Did I say "Wordpress"? Well, we decided to fly on by and and land on Joomla. The new site address is http://urbanstl.com/. In the coming days the http://www.stlurbanworkshop.com/ address will be redirected and other conversion issues will be tackled. I've combined efforts with others in the St. Louis on-line community to offer what will hopefully be a better experience and resource for those wanting to learn more about their urban environment.

What's Joomla? If you're interested you can look here: http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla.html. The thing to know is that the switch has allowed us to integrate four major components: blog, forum, wiki and social. To be sure, it remains a work in progress, but we think that this format will work well as a hub for those interested in urban issues in St. Louis.

Here's a quick rundown of the major components:

Blog: The blog is in many ways a carry-over of the St. Louis Urban Workshop. It serves to highlight urban development and news, synthesizing various sources, including the Urban STL forum. If you're not inclined to read through a couple pages of comments on the latest regarding City to River, for example, a blog post can serve to present a summary of this information. If you want to dig deeper there's always the Forum.

Forum: The forum will continue to work as the Urban STL forum has worked for several years. There's a new template, some new features that allow you to read only your unread messages, etc. Of course the forum is also on a new server so it's fast and reliable.

Wiki: This is simple - don't care to read 295 pages of comments about Ballpark Village? Want to know more about the 1964 World's Fair Spanish Pavilion? The wiki is where you will find concise summaries of projects and events, development timelines, history of renderings, etc. The wiki needs input from the Urban STL community. Over time we will build an encyclopedia of urban development in St. Louis.

Social: Create special interest groups, focus on issues or events. Share photos and videos, chat with others on Urban STL and follow all your activities on Urban STL. Sign up and give it a try.

We welcome comments as we continue to work on the project. Head on over to http://urbanstl.com/ and let us know what you think. You can also leave a comment on the Urban STL forum "upgrade status" thread.
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Gentrification: "the process by which central urban neighborhoods that have undergone disinvestment and economic decline experience a reversal, reinvestment, and the in-migration of a relatively well-off, middle- and upper middle-class population."

This month's City Affair discussion will focus on the issue of gentrification. From the City Affair website:

We will look to our panelists for discussion about the function of gentrification, the dynamics that they perceive as contributing to gentrification, and what can be done through policy to minimize negative effects of gentrification.

The panel consists of:
Steven Smith - Owner of the Royale and activist.
Minerva Lopez - Past President of the Cherokee Station Business Association
Alex Ihnen - Regional Director of Development at Washington University, blogger at St. Louis Urban Workshop
Alycia Green - Advocate at The People's Advocate St. Louis
Michael Allen will moderate the panel discussion.

Following forty five minutes of panel discussion we will open the floor to audience questions.

CITY AFFAIR XIV: GENTRIFICATION

MARCH 4, 2010
7:30-9:00 PM
STYLEhouse (STL-Style)
3155 Cherokee St.
Saint Louis, Mo. 63118

I hope that it will be wide-ranging discussion as I believe that there's much to be considered about the issue of gentrification as it pertains to St. Louis. I do need to offer a quick disclaimer: although I am employed by Washington University, I in no way whatsoever represent the school. I work at the university as a fundraiser and travel throughout New England, Ohio and parts of Florida. I can’t influence policy and I have no more information about anything outside of my Alumni and Development Office than anyone reading this.

My wife and I purchased a home in Forest Park Southeast in 2006 in the 4400 block of Gibson Avenue. The Grove, as it is increasingly becoming known, may be the St. Louis neighborhood witnessing the greatest degree of change. If you read this blog even sporadically you likely know that a new park is coming to the neighborhood, Manchester Avenue will receive a new streetscape in the coming year and a number of other big plans are in the works. These are positive developments.

By definition, The Grove is gentrifying. What issues arise in this process? What are the conflicts? Who is being affected and what can or should be done about it? Hopefully I can share my experience in The Grove and offer thoughts on what "gentrification" means in St. Louis.
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The Loop may be the most vibrant strip in St. Louis, but it does have its holes. Developer Joe Edwards continues to fill some of these with Pin-Up Bowl, the Pageant and the Moonrise Hotel all adding density and activity to the East Loop. But there are holes in The Loop west of Skinker Boulevard as well.

Many ideas are being kicked around for these sites, a two-story CVS Pharmacy, mixed retail and added parking, and more, but one idea at least has been put on the drawing board: Washington University student housing. Student Life, Washington University's independent newspaper ran a story this past week stating that the school sent students a questionnaire gauging student interest in living in The Loop.

Student housing as well as rehabbed apartments and converted condos have become increasingly popular north of Delmar. There doesn't seem to be any reason why students would not like to live directly on Delmar, closer to school and all that The Loop has to offer. The only impediment may be cost.

From the Student Life story: “We’ve purchased a significant number of buildings off campus,” McLeod (Dean James McLeod, the vice cancellor for students) said. “This is part of a larger effort to have excellent housing for students on or near campus. It’s not just north of Delmar; it’s also south of Delmar. We are looking at all areas where we have property already.”

This means that the school is looking at more locations than just the site on Delmar shown in the rendering above. Other locations include "North Campus," a large triangle-shaped area bounded by Skinker Boulevard to the west, MetroLink tracks to the east and the Pageant and other businesses fronting Delmar to the south.

More from Student Life: But community members should not be worried, McLeod said, as the University values the character of the communities surrounding the University, and has no current plans to buy up large amounts of property. The community is “a real asset” for the University, he said, making good neighbor status a top priority... There is no aggressive buying plan right now. That doesn’t rule out lots of different ways we could…trade buildings, we could purchase buildings.”

Evaluating student housing needs is a constant and ongoing endeavor for Washington University and this story contains no surprises, other than that the school may be closer to formally considering development options for its vacant lots in The Loop.
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The truly grassroots citizen group "City to River" is calling for St. Louis to "reopen our front door." While some of the world's best and brightest consider how to finish the Arch grounds itself, some realize that without the reconsideration of human-scale connections to the park and river, any effort will only serve to highlight the existing divide.

The group addresses pedestrian connections, traffic flow, time-lines and project cost. It's apparent that such an effort is sorely needed in the city as the decisions made in the coming months and years will dictate the form of our riverfront for the next half-century. As City to River highlights, St. Louis would not be breaking any new ground here as many cities have removed sections of Interstate highways. It can be done and is being done.

In many places, sections of Interstates were simply removed without significant additions to adjacent infrastructure. Here, the coming Mississippi River Bridge makes the 1.4-mile section of downtown redundant to many travelers. For less money than a three-block lid, shouldn't St. Louis be talking about removing part of I-70, reconnecting downtown to the river and creating an environment for further development? Of course we should. Let's hope that City to River is the group that can move the conversation in the right direction at the highest levels.
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As three North St. Louis City residents challenge the "blighted" label given to their neighborhood, several experts are testifying on the issue in court. The definition of "blight" is likely to be the focus of judge Larry Dierker's decision, but most of the testimony so far appears to deal with other lines of criticism.

There's no way to prove that 20,000 (or even 20) jobs will be created or that a single person will move to NorthSide. The projections set forth by the City and Paul McKee could be unrealistic, but the criticism leveled at them in court has been no more grounded. If, as many believe, the NorthSide project is obviously flawed, it should be easier to criticize than it is proving to be.

Washington University Economics Department Chair and member of the Federal Reserve Advisory Board in St. Louis stated, "(McKee's plan) is something that if an MBA student came up with as a term paper, I would throw him out of the office. There are no numbers to back it up." He also claimed it would be "a miracle" if the project created the economic activity needed to justify the public financing behind the plan.

Now, I'm not an economics professor, let alone the Chair of an economics department at a premier university, but this testimony seems a little thin. I would expect numbers, examples and analysis to counter McKee's claims instead of a comment about term papers. Clearly the NorthSide project depends on a number of economic events, a growing economy and some changes in the local economy, such as the establishment of St. Louis as a hub for Chinese cargo, the relocation of a major corporate headquarters, etc. For whatever reason, instead of addressing the needed criteria for NorthSide's success and then challenging the likelihood of these events, the professor chose to simply say that the project would need "a miracle". At least as reported, the testimony sounds lazy and inarticulate.

Let's hope that the court case returns to the question of whether the "blighting" of a portion of St. Louis City was legal.
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If you haven't seen it, watch the video below. This type of commonsense, proactive message was utterly absent the last time St. Louis County voters were asked to approved a transit tax to maintain and expand our Metro rail and bus service. I've been told that that "campaign" are purposefully low-key. It's wonderful to see those who support increased transit options in the St. Louis area speaking up and putting together a quality message.


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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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