Category: Downtown

by Michael R. Allen

Dry spell at Papa FaBarre’s eatery is called a mistake – Matthew Hathaway (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 6)

The story of a delayed liquor license renewal contains details of the history of the charming “old” cafe inside of the downtown Macy’s (Famous-Barr), which actually dates only to the 1970s. That is one of my favorite downtown lunch spots, even though as a vegetarian I have two or three menu options at best. Whatever. The charm, dark varnished wood, brass and belt-driven ceiling fans are worth being limited to a very good grilled cheese.

by Michael R. Allen

Backing a tax increment financing loan structure for private benefit with a city’s general revenues is risky business. That the city of St. Louis is now obligated for $28 million toward the acquisition of the One City Center office building by the Pyramid Companies is absurd. Here, we have a developer that has just agreed to take on the long-needed redevelopment of St. Louis Centre and claims — out of the blue, long after announcing that project — that such redevelopment will be hindered if the company cannot also acquire the One City Center building enveloped by St. Louis Centre. That makes some sense, although claiming necessity is a hearty exaggeration. What’s worse is that this big-time development company, with plenty of incomplete projects, made the claim that it could not afford to purchase the ailing office building itself — and then asked for this almost-unprecedented TIF.

How can anyone trust a company that owns so much downtown real estate yet expects city government to buy it an expensive office building?

Unfortunately, Pyramid isn’t the least trustworthy party. All the Slay administration and the aldermen could have done was tell Pyramid “no.” Not this deal, not this time, not that amount. After all, the TIF was based on a hyper-inflated appraisal price that values the building at $26 million. Slay should have demanded a new appraisal.

Instead, our mayor jumped in fully supporting the TIF. Never mind that the city’s population is far from stable and that the city is struggling to maintain a decent level of city services with current revenues. There is no guarantee that the city’s revenue will rise over the next decade. As the mayor of a city with a delicate but potentially bright future, Slay should have opposed the TIF. The last TIF backed by the city’s general revenue was for the failed St. Louis Marketplace project on Manchester Road, the tarnished trophy of former Mayor Vince Schoemehl. That TIF is now a drag on the city’s budget. Why create a second?

On December 13, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment voted 2-1 in favor of the TIF agreement. Comptroller Darlene Green stood up for fiscal prudence and opposed the TIF, while Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury quietly voted to support a TIF many would-be allies strongly opposed. Of course, Shrewsbury may have caved to the pressure of opposition in the upcoming race for his office. The Board of Aldermen followed with a 26-2 vote for the TIF agreement; only Aldermen Stephen Conway (D-8th) and Fred Heitert (R-12th) opposed the bill.

Thus begins the tenuous tie between a real estate venture and the public good of a metropolitan city. All citizens are indentured to John Steffen and his company’s ability to turn this office building around. Perhaps Pyramid’s ability is a sure bet, but the revenue of a city government is not betting money. With a diminished and still-recovering population base, continuing hostility from wealthy surburbanites, a relatively low stature among large American cities, decimated public schools and a crime rate that may be rising, St. Louis is not in a position to gamble with its wealth. Conservation, not dissipation, should be the guiding principle of those who lord over the city government.

For those who think the future can’t be anything but great, consider why One City Center has become an albatross: Anheuser-Busch recently relocated all of its employees in the building to Sunset Hills. Amid the bully talk of a downtown whose prospects seem limitless, one of the largest regional employers voted against those prospects. That should be cause of worry — as well as consternation against Anheuser-Busch.

The trouble with tying our city’s general revenue to this real estate venture is that we won’t know if it’s a good or bad thing for years. Then, if it’s bad, there won’t be much the city can do except make huge payments into the TIF while cutting city services accordingly. Do Slay, Shrewsbury and the aldermen want to face a future where the city may have to cut services further? I suppose some of them may be banking on a future where city residents are wealthier and need less from their lean, libertarian city government. The rest of us have reason for much worry.

by Michael R. Allen

A small nit that I will gladly pick: When will St. Louis city government finally forbid parking on the sidewalk of 14th Street alongside the Muncipal Courts Building? Now that the Muni Courts have been vacant for the last few years — an embarrassing civic problem for another discussion — there aren’t even employees using that building. The people who park on that sidewalk must work at City Hall, or be visitors. Either way, they should not be allowed to park there.

A sidewalk is a space for pedestrians. That particular sidewalk is two blocks north of a major bus transfer point and a MetroLink Station. People use it to walk north to the Central Library, Washington Avenue or other bus lines. Those on foot can easily walk around the cars parked there, but those using a wheelchair are effectively blocked for using that section of sidewalk. How’s that for inclusive city government?

Also, the image of cars parked on the sidewalk in front of a grand civic building certainly doesn’t help to convince anyone that anyone at City Hall is serious about moving St. Louis up from the 52nd city rank. I’ve seen more decorum at out-state county courthouses.

by Michael R. Allen

The sidewalk on Olive Street in front of the Old Post Office in downtown St. Louis is unusually wide, taking up the parking lane. The expanded sidewalk is almost the perfect size for an urban plaza, with views of the Olive Street building canyon that create visual excitement. There is enough space for casual lounging, small speeches or concerts, outdoor dining, brown bag lunching or numerous other activities that happen in the downtown of a large city.

Yet the recent renovation of the Old Post Office ignores the inherent possibility of this space, giving it all of the drama of a doormat. The space is mostly flat with granite and concrete paving, skimpy plantings that are visually dull and no provision for seating. There is absolutely nowhere to sit in this space, save for the steps of the Old Post Office itself — and that is forbidden.

The redeveloped Old Post Office doesn’t even give the front of the building the weight of the main entrance. Once inside, one hits a static wall and must make a jog down a hall at the left to reach the impressive space under the building’s skylight. Why this is hidden from the main entrance is truly baffling, and creates a very confused arrangement of spaces.

Meanwhile, the building’s non-office tenants, a Pasta House Pronto restaurant with outdoor seating and the Central Express Library Branch, are both located on the Locust Street rear elevation of the building. The rear elevation faces one of the most lifeless and ugly half-blocks in the city: a mess of cobbled-together parking lots (one is even paved in gravel!) butted up against elevations of the Orpheum Theater and Mayfair Hotel never intended for public display.

This is the site that civic leaders keep pushing for a downtown plaza, despite the fact that it is absurdly large for any space intended to foster lively activity and be an attractive focal point. This site suffers from the presence of another absurd “plaza” one block east in front of the US Bank Tower, and from rather lackluster views. It also would be redundant in a downtown with a mostly-underused Gateway Mall that consumes eighteen blocks right down the middle. I suppose the proposed plaza is the perfect spot to be for those who think that the most wonderful piece of architecture in St. Louis is the Locust Street elevation of the Old Post Office.

Meanwhile, the really dramatic space lies underutilized. The plaza in front offers an urban enclosure not found in the ridiculous “plazas” that civic leaders have built over the years. Really, all that needs to be done to liven it up would be better plantings and some benches. There’s enough street life on Olive Street to fill in the rest. A truly healthy urban public space doesn’t need a name, a plan or a program to create vitality; it only needs to be ready for people to use.