NextSTL

Cities around the US are easing regulations for businesses in residential neighborhoods. With last September’s accessory dwelling unit ordinance as precedent, should St. Louis be next? Policymaker Summary: Cities like Austin, TX and Raleigh, NC are permitting commercial activity in their residential neighborhoods to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, particularly in working-class and immigrant communities. St. […]

The post The Case for Accessory Commercial Units in St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

In September of 2019, July Hampton’s life took a sudden unexpected turn. “One day I had a bus in front of my high school, and the next day I did not.” The metro bus that usually made a stop in front of his high school stopped showing up. This came with the implementation of the 2018 […]

The post Grassroots and non-profit organizations are leading the way to improve St. Louis’ public transit problem appeared first on NextSTL.

The Chicago to St. Louis corridor could someday become the midwestern backbone of a national high-speed rail network — but an upcoming political deadline could sink the project before it starts, advocates fear. Lawmakers in Illinois are fighting to pass new legislation governing Illinois’ High Speed Rail Commission, which will sunset in 2027 unless House Bill […]

The post Chicago to St. Louis High-Speed Rail: A looming deadline could be the end of high speed rail in Illinois — or the beginning of an entire midwest network, a top advocate argues. appeared first on NextSTL.

Curb bumpouts at Broadway and Market downtown installed last year were removed at lightning speed, after complains from drivers after a concert and from the Hilton Hotel. Mayor Spencer ordered them removed this week. This is a huge disappointment after years of effort to make safety improvements to streets around the city. Cars first policies […]

The post Driver entitlement trumps public safety in St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

On April 7, voters in the City of St. Louis will decide a single question: whether to continue the city’s earnings tax. It’s a straightforward item on the ballot, but the implications are not. To understand what’s at stake, I looked at the tax’s history, how it fits into the city’s finances, and what could […]

The post St. Louis’ earnings tax and why it matters appeared first on NextSTL.

The proposal for the North-South Metrolink line has devolved over the decades. Since the heady days of the opening of the Cross County Blue Line in 2006, it has shrunk from a 28-station line from Florissant Valley Community College to Butler Hill & I-55 connecting with the existing lines at14th street to an 8-station line […]

The post Green Line BRT community engagement begins next week, Metro needs to rebuild trust first appeared first on NextSTL.

Julian Nicks joined City Hall to assist with a mayoral transition. Within weeks, he was helping with the city’s tornado recovery. Months after the storm, residents across St. Louis have many questions: when will debris be cleared, how and when will damaged homes be stabilized or demolished, and what will recovery look like in neighborhoods […]

The post Exclusive: Inside the tornado recovery effort with St. Louis’ Chief Recovery Officer appeared first on NextSTL.

Mayor Cara Spencer announced that the City of St. Louis will begin exercising eminent domain on 89 properties owned by Paul McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration. The announcement was made on Thursday, January 15, alongside St. Louis Development Corporation Executive Director Otis Williams and Alderman Rasheed Aldridge. City officials described the move as a response to the […]

The post City moves to unlock stalled development near the NGA appeared first on NextSTL.

On July 1st, 2025, St. Louis voters chose a new representative for one of the city’s most complex and consequential areas: the 8th Ward. Stretching from Downtown through diverse historic neighborhoods, the ward offers a microcosm of St. Louis. The person now leading the ward is Alderperson Jami Cox Antwi, a third-generation native St. Louisan […]

The post The 8th Ward as a Lens: Jami Cox Antwi’s View of St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

One of the best-known historic warehouse complexes in St. Louis, and the one with the most anticipated glow-up, has burned down. In the early hours of Friday, November 28th, a fire broke out in one of the Crunden-Martin warehouses in the vicinity of 2nd St. and Gratiot. Before long, several buildings were burning, prompting the […]

The post Fire Destroys Crunden-Martin Complex, Raising Questions for Gateway South appeared first on NextSTL.

The River des Peres has long been both a symbol of St. Louis’s resilience and a reminder of its challenges. Once a natural waterway, it was engineered (and buried through Forst Park) to control flooding—an uneasy balance between nature and infrastructure. Today, efforts like the annual River des Peres Trash Bash reflect how residents and […]

The post River des Peres Trash Bash: Building a Cleaner, Greener St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

It’s autumn in St. Louis — so while the pumpkin spice crowd lines up for lattes, we’re raising steins instead. So dust off the lederhosen and dirndls, tip your Alpine hat, and loosen up those polka knees. Oktoberfest isn’t just another seasonal party here; it’s a hometown tradition with deep roots. St. Louis owes much […]

The post Why Oktoberfest matters to St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

This year Great Rivers Greenway is celebrating a quarter-century of building greenways in the St. Louis region.  The organization’s funding, born out of a public vote in November 2000, started GRG down the path to creating the 140 miles of trails, thousands of acres of public space, and 3 million yearly trail visitors they boast […]

The post 25 Years of Great Rivers Greenway: A Timeline + A Conversation with GRG’s Emma Klues appeared first on NextSTL.

By: Allie Reed and Erich Hellmer In St. Louis, dangerous speeding is a common occurrence and leading cause of our City’s roads becoming more and more dangerous every year. Trailnet’s 2024 Crash Report analyzed vulnerable road user (VRU) crash data for St. Louis City and St. Louis County (see Figure 1). Looking back at data […]

The post 25/20: Setting Safer Speed Limits in St. Louis appeared first on NextSTL.

“The Central West End just ain’t what it used to be in the old days when it was packed” wrote Elliot Davis, retired Fox2 anchor and reporter, posted on his Facebook page. He laments the closures of El Burro Loco, Culpepper’s, and Blue Mercury which replaced Coffee Cartel at Euclid and Maryland. The post received […]

The post Elliott Davis Dooming on the Central West End appeared first on NextSTL.

If you’re familiar with St. Louis brewing history, you are probably at least aware of the Lemp Brewery, whose most recognizable structure sits in the Marine Villa Neighborhood at Lemp Avenue and Cherokee Street. It is a hulking presence of brick, stone and iron that is a reminder of the beer barons that shaped St. […]

The post Adam Lemp and the Western Brewery – A Conversation with Historian & Author Chris Naffziger appeared first on NextSTL.

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 […]

The post Update: Bollards at Skinker and Forest Park Parkway Needed appeared first on NextSTL.

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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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 […]

The post Let’s Zone for People appeared first on NextSTL.

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 […]

The post MoDOT’s new tolls don’t yet work. ‘Worse than useless,’ driver says appeared first on NextSTL.