urbanSTL

Thats a good question - where is Rollin Stanley. I haven;t heard a peep from him in months.



by the way - Alderwoman Young responded to my e-mail. She basically said that she would foward my concerns to the developers and that the second phase may not happen. Not exactly a satisfying response but a response nonetheless. .... too bad the underlying current reeked of "well I can't do anything about it." .... I mean come on - doesn't she have some say here?



by the way 2: according to my spell check, "froward" is a word.

Stopping Phase-Two is only half the battle. We must also demand a more urban design, lest this retail center becomes the next half-empty, shopping-cart-strewn Southtown Centre.

oh I agree ..... don't get me wrong. and for the record - she didn;t say "we will stop phase two," she said "well it may not happen ....." Like I said - she seems to have a hands off attitude about the whole thing.

I am sorry for the strong language, but Phyllis Young is a LIAR. She kept this whole project under her hat and away from her constituents until it was a done deal. She used eminent domain on extant buildings west of 13th street, and denied it on the radio. She threatened Bohemian Hill residents with eminent domain in an email, from which she has now retreated, and denies sending. Nobody should trust her on this, she has been planning on ramming this up the 7th ward's ass from the beginning, and will string us all along until it is too late if we let her. I am organizing people to post fliers and possibly knock on doors in Lafayette Square this weekend. Soulard to follow. If anybody is interested PM me.

Yeah I've heard the accusations against Ms. Young before ... my only question is "why?" What does she stand to gain out of sneaking this through? Where are the guys who directed "loose change" when you need them .....

Hmm . . . not how I remember her:

Brutal! I don't know what she has to gain from this. She is rumored to not be interested in re-election. I doubt she is getting some kind of kickback (though I may be naieve). She lives in Soulard, I wonder if she just really wants a grocery store. She lives far enough away that she won't have to look at it, but she'll be able to buy her fiber supplements, Geritol, and Depends there without having to drive to South Grand. I don't know, we all think that because people live in the city that they have an urban mentality, but I guess that is not necessarily true. Maybe she lives here because she just always has, or inherited a house or something. Maybe she doesn't have any idea about progressive planning and thinks that her main job as Alderwoman is to answer emails about broken sidewalks? She knows that people wanted a grocery store so she got them one. She may be completely confused by the opposition (if she has even noticed).

Let's play nice, kids.

markofucity wrote:by the way 2: according to my spell check, "froward" is a word.

Froward = habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition



How appropriate

She knows that people wanted a grocery store so she got them one.

I think you're probably right. I can imagine that if you've lived in the city for the last 20 years or more, a grocery store, ANY grocery store seems like a good idea. Maybe some of our ward representatives just aren't aware of what's possible in this new millenium!

Sorry, sorry. you are right Debaliviere. No more personal attacks I promise. Besides, they are too funny and I am going to get in trouble laughing out loud at work

TGE-ATW wrote:Sorry, sorry. you are right Debaliviere. No more personal attacks I promise. Besides, they are too funny and I am going to get in trouble laughing out loud at work

I laughed too - but I have to maintain my moderatorly duties.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:These are the things politicians do.

Especially in Saint Louis.

Matt wrote:A part of the explanation may be that real estate investment decisions are made on a 3-5 year track. If investor/owners had to take a longer view before being rewarded with a return or in the tax code, chances are we'd see smarter design and a different behavior.

That's the crux of the problem at Southtown Centre, and I have no reason to believe developers would be in any more of a rush to attract tenants beyond the announced anchors to this center.



I'd like to think this situation could change for the better, and I'd like to help the cause when my schedule clears in a couple of weeks, but I'm not getting my hopes up. There are just too many people in this town (especially in power) that don't get it.

Is tearing down these houses that look like they could be in Cambridge, MA REALLY necessary? Phase two (see built st louis' page on this), should not be allowed. Has St. Louis not learned ANYTHING?! What!? I can just see some huge grocery store with a sea of parking in front. Hello Ballwin!! what a freaking joke.

http://builtstlouis.net/bohemianhill01.html

Lafayette Square will get grocery

By Gail Appleson

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

02/14/2007



Supervalu Inc., the Minneapolis-based parent of Shop 'n Save and Sav-A-Lot, plans to open an upscale grocery in an $80-million mixed-used project south of downtown, according to developers of the property.



The full-service supermarket, which will be about 33,000 square feet, will open along with a Walgreens in Georgian Square, a 12-acre site on Lafayette Avenue, said Trace Shaughnessy, a principal of Gilded Age, which is developing the property with Koman Properties. Georgian Square is the first large-scale mixed-use retail development in or near Lafayette Square.



The development is south of the former City Hospital, which recently was converted to the Georgian Condominiums by Gilded Age. Construction on Georgian Square will start in about 60 days and the grocery, which will be called City Market, is expected to be open by summer of 2008.



"It's a definite thing," Shaughnessy said. Supervalu did not return calls.



The supermarket and Walgreens will be part of a 90,000-square-foot retail complex that also will include restaurants. Another part of the development will feature four commercial office buildings and residential units.



While the project will be geared to meet everyday needs of the increasingly affluent residents of the Lafayette Square and Soulard neighborhoods, the developers said it will also be close enough to serve downtown residents and office workers.



Downtown St. Louis has no drugstore and only one small market, City Grocers, which will move this fall into a 14,000-square-foot spot in Syndicate Trust Building, a mixed-use development at Tenth and Olive streets.



Shaughnessy said he believed Supervalu's City Market will be similar in concept to a Whole Foods, emphasizing organics and prepared foods. Indeed, the Whole Foods Market in Brentwood is the same size, 33,000 square feet.



Although Supervalu is known in this area for its value-centered markets, it has been increasing upscale departments and higher-end stores. For example, in January 2006 it opened Sunflower Market, which focuses on natural and organic products. Today the chain has four stores, each less than 15,000 square feet, in three markets, Indianapolis, Chicago and Columbus.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/busine ... enDocument



In November Supervalu unveiled "Premium Fresh & Healthy," a new store program aimed at finding the right product mix to fit neighborhood demographics of each store.



Last year, its Kirkwood-based Shop 'n Save subsidiary, known for low prices and bag-your-own groceries, also launched a series of upscaling efforts, including in-store coffee shops with Wi-Fi availability in Edwardsville and Dardenne Prairie. The chain has opened made-to-order sandwich counters in at least five locations.



The chain also offers more than 60 organic produce items and hundreds of non-perishable organic items and exclusive premium lines of beef and pork.



gappleson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8331

The article in the post made this sound like it was such a great thing. I love the idea, itself, of a grocery store in the area...but I think most people reading the paper wouldn't necessarily see the detriment of this development. Especially when it comes without a rendering of what they plan to do.

Construction starts in 60 days!?!?!?!? Seems like the window to revise any design elements has closed.

I heard the final plans have not been accepted by the review board and weren't going to be given the current site plan...

I agree completely Trent. That is why we should all send her an email expressing our concerns. I already heard back from her saying that the editor was planning to do something (vague......maybe a brush off?) in the future. If she gets alot of emails from us they may take our concerns seriously. I encourage you all to email the author, Gail Appleson,



GAppleson@post-dispatch.com



Especially because the article says that construction is supposed to begin in 60 days !!!

I e-mailed her too and her response to me was pretty canned. I also urge EVERYONE to write her.



DO IT RIGHT NOW, THAT IS AN ORDER.