urbanSTL

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Mar 12, 2024

STLEnginerd wrote: ↑

Mar 12, 2024

OK so firstly this is clayton not the city.  They don't really need the tax revenue so short of a merger of the city and county or something i think its fine it stays part of an academic institution.

Secondly a bit of realism.  If develop the is zero chance this would be developed at high density.  The surrounding neighborhoods are some of the most elite in all of St. louis.  The NIMBY side of the force is strong here.  Best one could hope for is an extension of student housing from the South40 into the Fontbonne footprint and an overall expansion of enrollment.  Or maybe the baseball/softball field are moved to Fontbonne and campus buildings are built on that footprint.

Thirdly not too worried about the medical campus moving.  It's symbiotic with BJC.

The bjc and WUSTL med relationship isn’t all peachy.

Of course it isn’t. They’re in business together - there’s always going to be friction.

WashU Medicine isn’t leaving BJC for a Catholic Healthcare provider which is their only option.

^^ I would also add that Cortex also has a School of Pharmacy & believe a nursing program in addition to Wash U Med & BJC.  Simply makes no sense to me that Wash U would move things away from that cluster even with a more than a litter friction of having two elephants in the room at same time.

^ To JaneJacobGhost and others comments about relocating arts, graphics to music to performing arts onto its own little campus as well as being immediately able to add some on campus housing (more revenue generation just as airports love to add on site parking) makes a lot of sense IMO.    Also fits the "Hey X department you get your own building - and by the way I might add the part about now go find us some more private school paying students (or some more parents to pay for the students).

The school of art and architecture just built a new building and renovated existing facilities a few years ago.

^And the music building, while small, is honestly relatively nice. And the Gaylord Music Library, which is already a stand alone institution attached to the music building, is frigging fantastic. I'm not aware of another music library like it in the state.

I'm inclined to think this is most likely to be undergraduate housing at first. That'd make sense in terms of space. Maybe they could move performing arts there eventually, but I wouldn't expect it anytime soon. That said, Edison is definitely a facility in need of replacing.

When I was a freshman at Wash U. in 90/91, I lived in a dorm on Fontbonne's campus that Wash. U. was leasing. According to Google maps, that is now listed as the Fontbonne Fine Arts building. 

I think building new undergrad housing so they can tear down Shanedling, Dauten, Rutledge, Beaumont, Myers, Hurd, Hitzeman, and maybe late 80s buildings Park and Mudd is probably likely. Plus, loads of parking to maybe replace the structure on Wallace Drive that is 30+ years old.

I'm sure this isn't unique but William Woods University in Fulton posted on their instagram page that all current Fontbonne Students are automatically admitted to their on campus and online programs. So far, it's the only College I've seen post any kind of reaction.

I don't see this hurting the WashU Med School side of things at all, especially when you consider the investment they have been pumping into the campus the past decade. If anything this probably kills any chance of the North Campus on Delmar becoming anything more than the admin building surrounded by parking that it currently is

Omg traffic!
Most everyone will walk there, sheesh.

StlToday - Residents fear being bulldozed by Washington University plan to add ballfields in Clayton

She has lived in her Tuscany Park neighborhood for more than 70 years and said traffic on Big Bend is a nightmare. She got into an accident while trying to leave her neighborhood and worries how much worse it would get with the athletic fields.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 71c64.html

Not sure why WashU would want to move their athletic fields all the way over there. Put housing where existing fields are I suppose?

Baseball field at WashU has a sweet turf

That would be my guess.

quincunx wrote: ↑

Nov 12, 2024

Omg traffic!
Most everyone will walk there, sheesh.

StlToday - Residents fear being bulldozed by Washington University plan to add ballfields in Clayton

She has lived in her Tuscany Park neighborhood for more than 70 years and said traffic on Big Bend is a nightmare. She got into an accident while trying to leave her neighborhood and worries how much worse it would get with the athletic fields.

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 71c64.html

Did she vocalize her opposition the Centene towers, Forsyth Point and other Clayton office development? Because that’s the reason Big Bend is such a nightmare now.

NIMBYs win

StlToday - Washington U. suspends plan to build new Clayton ballfields

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/edu ... 70ca6.html

So the neighbors have a problem with ballfields. 

What is going to end up going on the land instead? What do the neighbors want? -- empty fields? 

Yes, they want nothing.

The two-story or is it three-story housing that's there.Is that part of Fontbonne or is that Washington University housing?
Was that collection of structures going to be torn down to make way for the fields/parking?
ty

Those belong to the seminary.

Concordia intends to relocate their housing towards the interior of campus, allowing an opportunity to leverage the land on the west side of campus. The Plan Commission approved the new housing. The current housing is in disrepair. Fontbonne structures are intended to remain for now. No fields were planned for that site. The city proposed overlays as a way to move beyond the current CUP system. CUPs for universities in the state of Missouri are more ambiguous and can drift towards burdensome negotiations, conflicting regulations, or even lawsuits. Overlays provide a more streamlined, bounded process. They give the city more power. This process began several years ago since Wash U understood that the neighborhood generally opposed their expansion. No proposal for fields was ever up for approval, only the structure by which to govern development on the site. They can still pursue them under the current system , and would have more power than with the proposed overlay. It is uncertain if Concordia can build the new housing without leveraging the west side of campus. This is likely not the end of this process. 

Really, blocking a baseball, softball and intramural field? I mean come on. Big Bend is 4 lanes and is not even crazy. People want to be able to drive everywhere but also have no traffic? The car makes everyone’s brains shut off.

I understand that there needs to be give and take with WashU and the community - the balance would create good results. But this is just straight NIMBYism. “It will be lights and traffic next to my house and that annoys me.”

As a former small time college baseball player, I don’t entirely understand the move of the fields. The existing ones are close to the locker rooms, fitness facilities, rest of athletic complex (my alma mater actually made a very similar move of the athletic fields away from the main part of campus and I don’t totally love it). I like the tight knit nature of the Danforth campus and understand expansion but hope they don’t go the over abundance of green space and sprawl that many campuses take on. My alma mater is in a small town so it matters less, but here we need to respect and improve the urbanity of the area.

It all depends on the plans for the Fontbonne campus. I’m sure they have something cohesive in mind by acquiring all this new land.

Regardless, the NIMBYs need to allow WashU to see out a vision and there should be comments about what is good for the neighborhood and region - not just their private residences. Maybe WashU can tell them what to do with their private property? “Hey, one car per household down there so only one car garage! Big Bend traffic is too much for our students!” Yes, see how ridiculous it sounds NIMBYs?

I figure they want to move the ball fields so they can build more dorms on the South40.

Locals are asking for WashU to make Payments in Lieu of Taxes; WashU won’t answer the call
https://www.studlife.com/news/2025/02/26/locals-are-asking-for-washu-to-make-payments-in-lieu-of-taxes-washu-wont-answer-the-call