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NextSTL

Update: Bollards at Skinker and Forest Park Parkway Needed

4 days 20 hours ago

Nearly three years ago, I called for bollards at Sinker and Forest Park Parkway. Too regularly drivers could not keep their vehicles between the curbs and the car debris and carcasses left behind screamed for action to protect the many people crossing the intersection to access the Metrolink station, Forest Park, the Delmar Loop, Washington […]

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Richard Bose

DeSales plans Virginia Plaza Development

2 weeks 5 days ago

DeSales Community Development plans a mixed-use development at Virginia and Eiler in the Carondelet neighborhood called Virginia Plaza. It aims to provide mixed-income housing, commercial space, and amenities for the community. It is a combination of rehabs and new construction. The architect is Naismith-Allen Inc. The general contractor is Roanoke Construction. Project website. DeSales submitted […]

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Richard Bose

Let’s Zone for People

1 month ago

Our zoning code needs an upgrade. Its last overhaul was in 1947 by noted St. Louis villain Harland Bartholomew. It has density maximums and parking minimums. That is bass ackwards. Year after year we lament St. Louis’ population decline. I don’t recall anyone ever throwing a party to celebrate an increase in the number of […]

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Richard Bose

MoDOT’s new tolls don’t yet work. ‘Worse than useless,’ driver says

1 month 1 week ago

This post was inspired by this StlToday article published yesterday – MetroLink’s new gates don’t yet work. ‘Worse than useless,’ rider says ST. LOUIS — MoDOT has now installed tolls booths at nearly one-third of the entry ramps on interstates and major highways in the region, part of a comprehensive security upgrade. But the toll […]

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Richard Bose

The Private Building Stabilization Program did some good

1 month 1 week ago

The much maligned Private Building Stabilization Program has been terminated and liens forgiven by Mayor Spencer. I’m not going to argue that the shortcomings and alleged corruption weren’t so. You can read some of the coverage below. What I will do is show you some of the good that came of the program. StlToday – St. […]

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Richard Bose

Viva Cementland

1 month 2 weeks ago

Late last year I stumbled upon a photograph – a scale model of Cementland made by City Museum visionary Bob Cassilly as an in-progress representation of the core 40 acres of the then-56-acre Riverview Neighborhood/Riverview Municipality site.  I had always heard that any plans for Cementland were entirely in Bob’s head, and thus any direction […]

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Mike Mccubbins

South Jefferson evolution continues in Fox Park

1 month 2 weeks ago

Ever wonder what happened to the Way Out Club that graced the 1920’s “Palms” building at 2525 South Jefferson in the Fox Park neighborhood?   Photo source: Mark Groth – St. Louis City Talk The Way Out Club was a legendary and beloved St. Louis tavern and live venue built for people who preferred alternatives to […]

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Mark Groth

Water Meter vs. Flat Rate – Here’s the Math

2 months 1 week ago

As my water and sewer bills kept creeping up due to previous generations’ abdication of infrastructure maintenance leaving us holding the bag, I’ve been wondering about getting a water meter. Most residential water users in the city don’t have a water meter, so the city charges based on the number of rooms, toilets, baths, and […]

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Richard Bose

Op-Ed: Without a Plan – The $10 Million Waste at the Workhouse

2 months 2 weeks ago

On March 18, 2025, just three weeks before the mayoral election, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones stood in front of a bulldozer and announced the long-awaited demolition of the Workhouse, the city’s notorious former jail. Once a symbol of mass incarceration and racial injustice, the Workhouse had become something else in the years since its […]

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Jackie Dana

Amoco Apologizes to St. Louis and Repairs Botched Landmark Sign

2 months 2 weeks ago

The gigantic Amoco sign at Clayton Road and Skinker Blvd has been repainted.  “We really butchered this sign rebrand in 2019. We apologize to the City of St. Louis. It’s been a source of embarrassment for years and I’m excited to announce that we finally corrected our mistake.” said John Murphy, Director of Brand Continuity […]

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NextSTL

Q1 2025 Building Permit Applications Down

2 months 3 weeks ago

Building permit data from the first three months of 2025 are concerning. The dollar amount and number of application are down. The dollar amount can be quite lumpy due to large projects dominating. For example there is the $400M Cardinal Glennon Hospital permit application yet to be issued. So analysis of or extrapolation from short […]

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Richard Bose

Four Townhomes coming to Morgan Ford and Arsenal

3 months 2 weeks ago

After decades of blight, the southwest corner of Morgan Ford and Arsenal across from Tower Grove Park in the Tower Grove South neighborhood is becoming four townhomes. The demolition of the low-productivity auto-oriented land use commenced today. A developer based in south St. Louis County acquired the property last year. An $800k building permit was […]

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Richard Bose

Cordish proposes complete rebuild of the Millennium site

3 months 3 weeks ago

On Wednesday the Gateway Arch Park Foundation announced (Press Release) it had chosen The Cordish Companies of Ballpark Village fame to replace the Millennium Hotel site downtown. The GAPF put out a request for proposals last year after it acquired the property, which has been vacant since 2014. The nearly $670 million preliminary plan integrates […]

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Richard Bose

DMG Investments proposes apartments at Forest Park and Vandeventer

4 months 1 week ago

DMG Investments of New York City is proposing a 7-story apartment building, dubbed “Air St. Louis” on the vacant lot at 3901 Forest Park Ave and Vandeventer across from Ikea currently owned by CORTEX. A $25M zoning-only building permit application was submitted last August. We’ve gotten a first look via documents submitted tot he city. […]

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Richard Bose

Fighting for Safety on St. Louis’ Most Dangerous Roads

5 months 2 weeks ago

By Matt Wyczalkowski and Christian Frommelt This is a pivotal time to advocate for bicycle and pedestrian safety in St. Louis. As car crashes and dangerous roads imperil us and divide neighborhoods, the City will spend hundreds of millions over the next three years to address traffic violence. The $46M Principal Arterial Traffic Safety program, […]

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Matt Wyczalkowski

An Inventory of 70 Former Public School Buildings in STL

6 months 3 weeks ago

Earlier this year,  I happened upon the drone video work of Jimmy Wolfe aka Empty Midwest on Youtube.  In his now 22 part series on abandoned STL structures, Jimmy has documented many of STL’s most endangered architectural treasures from above, revealing the damage and decay invisible from the curb. Prominent among the dozens of structures […]

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Mike Mccubbins

St. Louis’ Sad Suburban Design

9 months 2 weeks ago

How (Bad) Urban Design Affects the Way We Feel Hanging outside of a bar with a group of friends in Turin, Italy, I’m amazed at how the city feels so alive. The night is black, the piazza lights cast a dim yellow, and the streets are filled with countless people out and about. They’re enjoying […]

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G.F. Fuller

Why Crash Statistics are Inadequate for Planning Safer Streets

10 months 2 weeks ago

People Walking, Biking, Busing Count––We Should Count Them (Literally) In May 2024, Chicago’s Department of Transportation claimed that biking had doubled in that city over the past five years. If biking doubled in my hometown, St. Louis, we may never know it. Measuring modal share—the proportion of people walking/rolling, biking, taking public transit, and driving—will […]

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Christian Frommelt