{image courtesy of City to River}
A week before the official presentation of the five final Framing a Modern Masterpiece competition designs, City to River has announced a broad list of supporters seeking to remove what will be the former I-70 downtown. The competition ranges from the east riverfront to Kiener Plaza and seeks to add new attractions and amenities, as well as improved connections to the city. City to River and its supporters seek to ensure that the barrier presented by more than 20 blocks of Interstate is removed, that more people have more and better access to the Arch and riverfront.
The talent focused on the Arch grounds is incredible. No one knows exactly what the design teams will present, but St. Louis should see the best in architecture and urban planning from the design teams. This is exciting. But this project is too important to our city to leave entirely to a design competition and one week of public comments. What do city residents, businesses and organizations want? What's best for St. Louis? This should be a discussion and not a comment box.
Over the course of the past several months, City to River has been the only organization to lead a discussion about what St. Louis wants. Today, a wide range of businesses and organizations representing developers, real estate, transit, hotels, property owners, and more are saying they want the City reconnected to the Arch and riverfront, that I-70 should be removed and replaced with a boulevard. In addition, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has called for St. Louis to "plan for highway removal" and the National Park Service has stated that they "strongly support highway removal."
City to River supporters:
Chivvis Development – developers of Chouteau’s Landing, just south of the Arch
Citizens for Modern Transit – local transit advocacy organization
Coldwell Banker Commercial – leading area commercial real estate firm
Drury Hotels – Drury Plaza, Drury Inn – Convention Center – major Midwest and downtown hotel operator
Environmental Operations – developers of former St. Louis Centre mall and One City Centre office tower
Gentry’s Landing – high-rise riverfront apartment community
Hilliker Corporation – leading area commercial real estate firm
Laclede’s Landing Merchant’s Association – organization representing Laclede’s Landing businesses
Laclede’s Landing Redevelopment Corporation – organization representing Laclede’s Landing property owners
Landmarks Association of St. Louis – St. Louis’ leading historic preservation organization
Lodging Hospitality Management – owner/operator of Ballpark Hilton
LoftWorks – Craig Heller – developers of Syndicate Trust, The 411, City Grocers, and several other Downtown buildings
Mansion House – high-rise riverfront apartment community
Mayor’s Vanguard Cabinet – Planning and Land Use Committee
North Riverside Holdings – Tim Tucker and Mark Schulte – owners of Cotton Belt building on North Riverfront
Open Space Council – committed to conserving, protecting and sustaining land and water resources throughout the St. Louis region
Spinnaker St. Louis – Amos Harris – developers of Laurel project in former downtown Dillards building
St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission – lead St. Louis convention agency
St. Louis Chapter of American Institute of Architects – local chapter of national organization
William Kerr Foundation – committed to projects designed to improve education, enrich the environment and promote health and accessibility with offices on North Riverfront.
