Sprawl Alert: Home Depot proposed at Goodfellow & I-70

Last night the St. Louis Planning Commission voted to approve a zoning change on two large parcels located at Goodfellow & I-70 from a mix of A, F & J to H – basically to regional shopping & office. This is in prep for making it easier to redevelop the site. The only proposal received thus far is from Komen Properties for a big box Home Depot and typical out lot buildings. Geez, not another massive big box development…

Anyone that has lived in St. Louis for any length of time has seen the above building, part of a former Army ammunition plant. Though well known the building has been vacant for many years. This is the largest of the six existing buildings on the roughly 21 acre parcel. A 4 acre parcel to the South, also part of the proposed rezoning, will be discussed in a bit.

Map of
Goodfellow Blvd At Woodland Ave
St Louis, MO 63120

The view above is looking North at the vacant site.

The view above is along the Southern boundary of the large parcel. The proposed Home Depot would be located in the exact spot where this beautiful commercial building now sits.

The above picture is the back of those same buildings along the southern edge of the main parcel.

This view is looking East while on the smaller parcel. The fence in the left of the picture is the dividing line between the large & small parcels. The buildings on the left would all be razed for the Home Depot. The buildings on the right, currently in use, would presumably be part of a phase two.

More of the same commercial buildings are located on the smaller parcel which is just North of Stratford Avenue. So, you’ve got the picture?

So, where do I begin? While I consider myself more of an urbanist than a preservationist, I really like these buildings. I’m very fond of them and would hate to see them go. But, I am realistic to know this site needs to be developed as it should not continue to remain vacant (21 acre north parcel). But, the urbanist in me isn’t thrilled about another big box project with boring buildings, massive parking lots and nothing approaching any urban value.

The realist in me also thinks this project could end up like St. Louis Marketplace – largely vacant (I’m planning a future post on this failed sprawl project). We’ve got Alderman Villa pushing for a big box development with a Lowe’s at I-55 and Loughborough. I guess this is meant to balance “amenities” on the North & South?

This site is about halfway between a Home Depot in North County at Halls Ferry & I-270 and the sole city Home Depot on South Kingshighway. So, I can see some logic behind a building supply store to make it easier to renovate the surrounding homes. I’m more opposed to a bland big box development than a Home Depot. Some might think these are synonymous.

Above is a new Home Depot store on Halstead in Chicago – literally on Halstead. You see, big box stores can be integrated into an urban context. Like so many good things, it takes a willingness on the part of all involved to make urban things happen.

Vancouver’s Granville Island was recently named the #1 North American District, Downtown or Neighborhood by the Project for Public Spaces. Granville Island was a largely abandoned industrial site in the 1970s but visionary leaders saw the potential. My visits to Granville Island in both 2002 & 2003 were very enlightening. The area retains many original industrial buildings & character while attracting full time residents and tourists. The public market is a wonderful space. A major benefit Granville Island has is its waterfront location – but that is true for much of Vancouver.

A creative team could find a way to reuse the metal ammunition plant but, while I love this building, I can also see the need to raze it. But, the two story commercial buildings on the site have lots of potential for reuse. Apparently the Army has placed restrictions on the use of the property – no residential. This is due to environmental reasons. I’d like to know if the site can be cleaned sufficiently for a true mixed use development retaining some if not all the existing buildings while adding new residential buildings. Apartments over new storefronts and some attached townhouses would be great in the mix.

What is needed is a pro-urban planning approach – not just how can we build a suburban big box development in the city and face it with red brick to make us feel better about it.

– Steve

Report: St. Louis Region’s streets rank 17th most dangerous to pedestrians

The Surface Transportation Policy Project has released its findings on pedestrian safety from 1994-2003 in a new report, Mean Streets 2004 – How Far Have We Come? The St. Louis Region ranks 17th most dangerous and that our Pedestrian Danger Index increased 5.7% in 2002-2003. This is despite having the 3rd highest federal spending on pedestrian & bicycle projects for FY1998-2003 for an average of $1.56 per person. So we are spending the bucks but not getting the results!

From the report:
“Overall, the nation’s transportation networks have been largely designed to facilitate high speed automobile traffic, treating our communities and pedestrian safety as an afterthought. Streets designed with wide travel lanes and expansive intersections have been the norm or local zoning and parking requirements that don’t account for pedestrians and public transportation riders is too often standard practice. Private sector actors routinely design malls, shopping centers and housing for automobile access, without suitable facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists or transit users. Importantly, communities with a good design and a focus on features that support travel options from the start don’t have to be fixed later, reducing the dangers to pedestrians today and into the future.”

Mean Streets 2004 – How Far Have We Come? (40 page PDF)

Pedestrian Safety and Spending in Missouri (One page PDF)

APA Press Release, 12/2/2004

Walkable Communities – a great resource

Hopefully we as a region can do better at improving the walkability of our city & region. Spending the funds is not enough – we’ve got to think about how we are spending the money. We also need to stop building more sprawl and focus on rebuilding our existing communities.

– Steve

St. Stanislaus Kostka should not give in to St. Louis Archdiocese

Those of you in St. Louis are well aware that St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, founded in 1880, is being pressured to turn over control of church property and other assets (including an endowment) to the St. Louis Archdiocese. For over a century the lay board of St. Stanislaus has managed their own financial affairs – a unique arrangement I’m told. Discussion now centers on a irrevocable trust for church property & assets but I don’t trust Archbishop Burke. The members of St. Stanislaus should be commended for maintaining their church, building an endowment and remaining in a neighborhood which has seen a devastating amount of change over the last 50 years. We have this board, not the St. Louis Archdiocese, to thank for their continued presence. I hope they tell the Archbishop where he can go (don’t worry, he’ll get their eventually).

Over the last 50+ years the St. Louis Archdiocese has abandoned the City of St. Louis – closing church after church. It is almost as if they were deliberately pushing their parishioners to the suburbs. Take a tour of North St. Louis sometime – former Catholic Churches abound. Most are vacant. Most are some of the most stunningly beautiful churches I’ve ever seen – even in various states of disrepair.

Not happy with helping destroy North St. Louis, the Archdiocese now has its sights set on South St. Louis. A number of local churches built & maintained by generations of St. Louis families are going to close. The final list is still being debated but it seems to me the parishioners and the neighborhoods that will be impacted have little say in the matter. Meanwhile, demand for services from social service agencies such as Catholic Charities will increase as a result of their abandonment of the City of St. Louis. Perhaps that is the plan? Abandon the city so the social agencies can gain greater control? The residents & parishioners in the city are simply pawns in their game…

While my own personal faith has nothing to do with organized religion, I see the value to many in St. Louis for their local parish. In the suburbs you’re going to drive to church anyway – just based on their sprawl. But, in the City of St. Louis we need to see a return to the local church. The task of trying to attract new residents becomes harder without the local church in the neighborhood.

The St. Louis Archdiocese is making major mistakes that will have a very long lasting affect on the rebirth of St. Louis.

– Steve

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Gravois Plaza Less Pedestrian-Friendly than previous center

Gravois Plaza was completely rebuilt from the ground up in the last few years. The old shopping center dated to probably the 1960s and had an interesting courtyard space between a K-Mart and smaller stores. I can’t say it worked well – but it was different than most strip malls.

Basically, K-Mart got the boot in favor of a new Shop-N-Save grocery store. On the whole, the new Gravois Plaza is more attractive than the old. However, what we need to remember is almost anything new is apt to be better looking than something which is dated and poorly maintained. It is this newness that often masks underlying design flaws. Unfortunately, the new Gravois Plaza makes a number of big mistakes for an urban shopping area. First, check out the map link below to see the street pattern:

Map of
3861 Gravois Ave
St Louis, MO 63116-4657

Below is a photo looking East on Oleatha at Gravois Plaza – nothing but wall. The entire Western border of Gravois Plaza along Gustine remained unaltered from the old plaza – keeping the unfriendly wall.

Most of the housing around Gravois Plaza is to the West & North of the development. However, entrances from the West & North are not provided except at the extreme corners to the South & East. But, this is one of the better urban neighborhoods so people do walk to the store. Unfortunately, Gravois Plaza was not designed to be accessed by foot.

Walking along Gustine street along the west (above) the pedestrian is trapped between an overbearing wall and passing cars. Note, the sidewalk is right next to the street and you don’t have any parked cars or street trees to give you any feeling of protection.

Above is the Southwest entrance to Gravois Plaza, looking out across Gustine and down Tholozan. If you look closely you see the sidewalk continues along Gustine but doesn’t enter Gravois Plaza. The grass is worn where pedestrians have cut through to create the shortest walk. Let’s turn around and head toward the grocery store.

Above is what the pedestrian is faced with. You cross a large service drive for delivery trucks (where I am standing to take the picture) and ahead is a drive for CiCi’s Pizza. No sidewalk is provided so pedestrians must walk in the path of cars. Real inviting huh?

The view above is continuing into Gravois Plaza as seen from the drive to the CiCi’s Pizza. You can see in this view a pedestrian walking toward the store along the driveway.

Rounding the curve the Shop-N-Save comes into view. Here the pedestrian is forced to walk in the driveway again. But look close, the wrought iron fence designed to keep someone from falling down the change of level forces the pedestrian in the drive – they have no where to escape in case a car comes to close. Clearly, no thought was given to pedestrian access.

The photo above was taken at the same position as the prior picture. This view is looking West & South where we just came from. As you can see by the worn grass, pedestrians have been walking on the tiny strip of grass between the drive and retaining wall. In the background you can see a pedestrian leaving Gravois Plaza with two full bags of groceries – forced to walk in the drive and unable to see cars approaching from behind.

The view above is looking South from the Shop-N-Save with a US Bank branch in the background. Again, you can see how the fence keeps pedestrians in the driveway. Please note, the Bank and daycare center along Gravois were not part of the redevelopment – these remained unchanged.

I’m in this area 2-3 times per week and I have always seen pedestrians taking this unfriendly route. I guess one could take the attitude that people are walking anyway so what is the big deal. However, the message to people is clear – if you don’t have a car we really don’t give a shit about you. Sure, we don’t mind if you walk here to spend your money but don’t expect us to go out of our way to do anything for you.

In the meantime the parking lot is way too big and has so few trees it is almost comical. How is it TIF financing can be used to finance a project that is closed to the neighborhood to the West & North, is anti-pedestrian and is mostly paving? Our city must not have any codes requiring a connection to the neighborhood, pedestrian access and even something so basic as a reasonable level of landscaping.

The old Gravois Plaza, for all its faults, was more accessible to neighbors to the North. People could enter at Potomac & Gustine and enter the courtyard space. So while the new Gravois Plaza is cleaner and features a nice Shop-N-Save store it is less pedestrian-friendly than the old Gravois Plaza.

So what would I have done you ask? Well, I would have destroyed the wall along Gustine and connected the development to the neighborhood by regrading the site. To achieve a true connection to the surrounding neighborhoods I would have divided the site back into separate blocks divided by public streets. Hydraulic Street, the South entrance along Gravois, would be cut through all the way North to Potomac Street. Oleatha & Miami streets would be cut though between Gustine on the West to Bamberger on the East. This, of course, is completely counter to conventional thinking about shopping areas.

With all these new streets plenty of on-street parking could have been provided. Several small parking lots could be provided as necessary. Arguably, less total parking could have been provided as you’d have more people willing to walk from the adjacent neighborhoods. Ideally, some new housing would have been provided above some of the retail stores. Big Box stores like the Shop-N-Save have been integrated into more urban shopping areas in other cities – it takes a willingness on the part of the city to show developers & retailers the way. The smaller stores would easily fit within a new street-grid development.

A substantial amount of money was spend rebuilding Gravois Plaza but the area is not really a part of the city. It is a suburban shopping center imposed upon the city. This could have been so much more.

– Steve