Archive for the ‘Revitalization’ Category

One of North County's many historic homes: the Bockrath-Weise house in St. Ferdinand Park, as depicted by local artist Daniel Fishback*

Owning an older home can be a great adventure and a rich learning experience. But as I’ve discovered with my own 108-year-old dwelling, it can also be quite a challenge, both to your time and to your bank account. That’s why I’m pleased to let all the historic house owners out there know: Help is on the way!

This Saturday, the Ferguson Landmarks Commission is hosting Renovate Ferguson: Spring Home Design Workshop, where experts will be on hand to answer all kinds of questions: What’s the architectural style of my home? What are the dos and don’ts to retain my home’s value? How do I conserve energy in my older home? Where can I find renovation resources?

You can ask all this and more at this free workshop, and be sure to bring a photo of your house for one-on-one advice! Anyone with a vested interest in preserving North County’s historic real estate is invited to attend – Saturday, March 6, from 9:30am-noon at Ferguson Middle School, 701 January Ave, 63135. For more info, call Ferguson City Hall at (314) 521-7721.

(*Artist Daniel Fishback, whose painting is featured above, can create a one-of-a-kind painting of your home too. Read more about his work here.)

As reported live by FOX 2 and KPLR 11, dozens attend the CVS developer forum in Ferguson last night, taking the opportunity to view proposed site plans.

In case you missed the CVS developer’s public forum last night at the Savoy, both FOX 2 and KPLR 11 reported live from the event, interviewing residents Ann Chisholm, Susan Donnell and Nick Kasoff. The video is pretty similar from both (since they run out of the same station), but here’s the FOX 2 segment and here’s the one from KPLR:

I know some might consider this bad publicity, but to me, a large room full of people actively engaged in shaping the future of their community is nothing but positive. It shows that people really care about Ferguson.

This 1920s house on Royal Avenue in Ferguson is one of eight vintage homes being proposed for demolition to make way for a CVS Pharmacy.

I created NOCO as a forum for positive news and information, never intending to delve into controversy. But the proposed development of a CVS Pharmacy in Ferguson and the confusion and angst it has created in the community have led me to try and present a balanced view of the issue, weighing all sides of the debate.

In full disclosure, I am a member of the steering committee of Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods, the citizen group organized in opposition of rezoning the proposed CVS site, though I have never officially participated in the group’s activities. After meeting independently with the developer and speaking with city officials and numerous residents, I remain personally opposed to rezoning of the proposed site primarily because I believe that Ferguson’s historic homes are its greatest asset, but I also feel it is vitally important that residents have the opportunity to know the facts and to form their own conclusion. So, here is the information I’ve gathered…

In spring 2009, representatives from the Clayton-based real estate firm The DESCO Group quietly began approaching Ferguson homeowners in the first block of Hereford and Royal Avenue, aiming to purchase their residential properties for an unidentified commercial development. Around the same time, DESCO also placed a contract on the half-acre commercial property at 200 N. Florissant, the site of the former Sinclair gas station that had been on the market for $270,000.

12 Royal, circa 1900

Ann Chisholm of the Royal Avenue Neighborhood Association learned of DESCO’s plans in May, and in mid-July (the same time that Ferguson city officials first started hearing rumors of the potential development), she met with most of the targeted homeowners, learning that some were eager to sell, some weren’t, and nearly all were contractually barred from publicly discussing their deals or speaking out against the development. They didn’t have to support the project, they just couldn’t publicly oppose it.

Of the eight houses currently under contract, two are vacant, one is eligible to be a Century Home, and all are quality vintage structures built between 1900 and 1930. DESCO initiated the contracts on behalf of Ohio-based real estate developer Cedarwood Development, Inc., which was in turn representing the national retailer CVS Pharmacy – a fact that Chisholm and city officials didn’t learn until late September.

By then, Chisholm had formed Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods, meeting with a handful of other residents to object to the rezoning required in order for the development to move forward. “Our primary issue is changing the zoning from residential to commercial, and what the lasting impact of that will be on the community,” she says.

30 Royal, circa 1928

“We’re concerned that once you start demolishing houses and scraping land and removing trees, the Royal neighborhood will be changed forever,” adds Blue Tapp Scheffer, who serves on the group’s steering committee. “If we start losing houses on Hereford, will it set a precedent for more commercial development? Will it keep moving further down the street, taking more nice older homes, until Hereford looks like Lindbergh?”

Chisholm and her group raised these concerns when they launched a petition drive in November, collecting 200+ signatures in opposition to rezoning. She and 22 others then attended the December 8 Ferguson city council meeting, stating their position and submitting their petitions as public record during the meeting’s public forum.

Several council members later privately admitted to feeling blind-sided that night, acknowledging that Chisholm’s group seemed to have more information about the proposed development than city officials did, despite the fact that council members met with the developer in a closed session in October. That sense of surprise was compounded even further when the Ferguson Times published a front-page story on the proposed development two weeks later, authored by Chisholm but presumed by many to be wholly endorsed by the newspaper’s owners, Bud and Dorothy Seiter.

27 Hereford, circa 1930

“The fact that it was on the top of the front page…everyone knows what that means,” said one resident who asked to remain anonymous. “It means that Bud and Dorothy agree with it. And if they agree with it, along with other influential people in Ferguson, chances are slim that the council will disagree.”

Some in the community, wrongly assuming that the Times is owned by the city, believed that the article indicated the council’s stance on the proposed development, when in fact, council members didn’t see the revised (and informal) preliminary proposal, incorporating their own suggestions from the October meeting with the developer, until January 13 – three weeks after the article was published.

At that time, citing concerns about dividing the community, Mayor Brian Fletcher asked the council to pull its support of the proposed development and a majority of the members obliged, essentially halting the developer’s plan to submit a formal development proposal. “I believe the required time and energy being spent, and the opposition being generated by the proposed site outweigh the benefits,” Fletcher wrote in the February Ferguson Times.

25 Hereford, circa 1927

At least one council person, Ward 3 representative Kynan Crecelius, disagrees with the mayor, not because he’s specifically in favor of bringing a CVS to Ferguson or necessarily enthused about tearing down eight homes, but because he’s worried about the city’s long-term financial outlook.

“Every year I’ve been on the council, we’ve looked at projections showing expenditures increasing and revenues decreasing,” he says. “In the interest of achieving balance on this issue, I have to wonder if preserving these homes will help to preserve the city in the long run, particularly if our infrastructure continues to decline.”

Crecelius pointed to Ferguson’s parks budget – one of several funds the city manages – and noted that it’s projected to operate at a deficit starting in 2017. He also cited the substantial sales tax revenue that was lost when Walgreens and Circuit City recently closed locations in Ferguson.

21 Hereford, circa 1920

“We all want the community to succeed. I’m just focused on doing what we need in order to maintain the services that make Ferguson a great place to live,” he says.

And how could a new CVS contribute to that goal? According to Joe Flaherty, Cedarwood Development’s director of site acquisition, the proposed Ferguson CVS would likely generate $5 million in annual revenue after five years, with Ferguson collecting 7.825% in sales tax. It’s also expected to create 30-35 permanent jobs and 75-100 temporary construction jobs.

During the first year, Flaherty estimates that the Walgreens directly across the street at 190 N. Florissant would see a 5-8% decrease in business, though he claims the store would be back up to or possibly even ahead of its usual revenue levels in the second year. “The mass brings in more people and the pool expands,” he says.

Flaherty is helping CVS open 50-55 new stores in the St. Louis area, including at least two in Florissant. Locations in Ellisville, Olivette, Mehlville and south St. Louis were successfully opened in January, but community opposition helped to kill the proposed development at Lindell and Sarah in the Central West End.

17 Hereford, circa 1917

Residents there opposed the site location, the store’s possible liquor sales and the impact of noise and traffic from a 24-hour retailer. Like some here, they also questioned whether CVS was needed with a Walgreens already nearby. “There are 29 pharmacies within five miles of that corner, including three within short walking distance,” Chisholm says of the proposed site in Ferguson.

Flaherty acknowledges the duplication of services but says that CVS offers the community something a little different. Shelves are lower, giving the store a more open feel. Plus, CVS caters more to female shoppers.

In terms of similarities, CVS and Walgreens both have around 7,000 stores nationwide. Both draw significant revenue from drive-through pharmacies and have numerous locations on highly visible corners that are open 24 hours. In January, the Ferguson Walgreens applied for a liquor license; Flaherty admits that CVS would pursue the same.

He also says that if the Ferguson development moves forward, CVS will abate environmental issues at the former Sinclair site, seeking several hundred thousand dollars in tax increment financing (TIF) to deal with “leaking underground storage tanks.”

15 Hereford, circa 1929

Chisholm disputes the need for this, as well as the public financing, citing a letter she received from the director’s office of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “According to the DNR, there is no immediate danger at the site,” she says. “Sinclair is responsible for dealing with any problems, and so far they’ve done everything that has been required.”

“Besides, if this site is supposedly so ‘dirty’ and has so many other challenges, why not consider another one?” Tapp Scheffer asks, raising a question that many residents have posed.

The property now occupied by Aaron Rents at the southwest corner of Airport and N. Florissant, catty-corner to the proposed CVS site, seems like an obvious choice. Once home to Walgreens, it enjoys the same traffic volume as the intersection’s other corners – around 40,000 cars per day. It’s also zoned commercial already and would require far less demolition.

But Flaherty says it’s just not workable. Noting the time and money already invested in the proposed site, he also claims there might be a lease restriction on the Aaron’s site, prohibiting CVS from doing business there. “We want to work with the community on [the Sinclair] site,” he says flatly.

Indeed, he and CVS have tried to compromise, proposing increased green space to buffer the adjacent neighborhood at the request of the city council. Current plans call for a 13,225-square-foot store with 65 feet of green space on the east side of the site and a minimum of 87 feet on the north side. Flaherty has also floated the idea of saving two homes on Royal, including the 110-year-old house at #12, and giving both to the city for some civic use. CVS may even agree to allow the remaining homes to be sold for a nominal fee and moved, if logistics and timing will allow.

“We really are trying to be a responsible developer, open to ideas,” he says. “We just want the opportunity to present our plan so the community can decide.”

That’s all that Old Ferguson West resident Susan Donnell wants as well. So incensed was she by the lack of open dialogue on this issue that she launched her own petition drive in front of Shop N’ Save, collecting signatures of those who simply wanted more information.

“It’s not that I actively support CVS. My basic objection is to the process and procedure of this whole thing, and how it feels like this decision was ramrodded by a select few,” she says. “Those who oppose the development have had a great advantage in disseminating information, while the rest of us have been deprived of the opportunity to even develop an opinion.”

Built in 1962, this former Sinclair service station would be torn down for CVS, but the commercial building housing Little Caesars next door would remain.

This Thursday, Donnell and everyone else will have that opportunity, as Flaherty and other CVS reps will host a public forum to present their side of the debate and listen to input from the community. The event is not sponsored or endorsed by the city but council members say they will be interested to hear residents’ feedback afterward.

They’ve already heard from Susan Schilligo, whose family has owned the house at 12 Royal since 1966. She recently submitted a lengthy letter in support of the proposed development, stating that her mother has unsuccessfully tried to sell her historic home for two years.

In 2009, 12 Royal was listed for $109,900. Chisholm says that homeowners in the proposed development area, including Schilligo’s mother, have been offered between $150,000 and $250,000, a number that Flaherty confirms. His company is prepared to spend upwards of $2 million just on property acquisition.

Chisholm and Tapp Scheffer sympathize with homeowners like Schilligo but insist that the needs of the entire community need to be considered. “I realize this development may seem like a God-send for people who are eager to sell, especially in this depressed market,” Tapp Scheffer says. “But for the most part, these are people who want to leave Ferguson, and to me, this is an issue that should be decided by those who are invested in the community for the long term.

“Those of us who oppose this plan want new development in Ferguson, and we would gladly welcome CVS. We just don’t think we should have to ruin a neighborhood and lose eight nice houses to do that.”

To hear more from Tapp Scheffer and others opposed to the proposed CVS development, visit the Preserve Our Ferguson Neighborhoods website.

To learn more about the development proposal, attend Cedarwood’s public forum: Thursday, February 4, from 6-8pm at the Savoy, 119 S. Florissant.

Supporters of all ages packed Northwest Plaza's center court today to show support and discuss ideas for the mall's revitalization.

Nearly 300 concerned citizens gathered today at Northwest Plaza, aiming to spur interest in its revitalization. The mall-walk and unofficial rally was organized by St. Ann resident Steve Erdelen, who grew up hanging out at the plaza’s Grand Court Fountain in the 1960s and 70s and recently launched a popular Facebook group called “I hung out at the fountain at Northwest Plaza as a teenager.”

As supporters streamed into the mall this afternoon, many astonished by just how empty it has become, security guards and other mall employees noted that they hadn’t seen this many people at Northwest Plaza in at least five years. “A lot of folks assume it’s dangerous here, but the fact is it’s mostly just dead,” one Sears employee told me. “I would love to see the place redeveloped, because it has so much potential.”

St. Ann mayor Gary Guittar addresses the crowd of Northwest Plaza supporters

That sentiment was echoed frequently at the rally, with most of the attendees recalling fond memories of Northwest Plaza and many still residing in the North County area.  “It’s just such a waste,” Judy Gaithers of Overland said. “I don’t see Northwest Plaza becoming what it used to be, but surely it can be converted into something positive.” A corporate headquarters, a college campus, a mixed-use development with residential and retail – those were some of the ideas being kicked around the crowd.

Yet despite the hopeful spirit of today’s gathering, mall management tried to prohibit the media from taking photographs and initially denied Erdelen’s request to hold a much larger event. “This is not an insurrection, it’s a resurrection,” he told the audience, which included officials and staff from the city of St. Ann. “We’re here to show our support for the future of Northwest Plaza.”

“We will revitalize this mall,” St. Ann mayor Gary Guittar later assured the crowd. “With the support of citizens like you, we can do this.”

He and Erdelen then led the group on a quick mall-walk, firing up many attendees but also raising questions with others. “I’m thrilled to see so many people show up today,” a Florissant woman with two young children told me. “But what’s next? Where do we go from here?”

On January 23, a group of concerned citizens will gather to mall-walk at Northwest Plaza in hopes of spurring interest in its revitalization.

Though Northwest Plaza was once touted as the “largest mall in the world,” boasting nearly 200 retailers, today you can walk its massive, lifeless corridors and barely find a store or another shopper in sight. Following foreclosure in 2009 and the recent news that anchor Macy’s is closing, the mall’s future definitely hangs in question. But St. Ann resident Steve Erdelen, who grew up hanging out at the Plaza’s Grand Court Fountain, has a plan that he hopes can change that.

In late December, Erdelen, 54, started the Facebook group “I hung out at the fountain at Northwest Plaza as a teenager,” quickly drawing more than 700 members. Inspired by the enthusiastic response, he launched a successful spin-off group, “Let’s Revitalize Northwest Plaza Now!,” and is currently aiming to funnel that interest into a genuine grassroots movement.

On Saturday, January 23, Erdelen is inviting anyone with a desire to see Northwest Plaza revitalized to join him at the mall, on the site of the late fountain, for a mall-walk and informal reunion. He attempted to organize a formal gathering – a big bash featuring live music and probably more simultaneous visitors than the mall has seen in years – but mall managers told him that would not be possible. So onto plan B…the mall-walk.

“This cannot be considered an ‘event’ because many groups of people walk the mall every day,” Erdelen says. “There will just be a lot more mall-walkers on that day.” And what does he hope to achieve with this walk? Primarily draw attention to the fact that plenty of St. Louisans still care deeply about Northwest Plaza and want to see it rejuvenated.

“It became apparent that everyone wanted to get back together, so why not do it at the mall and generate some awareness that we really do care about Northwest Plaza’s future and we want to do something about it,” Erdelen said. “By creating a voice of thousands of interested parties, we hope to convince local government and developers that there is a demand for revitalization and a market for business.”

Personally, Erdelen would like to see Northwest Plaza converted into a mixed-use development featuring both retail and residential. He also believes it’s imperative that the mall return to its original open-air design, which offered more of a neighborhood feel and many unique architectural features, including the modernist fountain that Erdelen and so many others are nostalgic about to this day.

Once Northwest Plaza went into foreclosure in 2009, it was purchased by St. Ann Shopping Center LLC, a newly formed conglomerate of institutional investors that obtained the property for $29.95 million after being the sole bidders. Several years ago, the city of St. Ann formerly approved tax increment financing (TIF) of up to $98 million to revitalize the mall, and city officials once discussed the possibility of locating a Wal-Mart and even an Ikea there, but since the new owners took over, no firm plans for redevelopment have been shared with the public. Perhaps Erdelen’s mall-walk can start the ball rolling once again…

If you care about the future of Northwest Plaza and would like to join Steve and his legion of Facebook fans, meet at the mall’s center court, in the raised stage area, at 1pm on Saturday, January 23.

Dear Santa, please let this eclectic school-turned-hotel in Portland, Oregon, serve as a model for creative revitalization in North County.

For nearly 30 years beginning in the 1970s, the historic neighborhoods of northeast Portland, Oregon, showed all the tell-tale signs of a community in decline. Housing values dropped, businesses got seedier, and the local grade school – a community landmark since 1915 – closed its doors and eventually was abandoned, causing many families to move away.

Northeast Portland became the part of town you’d avoid. There’s nothing left up there, people would say. But where most of Portland saw a fading, hopeless suburb wedged grimly between downtown and the airport, Mike and Brian McMenamin saw an opportunity. The owners of several popular brewpubs in the area (including the first one in the state of Oregon), the brothers came up with a creative plan to not only reinvigorate Northeast Portland but also to celebrate one of its finest assets: that beautiful, abandoned, circa 1915 grade school.

Whimsical paintings by local artists enliven nearly every wall at the Kennedy School in Portland.

Threatened with demolition, the elegant, Italian Renaissance-style “Kennedy School” had been saved by a coalition of local residents, former students and past PTA presidents when the McMenamins presented their plan for its revival. Following an exhaustive restoration incorporating the work of dozens of local artists and craftspeople, the brothers were determined to reinstate the school’s role as a busy, multi-use hub for the local community. They also wanted it to be a unique, memorable destination for visitors to Portland.

In their bold, way-outside-the-box vision, thirty five former classrooms would become boutique hotel suites, complete with original chalkboards and coat rooms. The old auditorium would be converted into an art house movie theater, served by the cafeteria-turned-restaurant next door. Several school rooms, including the former girls’ lavatory, would become cozy little pubs and cigar lounges serving McMenamin’s beer. Even the gymnasium would rise again, still as a classic locale for wedding receptions, but also as a lively spot for neighborhood basketball games, community meetings, blood drives, live concerts, and more.

Formerly the Kennedy School's cafeteria, the Courtyard Restaurant is now a hip Portland eatery that's jam-packed on weekends.

It was quite a diverse business model, and it worked. Because since the Kennedy School re-opened in 1997, the McMenamins have definitely exceeded their goals. Thousands of guests have stayed at their one-of-a-kind hotel, and even more have patronized its pubs, restaurants and theater. The reborn school has also provided an enormous economic and social boost for Northeast Portland, serving as a vibrant local hive where neighbors come together and where something fun is always on the calendar.

I tell you about the Kennedy School because it’s an amazing, magical place that I will never forget. Honestly, the McMenamins are two of my biggest heroes and I’m inspired by all of their fabulous brewpubs. I also tell you about the Kennedy School because I believe it’s exactly the type of brave, creative, lemons-to-lemonade project that North County desperately needs.

When you really start weighing our assets, we have no shortage of vintage buildings sitting empty or underutilized in NoCo, especially old schools. Off the top of my head, I can think of the former Masonic lodge in Ferguson, Storman-Stufflin School on Chambers, and St. Aloysius Church and School in Spanish Lake. Who knows how many more we’ll have as Catholic grade schools continue to close.

At the same time, North County also has a dire need for a decent live music venue – a hall with great character and good acoustics where maybe 200-300 people could enjoy an eclectic (and yes, even hip) mix of performers. If that same venue also housed an independent movie theater, I know I’m not the only North Countian who would be mighty pleased.

Sometimes a movie theater, sometimes a concert venue, the Kennedy School's converted auditorium is a community hot spot.

Now, I know what you’re saying…North County is no Portland! And I know that. But if the McMenamins’ successful concoction of beer, culture and community could turn around working-class Northeast Portland, who’s to say that it couldn’t work here as well, if even on a smaller scale? For once, why couldn’t North County be the place to embrace something truly special and progressive, something that would change minds and start drawing more folks northward?

We’ve got the buildings. We’ve got the artists. And we certainly have the people who love beer. Just imagine: North County as a destination.

That is my NoCo Christmas wish. Santa, I hope you’re reading…

(If you are reading, dear NOCO fan, don’t forget to vote in my new poll! It’s in the sidebar on the right.)