Downtown Now! Newsletter
March 1999

IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER:
MARCH 16 WORKSHOP WILL
HIGHLIGHT PROPOSED
FINAL PHASE OF PLAN

Downtown Now! has been busy honing the issues and projects to be put forward in the final phase of the market-driven action plan for revitalizing downtown.

Lord Cultural Resources, one of the world's most renowned museum planning firms, is examining the feasibility of locating a major new cultural "destination attraction" downtown. A team of consultants led by Gail Lord is looking at a number of interesting concepts, from a mid-America Smithsonian to a Jazz 'n' Blues Museum. The study is being prepared for Downtown Now! and the St. Louis Museum Corporation, a citizen-led group promoting the idea of a new downtown museum.

Thanks to Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond, $4 million for Washington Avenue streetscaping was awarded to the city last year in the form of a HUD grant. St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has issued a Request for Qualifications for a consultant team to develop a detailed schematic design for streetscape improvements based upon the master plan for Washington Avenue. The consultant team chosen will take conceptual work done to date as part of the Downtown Now! Action Plan to the level from which construction plans and specifications can be produced.

Key development principles for the Washington Avenue Loft District include: renovate and reuse existing buildings; support existing arts district uses; infill new buildings; locate support parking behind buildings; enhance streetscaping; and create new urban plazas and greens, including active recreation areas. Over the next six years, the plan calls for 1,300 residential units, 485,000 square feet of office and retail space, three parking structures and three public parks totaling 140,000 square feet, to be developed in coordination with the growing residential population.

As projects outlined in the previous phases of the downtown revitalization plan start to take shape, Downtown Now! is moving into the next level of planning with energy and optimism. The final stage of development focuses on the expanded downtown core district which will:

1) link market realities

2) provide clear design direction

3) integrate an entrepreneurial approach to development potentials

4) include a portrayal of public initiatives

5) develop an outline of the financial and management strategies critical to success

6) develop a strategy for project phasing

7) integrate an historic building plan

Elements of this final phase are to be discussed at the next public workshop on March 16.

DOWNTOWN NOW! - JUST THE FACTS

Phase One:

  • Oct. 15, 1997 - Mayor Clarence Harmon announced the formation of the 100-member Downtown Now! Task Force.
  • Nov. 1, 1997 - Priorities were identified for encouraging reinvestment in downtown are downtown housing, the Washington Avenue Loft District, reconnecting the Mississippi River to the downtown core and building the convention center hotel at the first public meeting.
  • Dec. 6, 1997 - At a second public meeting, the development principles and priorities that will guide the downtown planning process were established.

Phase Two:

  • January 1998 - A housing study by Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Inc. revealed a market for nearly 470 new and rehabbed housing units downtown.
  • March 6, 1998 - The task force selected EDAW, Inc. of San Francisco to guide the creation of the revitalization master plan for the downtown core and riverfront.
  • April 1998 - The EDAW team launched the data-gathering phase of the master planning process with a tour of downtown and meetings with more than 200 representatives of downtown-related agencies, transportation officials and local developers.
  • May 1998 - After meeting with nearly 300 downtown stakeholders, four major strategies were developed for revitalizing downtown.
  • June 2, 1998 - More than 300 participants provided input on the proposed strategies at the third public meeting.
  • July 14, 1998 - The largest group ever -- nearly 500 participants -- reviewed the Revitalization Framework Plan and responded enthusiastically.
  • Sept. 15, 1998 - About 250 citizens were present at the Old Post Office for the unveiling of a draft plan, then "took to the streets" for guided tours of the proposed Old Post Office Square and core business district.
  • Dec. 8, 1998 - More than 200 people met in the City Hall Rotunda to hear the projected cost of the downtown revitalization action plan and comparisons with other cities.





This page was last updated 11.10.99