“Blairmont Scheme” Is Fulfillment of Official City Plans

Much has been written lately about the sinister plot, known to many as “Blairmont”, to bulldoze North St. Louis (specifically the St. Louis Place neighborhood). The focus has been on various straw companies such as Blairmont Associates, LLC and part owner Paul McKee. McKee is a founder of well known commercial contractor Paric, an officer in McEagle Development and current Chairman of BJC Healthcare. In other words, a prominent citizen for all that’s worth.

The major issue has been these companies are buying hundreds of properties, including some very historic structures, and letting them sit empty and decaying. A few have had some devistating fires. Nobody has been able to track down any more information on the motives & intention behind these purchases. Interestingly, the answer was under our noses the whole time.

This is all part of a public plan, one of many actually.

The city’s 1947 master plan highlighted many areas immediately south and north of downtown, indicating they were obsolete. You know, places like the trendy Soulard neighborhood. This plan called for it to be wiped clean and given a fresh start with cul-de-sac streets and lots of the much touted “open space.” Subsequent plans have followed along this same theme with the “Team Four” plan, a reaction to an early 70s research report from the Rand Corporation commenting on the conditions in St. Louis, calling for reduced services to parts of North St. Louis so that people will leave.

In 2002 the city’s Planning Commission adopted the 5th Ward Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan. It should be noted the boundaries are the old 5th Ward, not the boundaries as changed around the same time as the plan was being adopted. Anyway, in the plan a large swath of land just north of the long vacant Pruitt-Igoe site is shown hatched out with the designation “Proposed Large Land Use (for further study).” In other words, level anything remaining and start fresh. There it is, fully adopted after numerous public meetings and everything.

[Above: 5th ward zoning proposal shows large white area with red diagonal lines as a proposed large land use]

McKee’s various companies own many properties within the large land use area as well as areas surrounding it. Much has changed since the first public meetings where held in the Fall of 1999, adoption in April 2002 and today. In places the change has been good — new infill construction (some of it actually attractive, the rest not so attractive) as well as strong renovation efforts. In other parts of the ward, however, people have left and buildings have continued to deteriorate and be razed.

In the Spring of 2005 the city adopted a new Strategic Land-Use Plan. For the most part it was simply a recording of uses already in existence but in places the plan does call for changes. Also, the city has failed to follow through with the next step which was to be new zoning which cooresponds to the land uses. In this land-use plan, however, we can see the large area from the 2002 5th ward plan designated as “Neighborhood Development Areas (NDA):”

Residential/non-residential areas with substantial amounts of vacant land and abandoned buildings suitable for new residential construction of scale/associated neighborhood services, respecting stable properties that may be considered as part of any new development. Opportunities for new housing construction/replatting at critical mass scale defining a new neighborhood character over time.

The land-use plan goes further than the 5th Ward plan, calling out additional land as “Opportunity Areas:”

Key underutilized locations where the use of the land is in transition. Location and site characteristics of these areas offer particular challenges/opportunities that could be advantageous to a range of development activity. This designation is intended to be flexible and specific development proposals will be entertained as they present themselves.

Stable areas such as the Old North St. Louis neighborhood and the area immediately surrounding St. Louis Place Park are designated as “Neighborhood Preservation Areas:”

Areas where the existing housing and corner commercial building stock will be preserved and augmented with new infill residential and corner commercial development physically integrated with, and primarily serving the immediate neighborhood. These areas generally consist of stable residential areas of the City, including but not limited to historic districts, where the character of the neighborhood is currently well preserved with relatively few vacant lots and abandoned buildings. The plan contemplates continued preservation and improvement, with quality rehabilitation and infill new construction that is sensitive to the character of existing residences. Commercial and institutional uses catering to the immediate needs of the neighborhood are acceptable and reflect the traditional role such activity has played in the history of the City.

So, in keeping with officially approved plans I expect to see some large-scale reconstruction in the area just north of Pruitt-Igoe as well as lots of infill housing in surrounding areas such as Old North St. Louis.

Local architectural firm Arcturis has been mentioned by others as being involved in whatever the plans are for the area. I asked Arcturis COO Vernon Remiger about “Blairmont” earlier this week and he declined to comment. This tells me their firm is most likely still involved. Of course, the bulk of this area does need large quantities of new housing. In places like Old North St. Louis the neighborhood itself is working with developers and they have been building attractive new housing and rehabbing other buildings. Numerous vacant lots remain throughout the neighborhood.

For me my concerns are several. In areas where large-scale redevelopment is proposed will it simply involve possiblly replatting the lots to be slightly wider or do they want to screw up the highly functional grid of streets & alleys? Furthermore, do they want to build a bunch of similar looking single family detached housing or will we see a mix of housing types such as townhouses, live/work spaces and condos/apartments over storefronts? What about new alley houses like we used to have and like those being built out in New Town at St. Charles.

The problem with building most new construction next to one of our older houses is no matter the condition of the old house it almost always looks more graceful than the new. The materials and proportions are better, the detailing is stunning. New housing, next to old, just pales. This, I believe, is why many suburban developers seek to raze existing properties.

For further reading check out the “World of Blairmont” on The Ecology of Absence webiste. They’ve compiled a list of their own posts on the subject as well as from other sources, including the RFT.

BJC/Forest Park Lease is Simply Par for Course

St. Louis has a serious lack of leadership at the top. Following the lack of a second yesterday on a motion to accept the BJC/Forest Park Lease Mayor Slay indicated he was “disappointed.” Well, Francis, welcome to my world. I am disappointed daily by you and pretty much every other elected official out of city hall.

I am disappointed in fellow members of the Board of Estimate & Apportionment, Jim Shrewsbury and Darlene Green. I’m not disappointed because they wouldn’t go along with the current deal, but because they, like the Mayor, are reactionary. Board President Candidate Lewis Reed and all his followers on the Boad of Aldermen are no better. BJC is not really the bad guy here, nor is Shrewsbury or Green. The culprit is how we do business in this town.

The notion of having to maintain Forest Park cannot possibly have been a new concept in 2006 when BJC floated this idea past the mayor’s office. Forest Park Forever, the non-profit group that raised so much money for the restoration of the park, was started in 1986 — two decades ago! Did nobody stop to think, “hey we are going to need to find a way to maintain all these improvements” along the way?

The lack of leadership from City Hall has brought us to this point today. BJC is now issuing threats to the citizens that they will look elsewhere if they don’t get their way. Maybe BJC is the bad guy too. Don’t threaten me, I don’t care how big you are. Take your ugly buildings, your closed off streets and those aweful parking garages you’ve littered the landscape with and hit the road. Yeah, that’s right. Get lost you big f*cking bully. I’m calling your bluff — something the spinless folks at city hall would never do. Proof? The St. Louis Cardinals got a new stadium downtown.
Sometime in the last 20 years we should have had a discussion about paying for Forest Park, and all our parks frankly. Does anyone recall Mayor Slay making this a priority during his 2005 re-election campaign? What about Ald. Roddy? Nope.

Good leadership would have said, “OK folks, we’ve invested millions in the renovation of Forest Park but now we need to find a good way to keep it up for the long haul.” A panel could have been formed to investigate options, a town hall could have been held. Something, anything. Instead they waited until re-elected and then turned BJC land-grab into a immediate crisis, designed to scare voters into submission. You know, something President Bush might do.

I’ve never come out fully against the idea of BJC getting that land for future expansion — it was the process I disliked, not the basic land concept. Again, good leadership from city hall would have told BJC, “We can’t take this to the people until we figure out how & where to replace the open space lost and ammenities.” You can’t take away over 9 acres of park used by nearby residents without figuring out how to accomodate their needs. Yet, when this came up last year the issue of replacement park land was one of those “oh we’ll figure that out later items.” Uh, no! We’ll figure it all out or we won’t do it at all. The Kiel Opera house was one of those “later” projects that still hasn’t happened.

Our city operates in a vacuum, looking soley at a project at a time. Whether it is paying for park maintenance or a master plan for a blighted section of South Grand we simply don’t plan ahead. We sit back or wait for a sweet-looking deal to arrive and push for it. Ald. Florida was all in favor of a McDonald’s drive-thru without once doing a master plan for a mile-long stretch of Grand blighted some 10 years earlier. What is the true cost to maintain our parks and if we did the BJC lease would that solve everything? Doubtful. We need to have discussions about commercial cooridors and park funding before we have an impending proposal on the table.  Only then can we possiblly hope to have a rational discussion about the future of our city.

Given the way our leaders continue to operate, I don’t give this city much of a future.  The potential is here, but we continually squander what we have and push those with creative thinking to other cities.  This region is not growing, at least not by much.  Sure, we are building stuff on the edge of the region but that is not the same — I’m talking population and jobs, not sprawl.  The city has to fight with the Census annually to show we’ve stabilized our population rather than continue the decades-old downward spiral.  Other regions in the U.S. have their act together while this region sticks its collective head in the sand.  We are so far behind and all the folks we elect can do is point fingers at each other.  Well, I’ve got a finger for them…

Working on ‘Comment’ Problem [Now Fixed]

I’ve encountered an issue with the comments not working. I’m looking for solutions so please be patient. Thanks, Steve

UPDATE 2/8/07 @ 9am — all fixed. You are now free to comment as you like.

Cherokee Street: Big Controversy Over Tiny Place

You’ve all heard the story by now, Ald. Craig Schmid has a moritorium on liquor licenses for the 20th Ward. You want to sell beer, then you need to have 50% of your revenues from food. In other words, restaurants are OK, bars are not. Enter Steve Smith, owner of The Royale on Kingshighway near Arsenal. Smith wants to open a bar along Cherokee street and and serve no food in the space located at 3227 Cherokee known as “Radio Cherokee.”

The controversy has escalated to the point that Schmid, a 12-year veteran at city hall, is being challenged by resident and business owner Galen Gondolfi in the election for alderman to be held on the 6th of March. This issue has some fun little twists and turns that I have not seen in the media.

First, opponents cite a number of concerns. One is parking, another is food sales. Of course, I fail to see how Smith getting 50% of receipts from food sales lessons the parking issue any — it might in fact make it worse? Parking too seems like a red herring, the city has literally thousands of corner storefront places but we cannot expect them to each have a dedicated parking lot without destroying the character of our neighborhoods.

Above is the location in question, located on the NE corner of Virginia (street on left) and Cherokee. The very tiny storefront can only hold so many people and quite a bit of on-street parking is available along the side of the building above (on Virginia). Similarly, more cars could easily be parked on the west side of Virginia.

“The neighborhood is not ready,” was one comment I heard. Well, what defines ready? What is the plan to get the area ready?  Granted, this property is much closer to Gravois and is therefore not part of the main commercial area we think of as Cherokee.  This is outside the Cherokee community improvement district.  Still, every block between here and the main section of Cherokee contains at least a single storefront, in many cases several.

On the same block as “Radio Cherokee” is the former Cherokee Auto Parts with a greenhouse/nursery business on the end of the block.  In the background of the picture you can see a corner storefront on the next block.  Back to the site in question.

The small place is actually part of a 4-unit building, with one residential unit above and two attached but set back from the street.  The building lot is only 24ft 8 inches wide.  So as you can imagine, both the residential units and the bar space are narrow.

Peaking inside through the front door glass we can see a place basically ready to go.  No major build out or extensive rehab required.  Currently the space is simply sitting empty, not being productive for the neighborhood or city.  Now, I’ve never been in the food services business (well, except those 4 days at Arby’s when I was 16) but logic tells me you need a certain volume of business to operate a restuarant.  With such a small place and lacking a kitchen space it seems unrealistic to expect this space to be anything but a bar.

Sure, I suppose it could be gutted and turned into a retail space of sorts but that seems even more likely to fail.  Retail operations would do better in the main commercial district.

Currently, to my knowledge, Cherokee street has no master plan — no vision has been established.  In looking at the blocks on this end with a mix of storefronts of varying sizes, flats and single family homes I see a small bar fitting in nicely, nothing too big.  A block or two east is the old Black Forest restaurant which has been closed for sometime.  That is a very large space with a large kitchen (I’ve shown the building to prospective buyers so I’ve been through the whole thing).  It is even complete with a parking lot.  But the pro-forma to buy and renovate that place relative to this is night and day.  In reality, both spaces need to be open and active.  We just can’t fault Steve Smith for not having the cash/credit of a say Joe Edwards.   The old Black Forest space will make an excellent restaurant once again.  As a bar only, it would be way too big.

So my solution to this issue is this — for Cherokee Street only:  Set up a sliding scale, the very tiny Radio Cherokee space that Steve Smith is interested in should have a zero percent food requirement.  On the other end, spaces like the large Black Forest should be required to have 50% food.  Other storefronts, such as the old Auto Parts place, might fall somewhere in the middle.  What this does is set up a guideline along Cherokee only where small bars can be introduced and have a chance to succeed while the larger spaces cannot be bars only.  This should be implimented along the length of Cherokee from at least Jefferson to Gravois while the area works on a master plan for Cherokee.
In the interest of disclosure, I have not spoken with either candidate about this concept but I did happen to run into Steve Smith yesterday and he seemed to think it might be a good compromise.  In researching this post I discovered that Galen Gondolfi owns the property in question along with another person.  He also owns the old auto parts place on the same block.  He owns larger buildings in the next block east where he lives, has a gallery space and leases out a storefront to a cafe.  He clearly has a vested interest in seeing this section of Cherokee street succeed and prosper.

Cacchione on Public Service, Gates for Compton Heights and Cigarette Taxes

Last night I attended the 6th Ward debate sponsored by the Downtown Residents Association and the League of Women Voters. Turnout was good despite the weather and all three candidates were in top form. Patrick Cacchione reiterated his many years of experience in public policy — working as a paid lobbyist. So rather than rehash some of the same stuff that was said last night, I thought I’d look into some of Cacchione’s statements from the past.

LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE St. Louis Post-Dispatch February 20, 1997

New Entitlement: Elected Office

If you asked people what they considered the fastest growing entitlement program they might answer Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. However, it appears the fastest growing entitlement in this country is elected office.

Today, elected offices are being transferred from one generation to another like season tickets to the St. Louis Blues games.

Least we think this is a St. Louis phenomenon (Jo Mannies’ Feb. 9 column, “In St. Louis Politics, Family Counts, As The Names Around City Hall Show”), consider the Republican and Democratic conventions we witnessed in August. The keynote for the Republican party was Congresswoman Susan Molinari, daughter of former Congressman Guy Molinari. The keynote for the Democratic party was Evan Bayh, son of former Sen. Birch Bayh.

These speakers were accompanied by a host of other political offspring including Vice President Al Gore, son of Senator Albert Gore Sr., Gov. George Bush, son of former President George Bush (son of Sen. Prescott Bush), Congressman Jesse Jackson, son of presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, Sr., Congressmen Patrick and Joseph Kennedy, son and nephew of Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, daughter of Gov. Alf Landon. The list is endless, Dodd, Cuomo, Daley, etc.

Why is this of concern? It merits our attention for a variety of reasons. It renders “public service” obsolete because the public (except for the wealthy) are excluded, and service has become an entitlement (unearned and expected). The result is a political class that speaks its own language and has its own common experiences, neither of which prepares them to address the needs of the people.

Further, the fact that money or name recognition are increasingly the elements that attain elected office, the average citizen is closed out of the political process. These factors only continue to alienate an already disengaged and apathetic electorate. Which brings us full circle to answer the proverbial “chicken and egg” question: generational politics because of a disengaged electorate or visa-versa?

Patrick J. Cacchione
St. Louis

In St. Louis we have many of the examples Mr. Cacchione cites. Ald. Villa, Ald, Roddy, Ald. Conway, Ald. Kennedy just to name a few. But the issue of entitlement goes beyond simply being related, it goes to being next in line. Mr. Cacchione has said he deserves to be the next alderman for the 6th ward because he has earned it — by dutifully being a part of the 6th Ward Democrats. This entitlement could simplify things so much — why bother with elections. We’ll just have someone take attendance at ward functions and the person with the most gold stars will be the next alderman. He who has been in line the longest gets the job. Such a process takes away all that hard work of sorting through positions on issues. Sadly much of the city’s politicos believe this to be a logical system. Take a look around this city and ask yourself how well that has served us for the last 50 years.

Mr. Cacchione speaks of the wealthy above, speaking a different language. Interestingly, he lives in one of the wealthiest areas of the city: Compton Heights. A few years ago, residents of Compton Heights sought city funding to install a gate to close off access to public streets. Mr. Cacchione was among the supporters. From the Post-Dispatch story GREAT GATE DEBATE IN CITY PITS ISSUES OF SAFETY VS. ISOLATION dated 4/24/2003:

In St. Louis’ Compton Heights, discord is brewing between residents who want a gate at the main entrance to their neighborhood and those who don’t. The neighborhood is bordered by Interstate 44 on the north, Nebraska Avenue on the east, Shenandoah Avenue on the south and Grand Boulevard on the west.

Proponents point to traffic concerns and security, while opponents say not only is a gate unwarranted, but no traffic studies have been done to demonstrate the need, and no vote has been taken on the issue.

They add that a gate would isolate the neighborhood and require the use of city money to close a public street.

But Dr. Shahrdad Khodamoradi, president of the Compton Heights Neighborhood Betterment Association’s 12-member board, says that adding a gate at Grand Boulevard will not create a gated community. The board unanimously supports a gate.

“We’re not closing the neighborhood; we’re closing just one entrance. We’re not creating a gated neighborhood; we’re putting gates that can be opened and closed at Grand,” he said.

Compton Heights is split between two aldermen who disagree on the issue – Alderman Lewis Reed, 6th Ward, and Alderman Phyllis Young, 7th Ward.

Reed has said he is prepared to ask the Board of Aldermen for up to $15,000 in city money to help pay for a gate. A final cost for a gate has not been computed.

“This is an attempt to liberate the neighborhood,” Reed says of the traffic concern – an issue he says has simmered for more than 33 years.

He says the city and residents have looked at other alternatives, including cobblestone strips, at a cost of $180,000, to be placed on the streets as an attempt to slow traffic.

Young said she would be reluctant to support a gate but hasn’t decided how she would vote.

“It seems quite divisive … from what I’ve seen,” she said of the brewing discord.

Opponents suggest that a gate would foster a sense of elitism for the neighborhood.

And yard signs that say “Residents Against Gates” jar the serene impression of the century-old mansions on the neighborhood’s quiet streets with literary names such as Longfellow, Hawthorne and Milton.

Phyllis Calhoun, who has lived on Longfellow for several decades, calls the move to put up a gate “an arrogant breach of authority.”

She says that although at peak traffic times, occasional speeders zoom through the neighborhood, the streets are quieter than most.

Patrick Cacchione, a neighborhood association board member, says the push for a solution to the traffic problem is not new.

“Talking to the fire and the street departments, we’ve concluded that if we want to solve the problem, you put up gates at Grand,” he said.

Reed said he plans to introduce the gate proposal within the next two weeks.

Thankfully Compton Heights didn’t get their costly gates to privatize the public streets, something both Reed & Cacchione supported.
On April 2, 2002 Mr. Cacchione had an editorial in the Post-Dispatch commenting on the state of the city’s health department:

First, there’s a leadership crisis. The department has had five directors in five years and needs a permanent director. Other key staff members are needed as well — particularly a communicable disease physician and a finance director. But budget shortfalls keep those positions unfilled.

The city needs to see the big picture here: It is unconscionable for a major American city to operate one of its most important departments without critical staff needed to do its work.

Second, the Health Department needs to attract top-level talent. Public health is a knowledge-based enterprise. But with its host of problems — and its antiquated city residency requirement — that talent is going elsewhere. Even though the department does not provide medical services, it needs physicians. Right now, only one is on the staff full- time. Our city boasts an excellent school of public health at St. Louis University — but its top students go elsewhere.

Perhaps the note takers could enlighten us on Mr. Cacchione’s view on the “antiquated city residency requirement” as it relates to teachers, police and such. If I am not mistaken, he has recently spoken in favor of the residency requirement? Is it no longer “antiquated.”
For many years Mr. Cacchione lobbyied on behalf of Daughters of Charity National Health System and Carondelet Health System. His letters to the editor on health care issues were thoughful, passionate and very democratic. He spoke elequently of the need for health care for the poor.
So when the issue of an increased cigarette tax came up last year to assist health care providers with funding to help the poor you would have thought Mr. Cacchione would have been right in there working to increase the tax. Well, if you thought that you’d be wrong. From the Post-Dispatch on October 12, 2006:

Missouri voters will decide next month whether to raise the tax on cigarettes by 80 cents a pack and triple the tax on other tobacco products.

Opponents already have blanketed the airwaves with television ads opposing the tax. Many convenience stores and gas stations display “No on Amendment 3” placards.

“We’ve been running a full campaign, with the full anticipation this would be on the ballot,” said Patrick Cacchione, a consultant for an opposing group called Missourians Against Tax Abuse. The group includes cigarette-maker R.J. Reynolds Co., as well as tobacco farmers and retailers.

Mr. Cacchione’s group, Missourians Against Tax Abuse, gave $500 to 17 different wards in the city, including the 6th ward where he was and is the committeeman. The city’s central committee received $5,000. What keeps coming up is how Cacchione spoke before the 6th against the tax increase, convincing ward members to endorse voting no on amendment 3. The one thing he forgot to mention, however, was he was a paid lobbyist working on behalf of the interests of those seeking to kill the amendment. And before you start to think it was a small group of convenience store owners think again, their latest report shows they raised nearly $6 million to defeat the proposal with much of it coming from R.J. Reynolds.

Mr. Cacchione does have far more “experience” than probably his two opponents combined. The problem is that his experience is to say what it takes to win. Last night his answers were great — he said literally everything I wanted to hear while some of Saller’s and Triplett’s answers gave me pause. But that is exactly the problem, he is saying everything we want to hear. If he were to spend his four years as alderman working passionately on behalf of the 6th ward residents and the city as a whole I probably would support the guy, but the words come too easy for him. He seems like the poster child for slick politician. Sixth ward voters need to look to Kacie Starr Triplett or Christian Saller for the less polished but more direct candidate.

Note: St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives are not something I can link to. These can be accessed through their archives system if you desire the full articles.