This is wonderful but I wonder if anyone is thinking about what the addition of hundreds of new residents to Soulard in a single site will imply (the elephant in the room)? I haven't thought it through but there will be pros and cons that should be considered and provided for.
I was able to tour this development yesterday and I dont understand how this building will be bad for Soulard. It will create some density and hopefully spur other development to bridge the gap between DT and Soulard. They are a bit pricey, $800+ for a 1 bedroom around 750 sq feet but that price includes parking, high speed internet access, and satelitte cable. The only utility your are responsible for is electric. A restaurant it supposed to open on the south end of the building and you have access to the pool in the courtyard. They have reserved 10 of the 45 units available which I consider pretty good since this is the off season for moving and they have opened last month. The building is right next to the market which was bustling yesterday even though the weather was bad and once the building fills up this area will be booming every Saturday. Seems like a good thing for Soulard.
thats funny, because I was just about to write in to saythat Soulard is crying out for more density. I just moved in, and I'm a bit shocked at how empty the neighborhood seems to be. Except for the bars you rarely see peopl on the street, and the neighborhood is still chock full of abandoned, unused buildings.
soulard was built to be about twioce asd dense as it is now. How can anyone really cliam that more denisty would be bad. I mean there are vacant lots all over the place ....
It is kind of weird how many vacant shells are still left in Soulard. Just driving to work down 44/55, I can see several of them, along with lots of vacant land, as you mentioned. I wonder if developers just overlook them, or if their owners are asking some exhorbitant sum for them.
Many are coming online after years of sitting empty. I've got one in my block that we've been dealing with for nearly 5 years! About 10 months ago, the city told me that it was in court with the owner. If something doesn't happen by next spring, I'm going to try to get the neighbors to sue the owner to take the property from him. It's my understanding that neighbors can sue an owner of a derelict building for damages against their property value.
You know I happen to be a lawyer (in my spare time, when I'm not writing poorly typed comments onto this board). I would absolutely love to start doing that. I'll look into it. Hell, if I could manage to cover my expenses I might even be able to take the cases on as billable matters for my firm .....
There are a lot of vacant lots and empty buildings in soulard. I think neighborhoods that have a strong revitalization effort, such as soulard, should have requirements of these properties. At least an iron fence along the front would give the street a less abandoned feel. This wouldn't be tolerated in suburban subdivisions.
Actually I agree. Its painfully apparent to me that a few smallish measures would do worlds of good for Soulard - and actually the iron fence idea was one of the first things that crossed my mind. I leave adjacent to a really nice park (Pioneer Park) that is surrounded by a dilapidated chain link fence. The park is also pretty much completely dark at night. Add a nice, period appropriate iron fence and some lighting to that park and the entire block would look much better (I betcha property value would go way up too - making those vacant lots more attractive [and yes - helping my investment]). I also wonder how much it would cost to restore all the original brick sidewalks. You can see where people have paved over the original brick with ugly concrete. The original brick sidewalks were (and are if they remain) stunning. New streetlights would make a world of difference (again - appropriate, period specific street lights). And to reiterate the previous post - just cleaning up the refuse from the vacant lots would make the place look much more inviting.
If the city - or a private entity - came in and spruced the place up there would be a virtual stampede to redevelope/develope there.
And soulard is not alone. St. Louis is blessed with dozens of older, beautiful neighborhoods that would be VERY attractive for redevelopment if the city put some money into them.
You probably all remember the consultant who declared that St. Lois has the most boring downtown in America (can?t remember his name) ... no one remembers what he also said: that St. Louis is blessed with dozens of neighborhoods that other cities would cut off their arms to have. He advised the city to start throwing money into those neighborhoods - to recreate the urban fabric of our residential communities. Personally, I think he's right. For the cost of one St. Louis Center we could have made Soulard the next French Quarter, or North Boston or whatever - you get the idea (actually, it would be like no other neighborhood in the country of which I'm aware).
I've always felt that St. Louis has been approaching redevelopment from an inside out perspective. We've always focused on the down town in attempt to lure businesses. Why not focus on the urban periphery to lure residents. Businesses will follow. ....
I should clarify. Soulard is not in horrendous condition - and I know that many st. louis neighborhoods are expeerincing significant revitalization .... but Soulard could be much better and our neighborhood redevelopment could be much more dynamic with a concentrated pollicy of rebuilding our neighborhoods. The ciy should look at it like a capital investment; an investment in its tax base. I think it would be a wise investment - one that would result in significant returne for the city if done properly.
St. Louis' best asset is it neighborhoods. Its architecture. Its urban charm. St. Louis' best asset is not its downtown. Invest in your greatest asset -rebuild the urban fabric. Make Soulard, Lafayyette Square, Benton park and all the rest whole again. How cool would St. louis be with those araes bustling - with NO vacant lots - with solid city grids of developed. inhabitated property. what about North St. Louis, Tower Grove, Bohemain Hill, South Grand ...
I agree, it would be nice if all of St. Louis's urban fabric was restored, but I think downtown should come first. That's what out of towners see and judge us by, as well as potential suburban transplants. Downtown is what first attracted me to the city, then I opened my eyes to appreciate the whole city as a whole more.
Maybe I am just an oustsider looking in but, I 'll bet there are a few folks who could get a volunteer group to help clean-up these areas once or twice a year. I am living in California now, purchased a small home in Lafayette Square and am thrilled with St. Louis. I'll be moving next spring and hope to be active with the community needs. I've been reading the posts for months and I sure enjoy the debates . You all know what a jewel you have!!
Many neighbors would help do basic cleaning/sprucing up, but the vacant lot and sidewalk situation is something extremely noticable that neighbors cannot improve. The city has little money, but redoing crumbling sidwalks and forcing minor investments on the part of stuborn speculators in one of the city's most touted neighborhoods should be a priority. Even the crapiest neighborhoods in Chicago have better sidewalks than we have in Soulard.
misslyn wrote:Maybe I am just an oustsider looking in but, I 'll bet there are a few folks who could get a volunteer group to help clean-up these areas once or twice a year. I am living in California now, purchased a small home in Lafayette Square and am thrilled with St. Louis. I'll be moving next spring and hope to be active with the community needs. I've been reading the posts for months and I sure enjoy the debates . You all know what a jewel you have!!
Misslyn, Congrats on your upcoming move to Lafayette Square. One of the great things about Lafayette Square is the way people come together to maintain the park. I think it helps bring the neighbors closer. Misslyn, if you want to get involved with a community, you picked a good one. You will love it.
Many neighbors would help do basic cleaning/sprucing up, but the vacant lot and sidewalk situation is something extremely noticable that neighbors cannot improve. The city has little money, but redoing crumbling sidwalks and forcing minor investments on the part of stuborn speculators in one of the city's most touted neighborhoods should be a priority. Even the crapiest neighborhoods in Chicago have better sidewalks than we have in Soulard.
Maybe the time is right for Soulard to propose a community improvement district where property owners pay a (usually) minor additional assessment to help pay for neighborhood improvements. They probably already do for security.
I agree that Soulard has a huge amount of potential yet. We do have a lot of rental units (too many I believe) that are owned by people who would be against paying for addiitonal improvements. Also, we have low- to moderate income households that could probably not afford additional outlays. The progress made by Lafayette Sq. in the past year is probably due to the opposite of these two factors.
IMHO, the next phase in Soulard should include:
Preservation district status.
Stringent code enforcement.
Eminent domain and other means to take derelict property.
Streetscaping including period lighting.
Physical infrastructure improvements including return to brick streets.
CID creation, maybe even a TIF.
Plan for retail shopkeeping.
Larger public places improvements and projects.
There is a business taxing district that pays for the security services.
Could some of it involve removing 55, or maybe just building a deck over the whole thing so we can reconnect that part of the city with the others on the west side of 55?
They should at least do a lid for one block of 55, if not the entire stretch. It would be pretty cool if they did a sort of greenway/long park over the top of it. Some fountains would be cool. Definetely would raise property values in the area and make the place a more desirable place for Mardi Gras.
It would be nice if there were some sort of buffer zone between the industrial on the other side of Broadway. Maybe some mixed-use with retail? It would really help out the area's image for outsiders who see all the industrial when they enter the area.
Maybe the next best alternative would be to build a new pedestrian bridge much wider, without stairs, with bike lanes. Make it really attractive with brick, lighting, plants, etc...
