Welcome to Vandegrove: A Strategy for Connecting the Urban Fabric of St. Louis

Urban design firm UIC has launched a discussion about the future of several central St. Louis city neighborhoods. Titled "Vandegrove", the vision focuses on an historic "pinch point" in the city, the intersection of Vandeventer and Tower Grove Avenues, which awkwardly hovers above the Burlington Northern and Union Pacific rail lines and sits between two Interstate highways. UIC describes Vandegrove as "a framework for looking at what comes next, how we continue to grow while maintaining the integrity and quality of the walkable neighborhoods that we are all passionate about."

UIC's Botanical Grove development, featuring historic rehabs, new residential construction, a school, wine bar and restaurant and pastry shop, is centered at Tower Grove and McRee Avenue. The project is most notable for its contrasting style to Botanical Heights, a six-block clearcut development of exclusively single-family homes set on cul-de-sac streets to the east. The vision is presented as a starting point for a community discussion at vandegrove.com, where you can view the plans in much more detail, as well as leave comments and contact UIC.

{the currently mangled and unwelcoming Vandeventer/Tower Grove intersection gets reimagined}