St. Louis Abandons Public Review Process for The Gateway Mall

In 2010 I was appointed to represent the 6th ward on the newly formed Gateway Mall Advisory Board (GMAB). The idea was to mirror how Forest Park is managed — a conservancy made up of the wealthy to help raise money for projects and an advisory board to let the Parks Dept know if proposed projects complied with the Master Plan, or not. Initial terms were staggered, with three year terms thereafter.

From a March 12, 2010 press release:

Named to the Gateway Mall Conservancy Board were Peter Fischer, GatewayFoundation; Robert Archibald, Missouri Historical Society; Steve Cousins, ArmstrongTeasdale LLP; John Ferring, Plaze, Inc.; David Mesker, retired, A.G. Edwards; EmilyRauh Pulitzer, Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts; Kitty Ratcliffe, St. Louis Convention andVisitors Commission; Henry S. Webber, Washington University; Josephine Weil,Community Volunteer; and Patricia Roland-Hamilton as Executive Director.

Also announced today was the formation of the Gateway Mall Advisory Board, a groupof stakeholders responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Gateway MallMaster Plan and providing ongoing community input about the Gateway Mall. Itscomposition and responsibilities are outlined by City ordinance.

Things went downhill quickly, my post from August 2013: Gateway Mall Still Unloved, Conservancy Resigned, Advisory Board Kept In Dark..  At this point I’d been pressing then Parks Director Gary Bess to initiate the process to appoint myself and others whose terns expired in March 2012. See original list here.

In October 2013 Gary Bess handed out a list at the last GMAB meeting showing the terms of myself and others hadn’t yet expired — see it here. The best word to describe this lists is forged. My original term expired in March 2012 but this new document showed it expires in March 2017 — again the appointments are for three years.  Some on this list now showed up with terms expiring in 2017 — impossible since it was just 2013.  The next month I emailed Bess and others on the GMAB list to let them know of the discrepancy. Bess was going to look into it.

This attempt to create a false record didn’t surprise me, in the 3+ years we did meet, I had to constantly remind Bess of the language in the enabling ordinance and our adopted bylaws. Last year Bess retired from the city and became the St lotus county director of parks, see St. Louis County Parks Director double dipping at taxpayer expense.

On December 31, 2015 the private nonprofit Gateway Mall Conservancy was administratively dissolved by the Missouri Secretary of State. Despite being required by ordinance, the GMAB also no longer exists. Our terns all expired, nobody was reappointed or replaced with new appointees. In January 2014 I was asked by Parks & 6th Ward Alderman Ingrassia if I was willing to be reappointed, I said yes to both and submitted the form to reappointed to a public board. Nothing happened.

Soon the History Museum will show their plans for two blocks of the “Civic Room” which includes Soldiers’ Memorial but the public body established by ordinance to review proposals no longer exists. In 2010 I had a feeling the city would abandon the Gateway Mall, master plan, and the public review process — I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Oppose Closing Chestnut at Soldiers Memorial

We’ll soon see proposals for Soldiers Memorial, they will apparently keep traffic open — just narrow the Chestnut roadway considerably.

Not only should Chestnut be narrowed, it should also be made two-way — at least between Tucker (12th) and 20th. Pine, the other part of this one-way couplet, should also be made two-way.

Results from the Sunday Poll:

Q: The Gateway Mall Master Plan, & a preliminary design for Soldiers Memorial, call for the closure of Chestnut St to vehicles. Support or Oppose?

• Strongly oppose 18 [42.86%]
• Oppose 8 [19.05%]
• Somewhat oppose 4 [9.52%]
• Neither oppose or support 1 [2.38%]
• Somewhat support 2 [4.76%]
• Support 5 [11.9%]
• Strongly support 4 [9.52%]
• Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]

Most favor keeping the street grid intact.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Support or Oppose the Closure of Chestnut St in front of Soldiers Memorial?

Earlier this year approval was given for the Missouri History Museum to take over the city-owned Soldiers Memorial Museum, the agreement was finalized last month. A preliminary sketch showed Chestnut St closed to vehicles, allowing the WWI Memorial building to connect with the WWI/Korean War/Vietnam War memorial to the South. Final designs will be presented early next year.

It is unclear if the street is closed to vehicles, if the city’s only parking-protected bike bike lane would be interrupted.  Which brings us to today’s poll:

The poll will be open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Reading: Downtown St. Louis by NiNi Harris with Forward by Charlie Brennan

St. Louis Author, historian, & tour guide NiNi Harris is out with another book — this time on Downtown St. Louis.

Here’s the official publisher description of Downtown St. Louis:

In this rich photographic history, author NiNi Harris follows the evolution of downtown St. Louis from colonial days when French traders and craftsmen planted maize on the prairies that stretched from Fourth Street west to Jefferson Avenue, to millennials and empty nesters living in castle-like warehouses converted into twentyfirst-century lofts. 

Downtown St. Louis recalls when Native Americans arrived by canoe to attend a grand council and when the sounds of Italian street vendors filled the air in the 1870s. It describes the street celebration that erupted at Eighth and Olive Streets at the news that the Japanese had surrendered, ending World War II. All the while, generations of St. Louisans were building and rebuilding a spectacular downtown with ornate Victorian architecture reflected in the sheer glass walls of International Style skyscrapers, lavish art deco civic buildings, and a train station modeled after a walled medieval city. Filled with myriad images—historical and contemporary—this book chronicles the building of the old riverfront, the Wainwright Building, Busch Stadium II, and the Gateway Arch, among other major moments.

The five chapters are organized as follows:

1. 1764-1816
2. 1817-1873
3. 1874-1916
4. 1917-1945
5. 1945-present

Previous posts about some of Harris’ other books:

• Unyielding Spirit, the history of the Polish people in St. Louis by NiNi Harris
• Holly Hills neighborhood the subject of new book, author signing event today
• Historic Photos of the Gateway Arch by NiNi Harris
• Reading: St. Louis Parks by NiNi Harris and Esley Hamilton

Eventually I’ll find time to go through the book to examine all the images & read all the information.

— Steve Patterson

Reimagining 100 North Broadway to Take Advantage of New Luther Ely Smith Square & Arch Entrance

For over 5 years now I’ve been thinking about how to redesign the Bank of America Tower at 100 N. Broadway. My primary beef wasn’t with the 22-story tower, but with the 1-story section to the South of the tower.

First, a little background:

Bank of America Tower is a 22-story, 500,000 square foot Class-A office tower located in the heart of the prominent Downtown St. Louis market – the regional center for Missouri’s largest law, accounting and financial service firms. Located at the intersection of two major downtown arteries, Broadway and Pine, the Bank of America Tower offers easy access to the region’s extensive highway system and Metrolink light rail system.

Bank of America Tower was built to exceptional standards in 1976 as the corporate headquarters facility for Boatman’s Bancshares. Designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, the building features exquisite granite and marble finishes throughout and floor configurations which offer tenants breathtaking views.

Hertz Investment Group acquired this prestigious property in 2005. It is currently owned and managed by Hertz Investment Group. (Hertz Investment Group)

NationsBank bought Boatman’s Bancshares in 1996, and two years later it bought the larger BankAmerica Corporation — taking the name Bank of America. At some point the building was sold to investors. Through all the ownership changes the 1-story section remained a branch bank — until November 21, 2014.  See: Bank of America closing one of its downtown St. Louis branches.

My design idea is directed at the San Diego owners, I’m not proposing taxpayers do or fund any of what I’ll suggest below. Some of you may think if there was market demand for my idea it would already exist. This viewpoint ignores the fact that markets & buildings are constantly changing to reflect new market conditions. Because building changes don’t happen overnight, there’s a delay between a shifting market and physical changes.

Before I get into my idea I want to show you more of the photos I took in June 2010:

I returned in September of 2010 to have another look. With an active bank branch in the 1-story part my focus was on the tower’s ground floor facing Broadway. This time I did do a brief post, sharing the next two images. The captions are new.

The Atrium Cafe was very good, but it’s only open for lunch weekdays. Given that it’s hidden from anyone outside, that makes sense.

After the Bank of America branch closed I returned in July of this year to see the interior space and take another look at the exterior.

Even at this point it hadn’t hit me, though I knew the protruding greenhouse glass had to go. It was on my 2nd visit to the new Luther Ely Smith Square that I figured it out. Lets start with the last photo from that post.

The owners consider Broadway & Pine the main corner, but the diagonally opposite corner is positioned to take advantage of the new Square and future Arch entrance.Many Arch visitors will park in the Kiener garages and walk right past 100 N. Broadway.

The solution is to remove all the glass & cladding from the 1-story section and rethink it. The space has been vacant for over a year, with bank branches continuing to close it’s unlikely a bank will lease it. It is time for s physical change to the space to respond to the changing market. It isn’t 1976 anymore!

So my thought is this should become a restaurant. Not a weekday lunch-only spot but a place open for breakfast, lunch, & dinner 7 days a week. With all the tourists it should be familiar — Panera — still called St. Louis Bread Co here. There’s one on the ground floor of the Kiener East garage a block West — this could be a larger more up-to-date location.

Here’s more detail:

• Remove the greenhouse glass from all three sides, widen Chestnut sidewalk
• Create new building lobby with door to new restaurant — not open like it has been for nearly 4 decades.
• Place the kitchen & restrooms in the center.
• Include an elevator and stairs to a new rooftop patio. Shade for rooftop patio could come from a pergola, stretched canvas, umbrellas, etc.
• Nighttime lighting would be important to make this a great evening destination.

A St. Louis Bread Co here would be bad for the Atrium Cafe, perhaps they move to the old Bread Co space a block West. Their old space could be opened to the plaza like I suggested in September 2010 — occupied by a restaurant different enough from Panera/Bread Co. to survive.

The other side of the Old Courthouse has a similar low platform with tower arrangement. That low platform is occupied by the inwardly-focused Tony’s. I don’t see change coming to that building anytime soon. The owners of 100 N. Broadway have a great opportunity to rethink their building to take advantage of the new Arch entrance.

— Steve Patterson

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