Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard (Northland)

chesterfieldkid03 · PostMar 31, 2005#12005-03-31T18:20+00:00

By Martin Van Der Werf

Of the Post-Dispatch

03/31/2005

BELIEVE IT: The deal took more than five years. Finally, next Thursday, a wrecking ball will hit the old Famous-Barr department store at Northland Shopping Center in Jennings. Within months, the plaza will be leveled and a new shopping center, anchored by Schnucks and Target, will be built in its place. The $60 million project, developed by Sansone Group, will be paid for, in part, by $17.5 million in tax-increment financing.

"I don't think anyone can argue with the use of the TIF for this project," said Jim Sansone, a principal. "This is an area that hasn't had large-scale retail development in years."

10-intuition · PostApr 01, 2005#22005-04-01T03:02+00:00

I gotta go there an take some pics before its all gone!

PostApr 08, 2005#32005-04-08T00:05+00:00

Demolition has commenced on the old Northland Mall. I went there on Monday and earlier today to take some pics.

suburban lou · PostApr 13, 2005#42005-04-13T16:24+00:00

Developers start Westfall Plaza

Scott Bandle

Of the Suburban Journals

North Side Journal

04/13/2005

The crane operator took careful aim and swung the wrecking ball at a corner of the abandoned Famous-Barr building. With a smash, a shower of brick and concrete rained down on the parking lot.

That motion signaled the beginning of construction on Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard. The new shopping center will replace the old Northland Shopping Center at the corner of West Florissant Avenue and Lucas and Hunt Road in Jennings.

"This is when it becomes real," said Jim Sansone, principal with the Sansone Group, the project's developer. "It's exciting to see this. Now the doubters can start believing."

City and county officials joined members of the Sansone Group for the official groundbreaking Thursday.

The $60 million project will have a Target store and a Schnucks supermarket as the anchors. The development will offer 500,000 square feet of mixed-used space. A Missouri state office building and an Aldi's food store are already open at the site.

Anthony Sansone Sr., founder of Sansone Group, thanked Target and Schnucks for their confidence in North County.

"A lot of people said it couldn't be done," he said. "These stores deserve a lot of praise."

arch city · PostJul 11, 2005#52005-07-11T16:05+00:00

Link:

Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard (PDF)

brickandmortar · PostJul 11, 2005#62005-07-11T16:39+00:00

Nice to see this project is moving forward now. The part of the ad mentioning the MetroLink extension coming from downtown and going out to Westport is a load of carp. Those projects haven't even emerged from anything resembling conceptional plans.

mcarril · PostJul 11, 2005#72005-07-11T17:18+00:00

^And if you look at the current proposed metrolink routes, the line to Westport does not even go by this development; it's the line to Flo-valley that does.

stlgasm · PostJul 19, 2005#82005-07-19T18:33+00:00

Another "cheapest possible use of real estate" strip mall in the works. Yet the developers tote this as "exciting"? There's nothing even remotely exciting about this project. No vision whatsoever. We deserve better.

trent · PostJul 19, 2005#92005-07-19T19:28+00:00

Gasm,

I'm frankly not all that upset because I'm just happy they are looking to develop in Jennings. There will always be strip malls, as long as there are humans. Humans in general are pretty lazy, and want all their amenities close by. I agree it's pretty uninspiring, but seeing any sort of development in Jennings is a positive, IMO.

Expat · PostJul 19, 2005#102005-07-19T22:15+00:00

I wouldn't call this exciting, but I don't see anything wrong with it in a suburb. This is the type of shopping center you see in suburbs everywhere. The people in Jennings will enjoy having a new Target and Schnucks. If they bulldozed Grand Center and put this in I would have a heart attack. I don't know Jennings well, so maybe I misunderstand the setting and what would be expected.

smsplanstu · PostJul 20, 2005#112005-07-20T04:00+00:00

The strip mall is replacing a 50s shopping mall known as Northland Shopping Center. This strip mall looks much better than the strip mall the Robert's brothers built along Delmar. Putting a Target in Jennings means it's not as bad of an area as many people think. This strip center to be built even has a better design than many new Chesterfield strip mall designs. I give it an aplause.

stlgasm · PostJul 20, 2005#122005-07-20T13:09+00:00

I guess I have higher standards, but Northland shopping center was a relic and a testament to the era of the American Dream. I think its replacement should be something beyond a typical strip mall. It looks cheap and shlocky. Why not build something that Jennings residents can really be proud of.

Expat · PostJul 20, 2005#132005-07-20T15:16+00:00

I probably shouldn't have commented on this development in the first place since I am not familiar with the area. I went to Built St. Louis and found some pics of the old Northland Shopping Center. Now that I see the pics, I vaguely remember the shopping center. The old Northland had a style about it - mid-century & optimistic. I like that and sorry that it is gone. It would have been a lot more interesting to retrofit the original buildings & made updates & expansions with mid-century style. For instance, Target in the old Famous building, etc. It would have been eye catching. Unfortunately, that sort of thing is rare in suburban settings. People are only beginning to learn that mid-century should be valued. Having said all that, I am certain that people in Jennings are excited about the new shopping center and glad to have the nice stores. Also, glad to have rid themselves of an empty mall. The beat goes on....

steveinphila · PostJul 20, 2005#142005-07-20T16:18+00:00

New poster here. Born and raised in St. Louis and visit there often. I remember Northland from my youth and am sad to see it being demolished.

I now live in an inner ring suburb of Philadelphia, and in my immediate neighborhood there are five old department store buildings that have been creatively reinvented. An old free standing Lord and Taylor store has been converted to a large grocery store on the first floor and a furniture store on the second floor. A multi-level building once occupied by Strawbridge & Clothier store (a Phila. store now owned by May Company) is now restaurants on the first floor and offices on the 2nd through 4th floors. A former Wanamake store (also now owned by May) is a Bed, Bath and Beyond in the basement, an Old Navy and Stein Mart on the first level and a health club on the third level. The fourth store, a former Sears, is now miscellaneous shops on the ground level and a Target store on the 2nd and 3rd level. This former Sears store is very similiar to Famous' configuration at Northland so I am really disappointed it is not being reused. Lastly, Bloomingdale's has been converted to an office building housing mostly medical offices.

All of these buildings free standing stores or were parts of strip centers, (like Crestwood Plaza was originally), and were built in the 50's and 60's and had their tenants siphoned off when a new mall when opened further up the road. I do hope River Roads can be salvaged, though I won't hold by breath.

smsplanstu · PostJul 20, 2005#152005-07-20T18:37+00:00

River Roads is not being salvaged, and will be demolished and replaced with 200+ singole family homes with the subdivision name Alexandria.

That development has changed hands and I am unaware who is the current developer.

trent · PostJul 20, 2005#162005-07-20T20:01+00:00

STLgasm wrote:I guess I have higher standards, but Northland shopping center was a relic and a testament to the era of the American Dream. I think its replacement should be something beyond a typical strip mall. It looks cheap and shlocky. Why not build something that Jennings residents can really be proud of.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, I was just stating that Jennings needs the development, and it is a suburb.

That said, I agree with you that you can always remake the sense of style to recreate something similar to what Brentwood Square did. Now, Brentwood Square is filled with Big Box retailers like Borders, Circuit City and REI...but they managed to maintain a sense of the old Brentwood Square mainly by holding on the it's most prized possesion, the Brentwood Square sign. That thing was always cool, regardless of what a wreck the strip mall was...and they reinvented the area.

Is that similar to what you're referring?

stlgasm · PostJul 20, 2005#172005-07-20T20:34+00:00

I applaud the Brentwood Square development for preserving the original sign. The sign was really the only thing worthy of preservation anyway.

That said, I think the Brentwood Promenade and the other strip centers along Eager Rd. are absolute abonimations. For such a central location, something with more vision and aesthetic appeal could've and should've been built. I'm thinking something similar to Columbus's Easton Town Center. It's mixed use, attractive, and pedestrian-friendly, yet still sensitive to its suburban setting. Instead, we end up with a cheap, ugly, vast strip mall complex with no charm whatsoever. What's worse is that many visitors to the city and of course college students are forced to shop here since their shopping options are limited in the city, thus leaving the impression that St. Louis has abandoned the urban model in favor of exurban-style developments. It's horrible!!!! There are ways to provide plentiful parking and large stores while still being inviting and attractive. Unfortunately, quick $$$ rules in this metro area.

I can't imagine anything will be salvaged from the old Northland shopping center, even though the retro signs are awesome. Wishful thinking, I know.

quincunx · PostMay 24, 2016#182016-05-24T03:40+00:00

$17.5M TIF. Shall we have another?

KSDK - Target to close store in Jennings this summer

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/target-t ... /212788497

Randy · PostMay 24, 2016#192016-05-24T03:49+00:00

^ St. Louis region just needs a few more Walmarts and Targets to reach its development nirvana!

wabash · PostMay 24, 2016#202016-05-24T03:58+00:00

Frontrunner for thread resuscitation of the year.

roger wyoming II · PostMay 24, 2016#212016-05-24T12:12+00:00

^ And in last place is the resuscitation of Mark McGwire's Wife , of Glen Carbon, makes SI Swimsuit Ed.

jcity · PostJun 08, 2016#222016-06-08T20:17+00:00

I certainly wish the original Northland's building could have been redeveloped into something cool to preserve that mid-century bad a$$ style, whether it was office and some retail or whatever... it's sad to see such a throw-away strip mall go up in 2005 and is now mostly vacant...

Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard (Northland)

Buzz Westfall Plaza on the Boulevard (Northland)

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