Cochran VA Hospital

debaliviere · PostOct 06, 2006#12006-10-06T14:28+00:00

From today's P-D:

VA would swap prime Grand lot for parking garage

By Jerri Stroud

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

10/06/2006

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has a proposition for an imaginative developer: Acquire the rights to develop a prime piece of Grand Center property in exchange for building a parking garage in front of the VA Medical Center at 915 North Grand Boulevard.

The VA needs a parking structure with at least 1,100 spaces on the west side of Grand Boulevard between Enright and Bell avenues. The two-acre parcel available for development is on the southeast corner of Grand and Franklin avenues, a half-block north of Powell Hall.

Both parcels are among several used as parking lots for the veterans hospital. Veterans and visitors must cross busy Grand Boulevard to get to the hospital.

The VA will retain ownership of the land, but would grant the developer a 75-year lease in exchange for building the garage. The proposal is part of a government program to find public-private partnerships for underused government land and buildings. Advertisement

The VA has hired the Metis Group, a Washington-based consulting firm, to seek the "best value" development for the two parcels. The company expects to put out a request for proposals late next month and will award a contract by the end of January.

A public forum on the plan will be at 9 a.m. Oct. 19 in Busch Student Center at St. Louis University, Rooms 253 B and C.

framer · PostOct 07, 2006#22006-10-07T04:33+00:00

Boy, I just don't see many takers on this one. We'll see.

debaliviere · PostOct 10, 2006#32006-10-10T13:33+00:00

Framer wrote:Boy, I just don't see many takers on this one. We'll see.

Me neither. I think a while back we had discussed a project (Symphony Place, or something like that) that was proposed for the lot next to Powell Hall - maybe that plan will make a comeback. I doubt it, but who knows.

threeonefour · PostOct 10, 2006#42006-10-10T16:26+00:00

Gee, that sounds good. Trouble is, there's already a surplus of parking in the area, coupled with a lack of vision for infill development.

Ideally, we could replace some of the surface lots with infill development and aesthetically pleasing structured parking where appropriate. However, as long as the Schoemehl/Biondi regime is in charge, I don't hold out much hope for sweeping and positive change in this area. Too bad, because the potential is there.

I may be wrong, but like others here, I don't see any immediate takers for this proposal.

mattonarsenal · PostOct 18, 2006#52006-10-18T20:48+00:00

There has been interest in this from some large local developers, but it is a very difficult deal to make work.

sc4mayor · PostAug 02, 2022#62022-08-02T23:28+00:00

Probably should retitle this to a VA Expansion thread. Could be a billion dollar project if the BJ’s boosting is to be believed.

Inside St. Louis' next billion-dollar project
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... FN2Mtk7B0U

dredger · PostAug 03, 2022#72022-08-03T00:59+00:00

^ Thanks for posting as I noticed the article as well.

Will be interesting as I believe the VA's plans to expand/rebuild facilities, consolidated others and even eliminate some very underutilized facilities is in political limbo. Not sure if the political log jam will be broken or if it will be like any current desires by the military to close and consolidate under utilized bases. a political no go

Two ENR articles related to VA rebuild as a whole. Don't have much details for St. Louis VA hospital

https://www.enr.com/articles/53806-va-p ... -portfolio

VA's recommendations for new construction, upgrades, reconfigurations and closures respond to several trends, including more veterans who live in many parts of the South and West and fewer in the northeast and midwest, a VA spokesman said.
The condition of VA facilities is another factor. In the report, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the proposal would replace “old, outdated, run-down facilities with state-of-the-art facilities designed with veterans and VA employees in mind.”
The median age of facilities is nearly 60 years, compared with a median of 8.5 years for U.S. hospitals in the private sector. About 69% of VA hospitals exceed 50 years, says the report.

https://www.enr.com/articles/54388-grou ... tructuring

pattimagee · PostAug 03, 2022#82022-08-03T15:07+00:00

Assuming with the PACT Act passing yesterday that means more funding for veterans care, this would go in line with a proper expansion right?

dredger · PostAug 09, 2022#92022-08-09T22:59+00:00

Biz journals posted another article but behind paywall so not sure if anything else to add.

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... 4#cxrecs_s

The massive redevelopment of a VA hospital is just north of the Grand Center Arts District. The imminent investment is sparking hope that the struggling area north of Delmar Boulevard will see new activity "to help try and improve things."

symphonicpoet · PostAug 10, 2022#102022-08-10T04:52+00:00

^They're looking at a start date of 2024, which is quicker than I would have guessed. 700K square feet, including a new nine story tower, a utility plant, and three garages. It's ambitious. Shame it had to start with tearing down the Paladium, but the timing is good and maybe they'll actually fill more space than they cleared. Maybe.

I do think it's funny that they refer to Grand Center as a fifteen year effort when Grand Center Inc alone is more than thirty years old, and the symphony moved in nearly sixty years ago now. Fifteen year effort my left . . .

Anyway, let's hope these plans were worth the price we paid. Glad to see the DA looked at where their constituents actually live and what will be useful for them. That's a nice touch. And that they're thinking of this as a part of an ongoing effort, not a one time thing. (Tying into NGA, oddly.) And that local leaders see it as an asset that can be leveraged for future grants.

quincunx · PostSep 21, 2022#112022-09-21T03:10+00:00

Sweetie Pie's Upper Crust is closing to make way for the VA. Are they going to take Enright too?

STLEnginerd · PostSep 21, 2022#122022-09-21T14:43+00:00

Seems fine considering the circumstances and the fact that the Palladium is already lost. Losing a pretty prominent business is a shame but it was mostly self inflicted. The next step is trying to push for good design that can be a catalyst for Grand Center's resurgence.

TBH at this point i wouldn't mind a serious rethinking of the street configuration between Grand & Spring. Grandel, Delmar & Enright Seem too close together. Delmar seems like it should be an alley with the way all the buildings address the street. Delmar is the arterial going East into Downtown, Enright goes around Cardinal Ritter (Delmar is interrupted by the campus) and is of roughly equal prominence to Delmar up until Taylor at which point Delmar become the main Arterial again. Not sure what they should do about it but this could be an opportunity to rethink this section of it.

marc1015 · PostJun 06, 2023#132023-06-06T04:28+00:00

Does anyone know the status of this project? I found these renderings but i'm not sure how old they are . https://www.rlfarchitects.com/projects/ ... cal-center

sc4mayor · PostJun 06, 2023#142023-06-06T06:46+00:00

^ Interesting find. I've heard no updates outside of what has already been posted here.

STLEnginerd · PostJun 06, 2023#152023-06-06T13:43+00:00

i am struggling to understand how this rendering is oriented to the site... the background building don't seem to fit.

TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 · PostJun 06, 2023#162023-06-06T17:08+00:00

The VA approved the ~1 Billion dollar redo. I think its scheduled for 2028-2030. Will try to find the old Biz journal article.

pattimagee · PostJun 06, 2023#172023-06-06T17:42+00:00

Is there a chance they would move the site? Was just thinking how hard it would be to keep the hospital open for veterans during construction...

sc4mayor · PostJun 06, 2023#182023-06-06T17:43+00:00

^^^ Like most renderings, don't put too much thought into the background filler. Existing Enright would be vacated, center right side of the rendering is the corner of Grand and Delmar. You can see the existing hospital just poking out behind the proposed addition. The glass curtain wall faces south here.

This is the most recent information I can find:
https://www.constructionjournal.com/pro ... 56891.html

pattimagee · PostJun 06, 2023#192023-06-06T17:45+00:00

^Ahhh, I see it, thanks!

STLEnginerd · PostJun 06, 2023#202023-06-06T20:55+00:00

Obviously there are a ton of unknowns with this project. I thought it was a complete demo redo, which makes pats idea of a new site very logical and cost effective approach, but this rendering implies the old building will remain a part of the hospital in some capacity.

quincunx · PostSep 11, 2023#212023-09-11T14:46+00:00

Site plan

JaneJacobsGhost · PostSep 11, 2023#222023-09-11T18:19+00:00

Does the parking garage really need to front Grand?

_nomad_ · PostSep 11, 2023#232023-09-11T19:01+00:00

JaneJacobsGhost wrote: ↑
Sep 11, 2023
Does the parking garage really need to front Grand?

No it doesn't, but apparently they couldn't miss the opportunity to bulldoze neighborhood buildings and close off a pair of streets in the process either. That site plan looks like it was created by someone who never bothered to visit the location in person or even check out the context on google maps.

STLEnginerd · PostSep 11, 2023#242023-09-11T21:31+00:00

_nomad_ wrote: ↑
Sep 11, 2023
JaneJacobsGhost wrote: ↑
Sep 11, 2023
Does the parking garage really need to front Grand?
No it doesn't, but apparently they couldn't miss the opportunity to bulldoze neighborhood buildings and close off a pair of streets in the process either. That site plan looks like it was created by someone who never bothered to visit the location in person or even check out the context on google maps.

Three streets, Enright, Bell & Windsor are all closed to through traffic. in this plan.

Pretty terrible overall...

Could have put 1 big parking structure north of the hospital on that giant surface lot and covered all the parking needs for the site. No need to vacate Enright or Windsor then either.

I'd swear the garage on the south is designed to fit precisely on the Palladium footprint just so that it puedo-justifies its demolition.

The block between Grandel Sq and Delmar is still a weirdly thin block with everything facing Grandel so the hospital faces the back of a bunch of buildings. If you HAVE to demo the palladium and push south at least create a strip of lots on the north side of that block that can infill with restaurants and service businesses for hospital workers and patrons.

what's a CUP? Never mind, google seems to think its a central utility plant, which makes sense,. and I guess its located fine minus the vacation of Windsor.

aprice · PostSep 13, 2023#252023-09-13T16:45+00:00

Such a stupid site plan. A suburban car-centric superblock along the busiest bus route in the region, reducing access to that bus route for those west of the superblock. All so people can drive around an F1 track of "Guard Gates" to get to the many parking garages sprinkled around the site. One garage along Grand, with drop off lanes, gaurd gates, and ramps on the first level. You'd probably even have space left over for retail along Grand (but according to Fox Associates, that's not really needed despite art galleries headed to Clayton due to lack of storefront options).