urbanSTL

dredger wrote:^ I believe it would be a huge opportunity and big step forward if the city could find a way to buy very southern end of FPCC lot and rebuild Wise Ave as through street, reintroduce some grid. The city could turn around and offer for development. FPCC could use the funds in part to build some structured parking with a recreational/green field/practice field on top for its student body or even a solar facility for long term savings/financing package. The scale not as big as replacing 22nd parkway/interchange downtown west nor the opens us the sheer amount of space but lot more doable in constrained budgets and as noted on previous posts. Highland development has been steady and slow. You don't need a lot of space, just some well purposed placed space for some more infill.

Dream just a little bit bigger even! What about creating a comprehensive 10+ year plan to reconnect Wise from Hampton to the Grove, also Berthold from Hampton to Kingshighway (Berthold-Parkview Pl-College Dr-Berthold). STLCC-FP is going to need a major, major renovation very soon. I'm pretty sure it already has high enrollment but the facilities are like a county middle school straight out of the 60's. A plan to remake the campus around a walkable, dynamic avenue would be the spark that that campus desperately needs.

These two through streets could revolutionize the neighborhood. All that dead industrial space could easily, gradually make way for geographically more appropriate mixed use development. Imagine human scaled residential and small retail. Cheltenham would be the sexy Dogtown East to Clayton-Tamm's classic Dogtown West. If done correctly these two streets plus opening up the Western terminus' to the Grove's residential streets, we would see a continuous urban vibrancy from the Grove thru Big Dogtown and into Maplewood.

^ Doesn't look like there are any permit applications filed yet but I assume this should be breaking ground first half of this year if they plan an opening for next year.

I saw earlier today that HBA housing permit reporting showed we actually had fewer new construction multifamily permits issued last year than in '14, (464 compared to 673) but it looks like we're on track for a stronger year in '16 with things like this, 32 N. Euclid and the Ranier Court(s) on Pershing looking confident. I hear the Green Street project in the Grove is also still very much alive.

Encore construction with Cortana in the background

Not only are they not connected. They are walled and/or fenced off.

chain-link fence but half the neighborhood to the south is industrial use.

And

so its about 32% retaining wall and 68% fence....

^ Being connected to south is loss opportunity for grid but believe their still opportunity to reconnect Wise Ave, build a parking structure for FP Community College and free up some of the overbuilt surface parking lots and see what other development you can bring to the area.

To me a bigger issue is Wise Ave being disconnected & disjointed and a community college footprint with way too much surface lot parking. Just believe that whole back stretch from FP Community College to the Science Center should be rebuilt and a new vision for the area that encourages more jobs, development and infill along with more pedestrian crossing to bridge the I64/Hwy 40 divide to Forest Park between Hampton and Kingshighway. Obviously development has succeeded with the old arena property. Time for a grander vision starting with Wise Ave - whether it be denser community college footprint, redo of science center parking, more apartment blocks to infill, revitalizing light industrial jobs, reconnecting some streets and encouraging residential infill to the south of Encore for those who might be looking to become homeowners but want to stay close to the immediate area.

^ doubt STLCC has the money to build a garage just to extend the grid for another block to I-64.

I drove past the back side. Is that going to be the garage? It's dug down about 10-15 feet for sure

Wishful thinking but too bad the city can't find a way/dollars to fill the gap so Wise Ave can extend from Hampton all the way to Macklnd w a new S Highland intersection and make a deal Forest Park Community College structured parking in return for some of the community college sea of asphalt for more development.

Great idea!

Encore is nearly complete. Highlands is a complete project.




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Move-ins begin in March.

Safe to say that the Cheltenham neighborhood will see double-digit growth again this decade... I know Cortona was opened this decade but can't recall if the one before that was prior or post 2010.

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^ well that's interesting to hear. got any thoughts behind why?

Obviously, potential tenant grief over the loss of the Arena when Cassilly had a legit plan for it