The Urban Workshop may still be less than a year old, but it's already outgrown the limits of of the Blogger platform. So we're moving over Wordpress and combining efforts with others to reach more people in the St. Louis area and beyond who care about our built environment, civic life and other developments.

From the start, the Urban Workshop has hoped to reach a broad audience and offer a place for a wide variety of people to voice their opinions. This effort has been partially successful, but we hope that our new home will further spur contributions from others. So bear with us as the move is made. The best guess is that this will take at least a week.



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{The S. Pfieffer Manufacturing Company Headquarters Building}

The industrial architectural legacy of the eastern-most Central West End appears one step closer to being preserved and repurposed. The S. Pfieffer Manufacturing Company Headquarters Building at 3965 Laclede Avenue is being recommended to join the National Register of Historic Places, an important step to future reuse. Specifically, the city's Planning and Urban Design Agency is recommending that the Preservation Board should direct staff to prepare a report for the state Historic Preservation Office endorsing the nomination.

The 3900 block of Laclede Avenue is all that stands between the joining of a still revitalizing Central West End and the campus of St. Louis University. The block provides very little historic context. A sprawling post office, vacant lots, etc. line the long street. The Six North development sits at the west end and several remarkable buildings occupy lots nearest Vandeventer Avenue.

There are two threats to buildings such as the Pfieffer headquarters. First, the nearing-completion Central West End form-based planning code may not provide any protection for buildings east of Sarah Avenue. While I'm very much in favor of a new development code, it was suggested at a planning meeting that buildings such as those near and on Vandeventer (see photos below) would not be protected. In part, this is because they supposedly lack "context".

Second, for those who appreciate the commercial storefronts on Vandeventer and other historic buildings in the area, industrial architecture sometimes doesn't fit their ideal of historic preservation. For many reasons, preserving remaining context, celebrating heritage, reusing buildings, maintaining and creating visual interest...the Pfieffer building, and others in the area are important to preserve.

The future of the block between SLU and the CWE is still uncertain, but it should be apparent that enough available land exists to build substantial new infill and preserve existing buildings and the in the end create a unique and vibrant neighborhood. With luck this could also set a precedent for the preservation of select industrial buildings in the Cortex area and elsewhere in the city.


{historic buildings on the 3900 block of Laclede Avenue}


{historic storefronts on Vandeventer Avenue}
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As much as I wanted to write a funny headline I just couldn't stomach it. You see, I'm not convinced that big concrete balls are any better than big sewer pots. The issue is the function and usability of our streets, continuity within our neighborhood and, of course, future development opportunities. Closed streets were a disincentive for me to move to the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood almost four years ago and they remain a negative for the neighborhood.

And that's not to mention the highway barriers that were installed this past year. I have been told that those barricades were added after several residents expressed concern for the safety of children who might otherwise run or bike between the sewer pots and into traffic. It's for the kids you know, and I'm guessing that until we care less about our children the second layer of barricades may just stay. That's sarcasm.

What I don't understand is why public city streets can be closed temporarily indefinitely without any mechanism to readdress their need. The closing of city streets should never be routine or normal. Residents of closed streets should have to reaffirm the need, not simply a desire or an indifference but a need to continue a temporary street closure.

The "before" shot:


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Unfortunately the original 1912 glass floors and multi-story stacks will soon be gone, as will the pneumatic tube system (surely Bob Cassily can find a use for those - right?) but it's all part of a much-needed and ambitious renovation plan for the St. Louis Public Library. With any luck the process will avoid the cost overruns and other issues that plagued the recent Indianapolis Central Library Project. Of course I would have loved to see a plan of that magnitude for St. Louis.


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The Washington University Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation (WUMCRC) recently hosted officials from Davenport, IA and showcased The Grove and its development success. WUMCRC put together the slideshow posted below. While The Grove may be nearing the half way point of its redevelopment, the before and after photos, as well as the numbers behind the redevelopment effort should be appreciated. Of course the best part of the slidewshow is likely the quote from Rick Bonasch of stlrising.blogspot.com

WUMCRC the Grove Presentation
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Hey, I have no idea why the Urban Workshop wasn't chosen as a juror for the Arch grounds design competition either. We can be sure a vast urban design conspiracy is at play. So maybe we were a long shot, but I would have really liked to see a more open competition process, or possibly a more out-of-the-box parallel public design competition that would have facilitated more inclusion and allowed for creative expression by those with something to say but without a design firm and x credentials to back up their entry.

To that end, the Urban Workshop would be happy to post your ideas, images and thoughts. If you're so inclined, put together a Google map, scan a drawing, whatever you like and we'll put up a post for people to comment on. The more detail the better, but if you have a unique idea pass it along and let's see if we can get more of the public involved.

Oh yeah, read on to see those who were selected for the competition (it's an impressive list):

Robert Campbell, an architect and the architecture critic at The Boston Globe and contributing editor of The Architectural Record.

Gerald Early, a professor and director of Afro-American studies at Washington University.

Denis P. Galvin, a civil engineer and deputy director of the National Park Service from 1997 to 2002.

Alex Krieger, founding principal of Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, an architecture and design firm, and professor at the Harvard School of Design.

David C. Leland, an urban strategist and managing director of Leland Consulting Group in Portland, Ore.

Cara McCarty, curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.

Laurie D. Olin, partner and landscape architect of OLIN Studio in Philadelphia.

Carol Ross Barney, founder and principal of Ross Barney Architects in Chicago.
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{existing Walmart in red, proposed Walmart Supercenter in blue}

Why should a Walmart moving 1.5 miles down a road matter much more than to those who may have a slightly shorter, or slightly longer drive to pick up 64 rolls of toilet paper for $12.87? It shouldn't, but in the St. Louis world of everyone-gets-their-own-municipality whomever has the most to give away gets the Walmart (or car dealer, or Target, etc.).

The small municipality of St. Ann is struggling enough with the challenges presented by Northwest Plaza. The announced closing of the Macy's there is just the latest of a long series of closings. Now Walmart wants to move from one side of the St. Ann-Bridgeton border to the other - taking it's tax revenue with it. Currently 10% of sales tax revenue from the Walmart goes to St. Ann as the current store sits mostly in Bridgeton already.

According to St. Ann City Administrator Matt Conley, as reported in the Post-Dispatch, the Walmart is the second-largest source of sales tax revenue in St. Ann. I'm not sure what the largest source would be, Northwest Plaza? Car dealerships? Bridgeton appears ready to give $8M in the form of TIF to Walmart to lure them down the road. The money is a gift to keep Walmart in Bridgeton.

The problem is that Walmart would have a store somewhere in the vicinity of St. Ann and Bridgeton with or without a TIF. Maybe it would be across the border with Maryland Heights, and this is the fear, losing tax revenue. St. Louis County municipalities need not be one political unit to remedy this (though it would certainly help), the several communities of northwest St. Louis County simply need to say "no" to TIF. Walmart will not abandon any area with 50,000 customers or more.

The argument made by TIF proponents seems to often focus on a particular development site and it's simply stated that the particular lot will not be redeveloped with TIF. When businesses know that the next town will give millions then of course a particular site won't be developed without a like amount TIF. It's just one more reason that the TIF musical chairs in St. Louis County needs to stop.
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Paul McKee received possibly the best Christmas present of any of us: $19.6M from the State of Missouri in the form of tax credits that in effect pay him back for purchasing a significant portion of North St. Louis. Awarding tax credits was the next crucial step to move the $8.1B NorthSide project forward and will free up resources to allow McKee to continue work on the project.

As with most issues there are two (and more) ways to view this, both of which are factual. 1) Paul McKee just received almost $20M of our tax money to purchase land and buildings in North St. Louis for his own eventual profit - if there is any. 2) North St. Louis is one step closer to seeing transformative investment and redevelopment that otherwise would not happen without taxpayer assistance.

Either way, the conclusion is certainly that McKee has the political backing and in the absence, to this point, of successful opposition the NorthSide project is moving ahead. The next step will likely be a deal with the City of St. Louis regarding the $400M TIF request. It remains almost unimaginable that the City would guarantee any portion of this, but we're quickly getting to the point where money begets money and it's difficult to imagine that the State didn't speak with the City before giving McKee $20M. No one will want to see that money go to waste. For better or worse it appears NorthSide's on a roll.
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It's easy enough to understand the citation numbers reported by Metro, but I think the first sentence of the Post-Dispatch story is sloppy and confusing: "MetroLink security forces reported about a 50 percent spike in fare dodging and other rule violations during the past year, driven by the agency's security crackdown."

First, Metro did not report a "50 percent spike in fare dodging and other rule violations." They reported a 50 percent increase in citations for such violations. This is important as the P-D line would indicate that violations are up on MetroLink, that there are more fare dodgers, more people eating on the trains and more people riding without tickets. But the numbers do not tell us if there were more violations or just more citations. And the story doesn't address the issue of violations per rider.

The P-D states that the increase in violations are "driven by the agency's security crackdown." So maybe "violations" should simply be read as "citations" and I'm nitpicking a bit here. But as picked up on in the more sane comments to the story, there are a number of obvious follow-up questions: how may tickets are paid? This is especially relevant because the story mentions a ticket that was later dismissed.

To digress for a moment, there's a real story that could be written about MetroLink ticket enforcement. First, if you have ever had the experience of going to MetroLink Court, it's not one you will soon forget. It's excellent theater. Second, much time is wasted giving citations to be people who forgot to bring their monthly or yearly pass. Each of these people (and I've been one) gets a court date, takes a morning off of work, goes downtown, flashes a valid pass the judge and goes home. It's a huge waste of time. The last time I was pull over while driving (expired plates) I didn't have my driver's license with me and I was given a week to take my license to a police state to have them photocopy it. Why couldn't the same thing be done for Metro?

In the end, this likely isn't the story that Metro or Citizens for Modern Transit like to see in the Post-Dispatch. For many reasons stories about free-riders (and others committing violations) on public transit, even catching those free-riders, is cast in a negative light. Very few are the stories complaining about drivers failing to obey the law around St. Louis. This highlights Metro's big picture problem: the majority of St. Louis metro residents view cars, roads and parking as part of a normal city. They use them everyday and are familiar with them. Mass transit is still largely for "others," with all the negative connotations that go along with it.


{graphic from the Post-Dispatch}
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{bike lane on Page Avenue bridge can be seen to the left)

So MODOT's considering adding a bike lane to the Jefferson City Bridge across the Missouri River. It's a good idea. The bike lane would connect the very popular Katy Trail, which runs from St. Louis to Kansas City, to Jefferson City. The Katy Trail has enjoyed good support from the Missouri State House and continue to garner interest.

The bike lane would be similar to what can been seen on Page Avenue across the Missouri River near St. Charles that connects Creve Coeur Lake and the surrounding area to the Katy Trail. And while there's no doubt that a bike lane over the Missouri at Jefferson City is a good addition, it begs the question of what could be done with $7M to accommodate more bicycles in our state's population centers. Dedicated bike lanes? More covered bike racks? What if $7M more of the $500M+ spent on the "New I-64" were spent to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians?


{rending of Jefferson City Bridge bike lane from mobikefed.org}

The bike path appears a bit narrow in this rendering. Let's hope that any path would be a bit more accommodating than this small image depicts.
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The Post-Dispatch has been aware of the problem with comments on stltoday.com for some. Kurt Greenbaum, Social Media Director for the Post-Dispatch, even wrote a piece titled, "6 reasons we're lazy about story comments." You may know Kurt as the person who informed a local school that someone had typed the word "pussy" in an stltoday.com comment, not once, but twice!

The Urban Workshop has called on the Post-Dispatch to increase comment moderation and implement a more robust comment interface. Perhaps the calls for changing the existing system and the added attention brought by "Pussygate" have led to changes. Looking at recent stories, the number of deleted comments has increased and each comment now has a "Report Abuse" button. Clicking on the button brings up the image below.



Although at this point there's no telling where the report of abuse actually goes, or what effect reports of abuse will have, but I hope the feature is well used. This may help curb the worst abuses, but falls well short of either a community-based system or a true registration system that authenticates accounts and ties them to social network profiles. It's good to see the Post-Dispatch doing something and significant changes can take time due to bureaucracy, technology or money (or all three).

I have not seen any mention of the changes on the stltoday.com website and several people I have contacted could not confirm what changes have been made or may be made in the near future. Some also though the "Report Abuse" button has been on the site for some time. The two images below illustrate the differences I see. Strangely, I can current get both comment section formats to show up on their site. Any suggestions as to why that may be?


{the old comments format}


{the new comments format}
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{the High Line Park in New York}

For the first time in eight years federal funding may become available to build and rebuild urban parks. The Urban Revitalization and Livable Communities Act may just be the beginning as a number of other bills promoting urban sustainability are being considered by Livable Communities Task Force. In St. Louis the big target for such funds may be the long-sought Chouteau Greenway. And this would be a worthy project, but more modest funding could transform or complete urban parks in The Grove, the Central West End and elsewhere.

Of course funding urban parks is not an entirely new federal endeavor. St. Louis has the federally funded Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (the Arch), a national park in an urban setting. The Urban Park and Recreation Recovery program was established in 1978 and was the legislative source of funding for many years. This program has received $0 since 2002. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is another source of support, but one that has never been funded to authorized levels. The Act ties urban parks to the hot topics of the day: "revitalizing communities, improving public health, reducing crime and promoting economic development."

With 89 co-sponsors and bipartisan support, the latest effort appears to be headed for success. It may be time to dust off any master plans St. Louis has for its parks and ready applications. If funding were to be available to St. Louis, which parks should receive funding? Should more neighborhood "pocket parks" be created? If so, where? How else could funding be used to revitalize St. Louis?
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