nextSTL | Page 7

When the Art World Came to St. Louis: The Noonan-Kocian Art Company at Tenth & Locust
St. Louis Zoo Rethinks Almost Everything, Offers Transformative Vision of Expansion
Biondi Before and After
CVS Finally Gets Its Lindell Boulevard Store, Elliptical AAA Building Remains
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company to Open 100K bbls Capacity Brewery, Retail Location in The Grove

What's Wrong With Clayton? That's Easy, but Does Clayton Care?

Published on Thursday, 11 April 2013 07:13

Written by Alex Ihnen

{five-lane Maryland Avenue is a typical "successful" Clayton street}

What's wrong with Clayton? It's a great question, largely because many people find it absurd. It's one of the success stories of St. Louis County, right? There are new high-rises, million dollar plus condos and homes, the schools are highly rated...but everyplace has problems and for Clayton, the symptoms have become apparent to many: vacant retail space, dead sidewalks and empty lots.

It's a strange problem. in 2011 Forsyth Boulevard in Clayton was recognized as the 30th most expensive average office rent per square foot in the nation. That sounds healthy. Now the city has been recognized for its Complete Streets legislation. But visit Clayton after 6:00 p.m., after cars have emptied out of the dedicated parking garages and left behind the ubiquitous four-lane streets for a highway commute, and you will begin to glimpse the issue.

Category: St. Louis County

McKee, NorthSide Win Unanimous $390M TIF Ruling

Published on Tuesday, 09 April 2013 17:33

Written by Alex Ihnen

The SouthSide Regeneration plan may have been an April Fool's Day prank, but today Paul McKee is again thinking big. His NorthSide $390M Tax Increment Financing package has won a unanimous decision at the Missouri Supreme Court. Passed by the city's Board of Aldermen in 2009, the TIF, meant to jumpstart the rebuilding of a large swath of north city, has been stalled by a lawsuit ever since. The decision states that judge Dierker erred in his ruling that invalidated the TIF on grounds that it lacked specificity, essentially saying that Dierker ruled on an argument of his own making and not one made by the plaintiffs.

With the win, and the secured financial backing of the city, McKee has everything in place to move forward. What happens next is anyone's guess. The lawsuit had challenged the ambiguity of the plan and the decision means that McKee does not need to provide more specific project detail to access the TIF. Having been criticized for years for allowing vacant building to burn or fall down, McKee has repeatedly pled for more time and money. The ambitious project is on a scale not seen in the city's urban core since the building on Pruitt-Igoe in the 1950s.

Category: North St. Louis

nextSTL Friday News Roundup

Published on Friday, 05 April 2013 12:41

Written by Alex Ihnen

The most comprehensive story on Prop P, the Arch grounds, City and County parks from Jason Rosenbaum at the Beacon: Prop P's Passage Spurs Relief, and Action for its Beneficiaries

nextSTL story: Arch/Parks Tax Victory, St. Louis Regionalism and What's Next

The Nine Network's Stay Tuned talked Prop P: Arch Tax Vote

Laclede Lofts near Vandeventer broke ground. Check out the history here: Laclede Lofts and the Unexpected Redevelopment of Industrial Architecture in St. Louis

Category: Media

Arch/Parks Tax Victory, St. Louis Regionalism and What's Next

Published on Wednesday, 03 April 2013 12:34

Written by Alex Ihnen

{the Old Courthouse renovation will be one of the big beneficiaries of the Prop P victory}

Proposition P was approved by voters in the City of St. Louis by a wide margin yesterday. County voters passed the measure as well, meaning the 3/16% sales tax increase to fund local parks, recreation trails and the Arch grounds will be in effect for a period of 20 years, at which point votes will be required to reauthorize the tax. The final tally in the city saw the measure pass 67.2% to 32.8. The county final margin was 5.8% (6,234 votes), passing 52.9% to 47.1%. Turnout in the city was 12.5% and for the county 15.3%.

That's reality, but perhaps an outmoded lens through which to view the vote. Many, likely most, visitors to this site would like to see more regional cooperation, including St. Louis City rejoining St. Louis County, or even a full municipal merger. Shouldn't votes such as this been seen through this hopeful lens? If so, the Prop P vote wasn't close. A combined city/county would have passed the measure with very little drama, providing an 11% margin (14,545 votes). This shows that there was broad support among votes in the core of our region.

Category: Downtown

The Eight Bygone Ballparks of St. Louis

Published on Monday, 01 April 2013 10:57

Written by Cameron Collins

Opening day! There are few days on the calendar that I look forward to more than this one. By far my favorite sport, I love the start of a new season. It won’t be long before I’m sitting on my porch listening to ballgames and drinking good gin.

Baseball is another reason why I love this city. Imagine re-writing baseball history without St. Louis. Imagine eliminating the Gashouse Gang, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, and Ozzie Smith from that narrative. Eliminate the St. Louis Browns, “Cool Papa” Bell, Sportsman’s Park, Branch Rickey, eleven World Series championships, and two (maybe three) Negro National League Championships. Without St. Louis, the story of baseball suddenly becomes significantly diminished. Best of all, the fans here are passionate, they drape themselves in Cardinal red, and they fill Busch Stadium no matter where the Cardinals sit in the standings. It is a great baseball city.

Category: Urban Living