Tschetters’ Home Featured in Sunday’s Post-Dispatch

Thank you to Susan and Tom Tschetter for allowing your home to be featured in Sunday’s Home section of the Post-Dispatch and for sharing your upbeat perspective on living in Old North St. Louis.  The article can be found on page H3 of the March 11, 2012, edition of the Post or click HERE to read the online version at stltoday.com/lifestyles.

In addition to showing the world that Old North is a neighborhood of historically significant homes with cool, one-of-a-kind features, the story also makes a plug for the enriching, community aspect of life in Old North.  After describing the great character and architectural details of the Tschetters’ 1879 home, reporter Amy Bertrand notes that “it’s the people of the neighborhood that mean the most to the Tschetters,” and then offers a quote from Susan: “It’s the ambience… We love it here.”

To see more photos from the Tschetters’ home, click here for the STL Today photo page, but we can also provide a few of our own from just a couple weeks ago, when Susan and Tom opened their home for the most recent of the many groups of visitors who’ve come to be impressed by their home and other developments in Old North.

On February 25, “Urban Walkers Group” came to see the revitalization in progress throughout the neighborhood, and made a stop at the Tschetters’ home along with other sites in Old North.

Friends of Old North and others who would like to see more of the fascinating homes in ONSL will get a chance on Saturday, May 19 when ONSLRG puts on the annual Old North House & Community Tour.  For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the tour page now: http://onsl.org/house-and-community-tour/.

Of course we also have opportunities to enjoy the ambience of the neighborhood as an owner of one of these historic gems, which can be rehabbed to reflect your own personality and style at a fraction of what it would cost elsewhere.  We recently received a visit from a current New Yorker who just closed on the purchase of a house in Old North.  Among her reasons for buying in Old North: “This house was an amazing value, and the mortgage rates are at historic lows; so, from a long-term investment standpoint, it makes perfect sense.”

To learn more about homebuying opportunities in Old North, visit ONSL.org’s real estate page at http://onsl.org/real-estate/.  And even if you’re not up for the rehab process or owning an old home, among the positive features of Old North is that we have new homes, as well.  Check out the website for 1319 North Market, which is one of the best deals in town for new or recently constructed homes.

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Trivia Night on April 14 for North City Farmers’ Market and 13th Street Community Garden

Join friends of the North City Farmers’ Market and Old North’s 13th Street Community Garden on Saturday, April 14th to show your support and provide these good community causes with some financial means to keep up their good work.

Because of limited space, those planning to attend the trivia night fundraiser are encouraged to RSVP for the event by calling ONSLRG at 314-241-5031 or sending an email to info@onsl.org.

Both the market and the garden are projects of OId North St. Louis Restoration Group, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.  All contributions to support the market and the garden are tax-deductible and should be made payable to Old North St. Louis Restoration Group or ONSLRG, with a note or reference in the subject line for NCFM or 13th St. Garden.

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Save the Date NOW: Sat., May 19th - Old North House & Community Tour and Homegrown Street Festival

Put Saturday, May 19, 2012, on your calendar now, and make plans join us that day for the Annual Old North House & Community Tour.

Once the weather starts getting nice (and we got a head-start on that a few months ago this year), all sorts of events and activities start jockeying for space on our calendars. So, now is the time to get Saturday, May 19 onto your calendar - and it’s not too early to start telling all of your friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else you know to join you for a day of celebrating all that’s good about urban neighborhoods.

Get your tickets now - either online by clicking HERE for the Tour and Street Festival Page on our ONSL.org website or by stopping by the ONSLRG office at 2700 N. 14th Street.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for businesses and organizations that want to support the ongoing revitalization of Old North and want to demonstrate their commitment to “one of the country’s very best revitalizing neighborhoods,” (as our good friend Kaid Benfield described Old North in his post on the Atlantic Cities site when Old North won EPA’s National Award for Smart Growth Achievement).  Click HERE for information about sponsorship levels and how to take advantage of that opportunity.

And volunteer opportunities are still available for all who want to help us make the day a rousing success- and get a free pass for the tour, an invite to the after-party, and other great tokens of our appreciation.  Click HERE for information about volunteer opportunities.

For any other questions, please feel free to call the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031.

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Scenes from 2012 Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

On Monday, Feb. 20, a mix of residents and friends of Old North gathered for ONSLRG’s 2012 Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper at 2624 N. 14th Street, in the heart of Crown Square.

Among the highlights: the introduction of newly elected Board members, including (as shown in the photo above, from left to right) Doug Rasmussen (returning to the board after several years off); Tino Ochoa (currently Board President and returning for another term on the board); Linda Quinn; Nevels Nevels; and Eulonda Nevels.  Thom Fletcher chaired the nominations committee and is seen welcoming the new members.  The individuals shown above will join the following who will be continuing their service on the board:

Graham Lane, Grace Wachter, Gloria Bratkowski, Amy Corey, Dave Eisenbraun, Nico Leone, Sean Lowery, Kelly Owens, and Ben Sever.

We also acknowledged and thanked the following who have now retired from the Board:

John Burse, Kathleen Parvis, Kathryn Bentley, and Brian Krueger.

In addition to seeing a slideshow of highlights from 2011 and presentations from committee and project chairs about plans for 2012 (as shown in the photo above, in which Vela Hermann describes the Neighborhood Ownership Plan), the crowd also heard from 3rd Ward Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr., (as shown below) who attended the event for the first time now that part of Old North is in the 3rd Ward as a result of ward re-districting.

As always, one of the best parts of the evening was the chance to enjoy the flavors of home-cooked foods brought by neighbors for the pot-luck supper.

For more photos from the event, click on the following link to visit ONSLRG’s flickr site: ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Photos Set.

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Valentine’s Day in Old North

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us in Old North St. Louis.

Crown Candy was hopping throughout the day, but there still is time to stop in to get a box of chocolates for your sweetheart - or for a nice dessert after your romantic dinner.

Musicians were warming up in the Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group’s gallery, which has been transformed into a fine dining establishment for Welch One Catering’s Valentine’s Dinner.  (It’s too late to get reservations for tonight, but if you’d like to arrange for a similar event here or elsewhere, be sure to get in touch with Euylan at WelchOneCatering.com - and be sure to tell him we’re looking forward to the day he opens a restaurant at Crown Square.)

And if you hurry on down to Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique, you can still pick up a Valentine’s Day card from Maria before she closes up for the night at 6 p.m.

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Scenes from Run for the Chocolate in Old North

More than 1,000 participants braved the sub-freezing temperatures early this morning as they made their way through the heart of Old North in the first ever “Run for the Chocolate” 5K race.

A good distance ahead of the pack, the first runner passed the halfway point at N. 14th Street and St. Louis Avenue and headed back through Crown Square around 9:13 a.m. en route to the finish line just north of Laclede’s Landing.

For many of the runners it was their first glimpse of the revitalization in progress in Old North, especially along N. 14th Street at Crown Square.  Among the participants, though, were residents of Old North, including Nicole Leone (dressed in black with red gloves in the photo above) and Nico Leone (who was a bit too fast to capture in a photo).  Also in the crowd was Crown Square commercial leasing agent Susan Sauer who as able to point out some available spaces as she passed by.  (If you missed her during the run, you still can contact her by phone at 314-571-7654 or email at ssauer@ndconsulting.com.)

Although Crown Candy Kitchen was closed during the run, participants could smell the bacon, which no doubt provided incentive for some to finish the race to get back here for a good BLT and shake.  Those calories that just got burned off have to be replenished somehow.

And even though runners couldn’t stop for chocolates while passing by Crown Candy, race volunteers were still out on the street with complimentary heart-shaped chocolates along with the more traditional cups of water.

Thank you to all of the run organizers and sponsors who brought this great event to Old North and helped show off one of our city’s coolest old neighborhoods.  Special thanks go to Mike Weiss and Jerry Bruce of Big Shark Bicycle Company and Lindsay Van Quaethem of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.

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Who’s Who in Old North: the Nevels Family

Old North Saint Louis is a vibrant community with a diverse population of active and engaged residents who represent a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, life experiences, and skills.  One of the great strengths of this neighborhood is that it seems to have an extraordinarily high percentage of residents who contribute their time and talents toward improving the community, whether through their jobs or as volunteers (or both).  Today we share the story of highly respected professionals who have chosen careers that provide opportunities for them to help others and who, when they moved into the city, selected Old North as the neighborhood where they wanted to raise their daughters.

Our last “Who’s Who in Old North” post featured Joe Eisenbraun, who grew up in Old North and is now starting his own family in the neighborhood.  Now, we put our spotlight on Nevels and Eulonda Nevels and their two daughters, who moved to Old North from Richmond Heights in 2007.  Nevels is a high school math teacher at Northwest Academy of Law and is the 2011-’12 St. Louis Public Schools Teacher of the Year.  Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Eulonda is the Senior Director of Programs for the YWCA of Metro St. Louis.

The photo above was published in the St. Louis Public Schools’ newsletter, “School & Home,” along with the article about the selection of Nevels to be Teacher of the Year.   Pictured are, from left to right, Valerie Carter-Thomas, principal at Northwest Academy of Law; Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Special Administrative Board; Nevels N. Nevels; Eulonda Nevels; Nevels’s mother, Mrs. Erma Nevels; and Nevels and Eulonda’s daughters, Constance and Rachel.  To read the full article, click HERE for the Fall 2011 edition of “School & Home.”

When asked why the family chose Old North for their new home, Nevels identified “Old North’s proximity to downtown St. Louis and the historic feel to the neighborhood.”  Although their jobs keep them busy and away from the neighborhood during their work and school hours, the Nevels Family represents the character and dedication of the residents who make Old North such a great place to live.

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5K Run for the Chocolate Coming through Old North Feb. 12

Get ready for the streets of Old North to be overtaken by hundreds (or maybe thousands) of runners on the morning of Sunday, February 12.   Just two days before Valentine’s Day, the “Sweetest 5K in St. Louis” will come to the heart of Old North as part of the first “Run for the Chocolate.”  See below for the race map and to see how it travels through Old North (primarily up N. 13th Street to Warren, then Warren to N. 14th Street, then up N. 14th through Crown Square to St. Louis Avenue, and then back the same route).  Please help pass the word along to your neighbors that some of the streets and intersections along the route will be temporarily closed during the race.

If you’d like to participate as a runner, see below for registration details.  And, with this many participants coming through the neighborhood, we could use a lot of volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks, including helping set up barricades and directing the runners through intersections and along the route.   If you’d like to volunteer, please contact Mike Weiss (by email: mike@bigshark.com), and be sure to mention that you’re interested in helping in Old North.

This exciting new 5K through the streets of Downtown and Old North will spice up Valentine’s weekend for couples and singles alike, as well as benefit the Downtown Bicycle Station.

When: Sunday, February 12th, 2012. Race starts at 9:00 am. Registration will be open at 7:00 am.

What: A 5K run from Laclede’s Landing to Crown Candy Kitchen and Back.  5K too much? We will also have a 1 mile Walk for the Chocolate. It could be cold and snowy- so be prepared for Midwestern Winter. Timing will be provided by Big River Running Company.

Where: The Run for the Chocolate Start and Finish will be on O’Fallon Street- just North of the Lumiere Casino.

Packet Pick-Up: We will have Race Packet Pick Up at Little Shark Athletic Company from 10:00am - 6:00pm on Saturday February 11th.

Registration Information: Cost for the Run or Walk is $30. There will be a slight surcharge for online registration. Race entry for Happy Couples that register together for the run or walk is $50. (This category is for ‘romantic’ couples- married or not quite married…)

Racers will be categorized by age and relationship status. Please identify if you are one of the following:

• Bachelor
• Bachelorette
• Off the Market Men
• Off the Market Women
• Cougar Woman 40+
• Serial Dater Men 40+ (Manther)

Age Groups for Bachelor, Bachelorette and Off the Market Categories will be:

12-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-70, 70+

Register by clicking HERE for the link to RunReg.com.

Race Goodies- all racers will recieve sweet schwag.

Run for the Chocolate Signature Event Shirt (Will Run for Chocolate). These will differentiate between ON and OFF the Market runners. So you will know who you can schmooze after the race.

Edible Medals. Everyone wins.

Post race Hot Chocolate.

Winners of the Bachelor and Bachelorette Age Group will win a Blind Ice Cream Date at Crown Candy Kitchen or participating restaurant with their opposite gender age group winner.

Winners of the Off the Market Categories will receive a romantic Desert Date with their significant other.

Get Lucky: We will be raffling off romantic prizes post race.

And, as noted above…  Volunteer: Can’t run? Like Chocolate? We can make sure you’re helpful and sweetened. Email mike@bigshark.com

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Mark Your Calendar Now - Mon., Feb. 20: ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

Please make plans to join us on Monday, February 20th at 6 p.m. for Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper.  Watch for more details soon.

In addition to the opportunity to share a food dish with neighbors from Old North and friends and supporters from outside the neighborhood, we’ll offer a preview of some of the plans for 2012 and hold an election for new ONSLRG board members.

If you know of someone you’d like to suggest for nomination to the board, or if you have any questions regarding the nomination process, please contact Thom Fletcher, co-chair of our Social Outreach Committee, at monstromo@yahoo.com or by phone at 623-4755.  ONSLRG Bylaws require that members of the board be members in good standing of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, are 18 years old or older, donate their time and labor in ONSLRG’s efforts to improve the neighborhood, and uphold the Bylaws of the Restoration Group. For information on how to renew your membership of the Old North St Louis Restoration Group, or for information on how to become a member, you can contact Thom, call the ONSLRG office (314-241-5031) or visit the ONSLRG membership page on the ONSL website at http://onsl.org/join/.

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group is a community-based nonprofit organization established by neighborhood residents in 1981 to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of the community in a manner that respects its historic, cultural, and urban character.

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New Year Brings More Media & Outside Attention for Old North

The new year is barely two weeks old, but Old North has already received a good deal of attention in 2012 from a range of outside sources, including some publications with national readerships.

The latest moment in the spotlight came when HUD’s Best Practices website posted a feature on Old North’s Crown Square on Friday.  The Crown Square redevelopment earned its place as the latest in a series of reports on “best practice” developments around the country because the project resulted from a strong partnership between Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance (with support from the City of St. Louis), a genuine community-based planning process, and a commitment to affordable and mixed-income housing, historic preservation, and various other sustainable development principles.  Click HERE or on the image below to read the full report.

On January 5, Builder Magazine posted a story on their website about the desirability of walkable neighborhoods and used Old North St. Louis as their featured example of a community that has benefited from improvements to its walkability.  The article cited Old North’s comprehensive approach to redevelopment and offered several photos from Old North, including a community garden, the North City Farmers’ Market, historically sensitive new homes at North Market Place, and the streetscape at Crown Square, to illustrate the elements that have made Old North not just more livable for current residents but also more attractive to prospective residents.  Click HERE or on the image below to read the full article.

Eleven Music Magazine’s January issue has hit the streets with Old North as its “Neighborhood of the Month”, which is nice recognition, especially for the Crown Square redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall.  (Although the piece includes a mis-quote about the age of the neighborhood - indicating that the neighborhood was a separate village from St. Louis from 1860 - 1940, rather than the real dates of 1816-1841, we’ll forgive that because of the overall positive tone of the piece and the fact that the actual quote may have been difficult to hear during the interview, which was recorded at Old North’s La Mancha Coffeehouse, with the sound of an espresso machine and various diners’ chatter in the background.)  Click HERE or on the image below to read the article.

Visitors to hotels throughout the St. Louis area are picking up this month’s issue of Where Magazine-St. Louis, in which they’ll read about 6 new independent retailers “worth your time,” including Old North’s newest Crown Square establishment, Rambles Gift Gallery & Boutique.

Where Magazine is available at concierge desks and in-room at medium-to-high end hotels and other select businesses, but it’s also available online to provide travelers (and locals) with “the most complete guide to the city’s top restaurants, shops, shows, exhibits, and tours.”  The online version (seen below) also features a photo of the interior at Rambles.  Click HERE or on the image below to see and read the online version of the review of Rambles.

Thank you to all of these publications for sharing our story with the rest of the world!

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