Midtown Strategic Development Plan
Public Meeting Comments
Thursday, June 28th, 2001, 6:30 P.M.
At Saint Louis Cathedral School
4430 Maryland Avenue

Retail

1. Can the NSO (Mike Flood) do anything about the landlords in Maryland Plaza? It's hard to imagine how we can improve things with landlords like these. I know NSO's mostly deal with nuisance properties, but isn't the Saks building a nuisance? The building is beautiful-the management is awful.

2. When will the Maryland Plaza landlords be forced to manage their properties properly?

3. Amen!!

4. Remove Laundromat on Lindell - Why? Where?

5. More laundromats!

6. Encourage small, practical business in CWE: A movie rental store, a pet food and supply store, a bike and roller blade store with rentals, and a Woolworth-type store-(try to find a spool of thread or a fly swatter in CWE!!)

7. Most of these types of stores have been here and couldn't make it!

8. How about fewer upscale establishments and more diversity. We don't have a decent shoe repair shop since our man on Laclede and Newstead gave up.

9. Bring in large national retailers like Urban Outfitters, Pottery Barn, GAP, etc. to attract dollars from visitors. Also provide opportunities for local, unique retailers to maintain the special character of the area.

10. Add extensive softscape places to be - sit, read, meet. Allow places for street-life musicians, vendors, water, trees, texture.

11. Nice idea!

12. Enforce pooper-scooper and no littering laws.

13. Good luck!

14. Concern of safety and lack of diversity at Lindell Shopping Plaza.

15. Need a community center.

16. Bring back the old farmers' market on Laclede.

17. So many dogs-a pet store would be good-but not a big chain store.

18. Residents need to support local merchants.

19. Local merchants need to support residents.

20. We probably need small green spaces.

21. Have more small parks in the area.

22. Get rid of Euclid parking meters - they are a detriment to retailers.

23. Stop retailers and employees from using up meters!

24. Clean up the alleys!!

25. Push over development efforts to Page-don't stop at Delmar.

26. Develop more retail and add a usable green space in S.E. corner of CWE (Maryland/Boyle/Sarah/Laclede).

27. Develop a park with a playground (4200 and the west end of 4200 block of Westminster).

28. More parks.

29. Small music and theater venues; cafes; galleries; farmers and flower markets.

30. Bicycle/jogging paths and trails.

31. We have the best transport in the metro area-shuttles, regular bi-state, metro, Clayton bee. Make them all continue to work in a coordinated manner.

32. Get the shuttlebug to go by Chase and Straub's. This can be easily done on the eastbound route.

33. Senior center.

34. Force the owners of Maryland Plaza buildings to do something!

35. Add a Euclid Tram and a Grand Blvd. Tram - Frequent, free, quiet (electric trolleys).

35, Need a computer hardware and software vendor.

36. Create more of a pedestrian connection to Forest Park and a reason to walk there from the CWE. If the city can't put something active in the N.E. corner of the park, at least have a paved area with benches around the fountain on the other side of the Metrolink tracks.

37. Also have a tourist kiosk near Maryland and Euclid with maps available that show the connections and access to Forest Park - including footbridge.

38. Develop Delmar from Union to Grand.

39. Amen!!

40. Stop dumbing-down retailers (Delmar Schmucks and Hollywood Video on Delmar) that think the only people they should cater to are stupid, distrusting poverty-stricken African Americans. This is insulting to everyone.

41. Amen!!

42. Restore Gaslight Square.

43. Need a shoe store.

44. Some department store-like venues would be nice.

45. More "public" entertainment, i.e., music, dancing, poetry, jugglers, etc.

46. Businesses need to do more to clean up the trash generated (beer bottles) in yards from the people who frequent the bars.

47. Product stands.

48. Juice bars.

49. Perhaps a farmers market!!

50. Wider sidewalks.

51. Improved sidewalks.

52. Concern of safety at Metro link stations and urinating in elevators at Forest Park Station

53. Need a curfew for non-residents so they can not be in residential areas past 11:00 p.m. The college kids camp on the street, drink and holler late into the night.

54. Redevelop gaslight area as small retail-general consumer shops.

55. Create an opportunity for mid-size, multi-story department store to attract residents, medical staff and visitors, open late on evenings to work with local cafes and restaurants.

56. I want a bike shop. There's no bike shop in the CWE.

57. We need stuff for teenagers. Something to engage these people who aren't allowed to drink, but end up drinking and driving because they have nothing else to do.

58. Too many pizza places.

59. Keep senior buildings for seniors only.

60. Too much Section VIII housing.

61. Shuttle service between CWE bars/clubs and Lacledes Landing and Soulard.

62. Not enough affordable (Section VIII) housing!

63. Amen!

64. Would like a produce/farmers' market.

65. More retail/restaurants on Sarah. Need a coffee shop like Coffee Certel.

66. Get rid of the owners of Maryland Plaza buildings (or get them off their behinds)!

67. Stop letting people build structures that are incompatible with surrounding buildings.

68. Too many college bars promoting alcoholism-dangerous driving. Kids will not be safe.

69. The disproportionately large number of non-profit, social service facilities compared to other areas threatens the residential fabric of the area.

70. Stores such as Schmucks Grocery or banks, such as Commerce, need to offer service without excessive waiting time and high quality products/services that are offered in other areas of St. Louis, such as Clayton, etc.

71. Good restaurant by the Fox.

72. Gaslight Square - do something!

73. Improve Lindell marketplace.

74. Maintain streetlights and walkable sidelwalks.

75. Do something with Saks building.

76. No chain stores.

77. Puppet Institute theater in the area.

78. Gaslight Square area needs improvement.

79. Encourage street vendors.

80. On vacant lots - create gardens (vegetables and flowers) and add benches.

81. The fountain in Maryland Plaza should not be a roundabout.

82. Fountains need benches. That place should be closed to traffic-just the circle around the fountain.

83. There is no reason cars need to get through there. It's just cruisers who go by.

84. More green space.

85. Have a program that helps establish and maintain solid proprietorship-type shops and businesses in the area-not "chains" or "franchises."

86. More street vendors.

87. Lots of new non-chain, non-fast-food restaurants for Grand Center.

88. Encourage more urban density and urban-looking housing. Richard Baron's housing is wonderful in function and all praise is due for doing what nobody else is doing, but the architecture is mediocre and the feel is still too suburban.

89. Explore shared parking-Rosati needs additional proximate off-street parking to accommodate future expansion.