This afternoon the Cultural Resources Office uploaded the final agenda for next Mondays Preservation Board meeting. The agenda shows the proposed site plan proposed by CVS and AAA to replace the current AAA facility. The graphic below (also from the agenda) shows the proposed CVS in relation to the existing AAA building.
The site plan completely disregards the planned Central West End-Midtown Sustainable Form Based Zoning overlay district that has been in development for two years and is scheduled to be adopted as an ordinance this fall. Board Bill #79, which is enabling legislation that will allow the adoption of form based zoning overlay districts throughout the City of St. Louis was introduced by 17th Ward Alderman Joe Roddy on June 1st.
The page above is from the Draft Regulating Plan of the planned overlay district. The area included in the overlay includes both sides of Lindell from Vandeventer to Kingshighway, and the three blocks south of Lindell to Forest Park Boulevard. The AAA site is outlined in red. While the plan is not yet law, some recent developments have taken the plan into account, including the mixed use 3949 Lindell building that has apartments over retail built right up to the sidewalk of Lindell Boulevard. I'm sure they would love to have AAA as a long term tenant in one of the remaining retail spaces since they seem to be unhappy with their present building. You may recall that the planned form based overlay plan was a factor in the downfall of the previous plan from CVS to demolish the former Housing Authority Building at Sarah to build a store.
St. Louis has to FORCE corporations to do what the city wants, or they'll always do what they want! CVS will build in an historic building if they're forced to! I've seen in it done in Washington, DC and New York. It's about time the city passes that ordinance you mentioned.
ReplyDelete(groan) Another parking lot in place of a viable building.
ReplyDelete^^ there are even several examples in charlottesville, VA. if charlottesville can demand adaptive reuse, then saint louis sure as hell can.
ReplyDeleteif this thing gets okay'd--if we can't even protect our already urban neighborhoods from suburbanization--then there really is no hope for saint louis.
So sad to see the old buildings being torn down. We are rehabbing an old house in South County.
ReplyDelete