Is THIS PROJECT FOR REAL? I really think this project needs to happen.In every major city that I have been to there is a shopping district by the exspressway except my hometown ST.Louis. This means when out of towners are on 70 passing through if they want to stop and get a bite or do some shopping they can and might come through the area more often and spend money.
^A project not located near the highway would be better. Obviously, being on a highway, they capture sales tax revenue, but this location also keeps people from actually experiencing the City. In effect, it is a stopover point on their journey out of Downtown back to home in O'Fallon or St. Charles. That might be fiscally a good short term idea, but in terms of actually experiencing the City, as opposed to a corporate bland shopping center which looks like St. Charles, it fails wholly.
Moreover fiscally, in the long run, issuing subsidy is a bad idea. Some municipality, in 10 years or less, down the highway could build the same thing only newer. Thus they steal customers and our project fails to payback the bond. Given this isn't good faith and credit, but still it's bad for municipalities as we are forgoing revenue and then the project fails. It doesn't even last long enough to justify us forgoing a part of the sales tax. Business is playing municipalities against each other. We wonder why such disparities arise at the local level?
If it must be on the highway, what we need is urban construction that says "this isn't St. Charles, it is unique." Such a statement would attract people back. Why would they move here for what they already have?
Koman properties will most likely create a wonderfully nasty sea of parking to facilitate this usage. Our City deserves better yet our leadership has absolutely no vision.
"Plaza in the Hood"
That kind of racist, "they are black and will take anything" attitude is what keeps our City, and the North Side, from reaching its potential. African Americans, and the City at large, deserve better.
That kind of racist, "they are black and will take anything" attitude is what keeps our City, and the North Side, from reaching its potential. African Americans, and the City at large, deserve better.
OK, that is a bit of an over reaction, don't you think? It wasn't that offensive... and anyway, its more "its in the city and they will take anything," or "its in St. Louis and they will take anything;" I don't think race was necessarily assumed here. I live in Carondelet, but my friends from the county think I live in the "hood" too...
Shopping districts near the highway atracts the eye of peole who are visiting and those that are traveling through town on their way to another destination who eventually get off the highway and shop and then begin to get curious and begin to exsplore the area and then they eventually come back to visit that area. When I travetto Chicago I often stop at areas right by the highway because it is very atractive to the eye and I shop and even drive around to check out the area and neighborhood and I often say this would be a nice area to relocate to. People atract people so if I am driving on a exspressway in a major city and see an area where there are a lot of people it draws attention automatic and it makes the area become more ALIVE!
St. Louis seeks retailer for old Ordnance Plant buildings on Goodfellow
The 16.5-acre site produced ammunition during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, and has been vacant since 1998. The Army declared it excess property in 1999. St. Louis Development Corp. tried years ago to find a buyer for the site, at 4800 Goodfellow, to no avail. Deputy Executive Director Rob Orr said the agency had been in talks with a developer that seemed promising before the pandemic ended that possibility.
SLDC has also fielded inquiries from buyers who want to use the site for non-retail uses. SLDC, however, wants to help fill the food, retail and services desert in the neighborhood, Orr said. "We think there's a real opportunity," Orr said. "It has great highway access with the Goodfellow exit off 70 and 100,000 vehicles pass by everyday."
I can see it now, CostCo, Home Depot, Sam's, double drive thru fast food and coffee, car washes!
So much of St. Louis City and inner North County is under retailed, I wouldn't mind there being a Walmart and associate shops in this plaza.
I know that this area is planned to be served by the N-S Metrolink in the future. I wonder how it would try to relate to that. Either way, this area is dire need of investment.
It is. Let's try small businesses owned by locals serving locals instead of wealth mines sucking money out of the neighborhoods, city, and region. Also the article highlights highway access, not N-S Metrolink access. You know that means a Olive Marketplace type development. I guess a plus is an opportunity here for the city to shift taxable sales from elsewhere to this location.
Aren’t we getting a little bit ahead of ourselves here? I don’t think that location is under any threat of being invaded by big box retail any time soon. Hell, they can hardly get fast food retail in that neighborhood.
While I don’t want our urban retail to be taken over by Costco’s and Walmart’s, if we ever get to the point where they are interested in moving into North City, it will mean we have made a lot of progress in the area.
^ They are being very optimistic about their chances of landing big box retail. The site has been clean (for commercial use) for over 10 years and available for development, but no one has bit. Find it hard to believe that now is the time someone will jump in and develop a retail power center on the site, given the development and retail environment, and continual loss of north side households.
^ They are being very optimistic about their chances of landing big box retail. The site has been clean (for commercial use) for over 10 years and available for development, but no one has bit. Find it hard to believe that now is the time someone will jump in and develop a retail power center on the site, given the development and retail environment, and continual loss of north side households.
I could see maybe a Walmart and a few drive thru restaurants. Wouldn't be surprised if some storage or a logistics center shows interest.
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