nextSTL | St. Louis County

Maplewood Aims to Kill "Fundamentally Flawed" South County Connector

Published on Saturday, 08 June 2013 06:31

Written by Alex Ihnen

The inner-ring suburb of Maplewood has officially weighed in on the proposed South County Connector highway in a big way. In an official letter sent to the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic, Mayor James White vociferously objects to the project's “fundamentally flawed” Draft Environmental Statement (EIS). In seven distinct sections, White tears apart the project in detail, enumerating how the highway plan conceived decades ago is shortsighted and how the Draft EIS fails his community time and time again (be sure to read the full letter below).

The thrust of the letter attacks what the highway project would mean to the community. “Building more roads to accommodate more vehicle traffic is not a transportation alternative, nor does it preserve any sense of community. None of the four corridor alternatives received more than 10% of the first choice responses (in a recent public meeting). Such a low level of support for any build alternative would indicate to a responsible planning agency that the plan and details of the plan are insufficient. It seems that in the case of this project the desires of the public are secondary to vague traffic statistics.”

Novelly, Apex Plan 10-Story Clayton Tower

Published on Monday, 13 May 2013 09:58

Written by Geoff Whittington

{Forsyth Plaza will likely be razed for a 10-story Apex Oil tower}

WhoLou sources allege Apex Oil intends to construct a 10-story building near the Merrill Lynch Centre at 8235 Forsyth in Clayton where the company is headquartered. Apex Oil CEO and Horatio Alger Award honoree Tony Novelly owns the 245,000 sq. ft. Merrill Lynch Centre. In recent years Novelly has purchased several other buildings in that immediate area leading to speculation the site would soon be developed.

Recent activity though, according to sources independent of each other, would seem to indicate that this development is no longer just a rumor. It is alleged that Apex Oil has hired architect ACI Boland to design the 10-story building and is meeting with contractors regarding construction.

Global Foods Market Coming to Washington University Project in the Delmar Loop

Published on Thursday, 25 April 2013 07:58

Written by Alex Ihnen

nextSTL has learned that grocer Global Foods Market will be the largest single retail tenant in the $80M Washington University mixed-use development in The Loop, occupying 15,000 square feet. The grocer currently has one location in Kirkwood. That location is nearly 25,000 total square feet. The Loop site at Eastgate and Delmar will feature a total of appoximately 22,000 square feet of retail space. For reference, Culinaria in downtown St. Louis has a main floor of 21,000 square feet. the current Trader Joe's at the Brentwood Promenade is 10,000 square feet. The lease is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks and Global Foods Market hopes to open by Summer 2014.

A full-service grocer has long topped the list of wished by Loop residents and visitors. Mock-ups of grocery stores have been featured in Loop planning documents over the past several years and a variety of developers have approached grocers from Trader Joe's to Schnucks about openning a store. Although the Culinaria concept has proven successful downtown, Schnuck's has a location nearby on Olive and may have worried about cannibalizing sales, Dierberg's doesn't yet have an urban concept store, Trader Joe's is expanding their Brentwood location and Whole Foods is opening a Central West End store.

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.

Paric, Cannon to Design, Build New BJC Pediatric Hospital in Town & Country

Published on Monday, 25 March 2013 10:44

Written by Geoff Whittington

According to WhoLou sources BJC HealthCare expects to open a new pediatric hospital in Town and Country by December of 2014. The hospital will be constructed at Highway 40 and Mason Rd. The site was formerly the headquarters for Troop C of the Missouri State Highway Patrol from 1968 to 2008.

Paric Corp. and Cannon Design have reportedly been selected by BJC as general contractor and architect for the project. The team was selected over the triumvirate of Tarlton Corp., Arcturis, and BSA LifeStructures according to WhoLou sources.