etc…
– Redevelopment of the old Municipal Courts and infill on the parking lot to the south are still in the future, a focus on Clark could help get a plan beyond concept stage.
The public owns the Clark Ave right-of-way, what we do or don’t do with it makes a difference. Private interests don’t have a place designing in the PROW, that’s the job of government. Also, an effort along Clark might help with redevelopment of the soon-to-be-vacant police headquarters.
Thanks. Another thing for skeptics to keep in mind is that if all goes well we’ll be seeing a streetcar going down 14th Street with the transit hub right there at Clark as well…. mixed-use infill would be great nearby. Also, that area is gaining some pretty good office with Anders moving into to the Bank of America Building and Laclede Gas’ upcoming move across the street. (Of course, as this is Saint Louis there is bad news as well with the VA vacating their 2 buildings.) Anyway, there can be significant growth from various sectors in what I call the SoMa (South of Market) “neighborhood.”
Occupancy of buildings changes constantly, with Clark & 7th I see an opportunity to capitalize on the new interest in Phase 1of Ballpark Village. Clark could be the “Clark Connector” and 7th the “7th Street Stretch”, or some other names.
So I went to the first Cards game last night and did the usual walk from the City Hall lot to the game. The other spot in the garage is called Voce, a nightclub. Couldn’t tell if it was busy as it fronts Tucker, but Maurizio’s seemed very slow with nobody in the outdoor seating on a very nice evening. But they did have a guy in a pizza slice outfit!
Also, I noticed that the crosswalk on the north side of Clark at 9th has no pedestrian signals. Not good! I’ll try to contact the city.
AARP Livibility Index
The Livability Index scores neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. for the services and amenities that impact your life the most
Built St. Louis
historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri – mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors.
Geo St. Louis
a guide to geospatial data about the City of St. Louis
The three venues are already connected by Metrolink, with stations located at/close to each venue, and which many fans already use to reach these destinations. The difference between Washington Avenue and professional sports venues should be obvious, since they function very differently. Fans are going to a Cards game OR they’re going to a Blues game OR they’re going to a Rams game. They’re headed to a specific destination, they’re not interested in strolling between them! Making the streets more attractive will do little to encourage suburbanites to linger downtown, and when games aren’t happening (which is the bulk of the time), there’s nothing to really attract casual walking around these venues (unlike Washington Avenue, the CWE or the Loop, which have activity EVERY day).
You’re wrong, sports fans are going to the bars & restaurants downtown before and after baseball, hockey, and football.
Suburbanites especially love Ballpark Village, which plays games on the big screen. A 20-something reader and his friends recently met at BPV and then walked to Scottrade for a Blues game.
I actually live downtown, observe & talk to people here.
You’re right, “sports fans are going to the bars & restaurants downtown before and after baseball, hockey, and football.” Unfortunately, they’re mostly all within a block or two of whatever venue the team is playing in – BPV is directly across the street from Busch and a block from the Metrolink Station.
Really? You’ve mapped them? But yes, Maurizios & Joe Buck’s BBQ are just a few blocks from Svottrade & Busch — that’s my point. We have existing venues attracting the sports public and they’re waking back and forth.
This is an opportunity to build on our strengths so that over time more people make journey, more businesses open, and possibly new buildings go up. It won’t magically happen on its own!
Large crowds regularly walk the two blocks between Union Station and Scottrade Cemter, a new streetscape and marketing would encourage more walking from place to place to place.
Well, large crowds regularly walk the two blocks from the parking lots at Union Station to Scottrade Center, anyway.
I remember your previous argument before and I think it is a great idea. A couple questions maybe you may have info on….
– There was an announcement maybe a year ago about a group wanting to put in a Saint Louis Sports Hall of Fame behind Union Station; if memory serves me well, it was even a proposal for new construction. Any insight into whether this may still be in play?
– You mentioned “venues” in the parking garage attracting sports fans…. I know of Mauruzio’s; is there something else now in as well?
– For some reason I was believing that the green space across from the Eagleton Court House was there for security purposes and infill was not in the cards. Did I make this up?
– The other thing that comes to mind was the redevelopment plan for the vacant Civil Courts Building next to City Hall…. it sounds like that project may be dead but the plan did include a parking garage with street level retail spots across from Keil/Savvis/Scottrade/Whatever it is Now Center.
Anyway, I agree with you that with some streetscaping and infill, this could be a great corridor. Let’s also keep in mind that we now have BPV and a pretty solid redevelopment effort at Union Station. Clark Street by far is the fastest pedestrian corridor linking those two tourism destinations.
– Lodging Hospitality will be changing the area under and behind the old train shed, I’ve not seen anything new since May 2013 when we heard about the STL Sports Hall of Fame.
-I’ve seen a bar/club entrance onto Tucker with a different name than Mauritzio’s you enter on Clark, they might be one in the same. Maurizio’s is open until 2:30am 7 days a week.
– The half block fronting 10th is taken, although I think it should be developed. The quarter block at 9th & Clark, however, is left for development. Prime location a block from the courthouse, Busch, MetroLink station, BPV, I-64 exit/on ramps, Stadium West Garage, etc…
– Redevelopment of the old Municipal Courts and infill on the parking lot to the south are still in the future, a focus on Clark could help get a plan beyond concept stage.
The public owns the Clark Ave right-of-way, what we do or don’t do with it makes a difference. Private interests don’t have a place designing in the PROW, that’s the job of government. Also, an effort along Clark might help with redevelopment of the soon-to-be-vacant police headquarters.
Thanks. Another thing for skeptics to keep in mind is that if all goes well we’ll be seeing a streetcar going down 14th Street with the transit hub right there at Clark as well…. mixed-use infill would be great nearby. Also, that area is gaining some pretty good office with Anders moving into to the Bank of America Building and Laclede Gas’ upcoming move across the street. (Of course, as this is Saint Louis there is bad news as well with the VA vacating their 2 buildings.) Anyway, there can be significant growth from various sectors in what I call the SoMa (South of Market) “neighborhood.”
Occupancy of buildings changes constantly, with Clark & 7th I see an opportunity to capitalize on the new interest in Phase 1of Ballpark Village. Clark could be the “Clark Connector” and 7th the “7th Street Stretch”, or some other names.
So I went to the first Cards game last night and did the usual walk from the City Hall lot to the game. The other spot in the garage is called Voce, a nightclub. Couldn’t tell if it was busy as it fronts Tucker, but Maurizio’s seemed very slow with nobody in the outdoor seating on a very nice evening. But they did have a guy in a pizza slice outfit!
Also, I noticed that the crosswalk on the north side of Clark at 9th has no pedestrian signals. Not good! I’ll try to contact the city.
I’d like to figure out when places are busy vs slow. Sadly, tons of intersections lack pedestrian signals.
A Sports Hall of Fame on the parking lot was mentioned again in December 2013: http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/December-2013/Can-Bob-OLoughlin-Save-Union-Station/