Crown Square Wins Development of Year Award

On Friday, Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis Development Corporation executive director Rodney Crim presented a Development of the Year Award to Crown Square at the city’s annual Business Celebration luncheon.  Crown Square is being co-developed by the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group (ONSLRG) and the Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance (RHCDA).  The $35 million, 27 building redevelopment of the former 14th Street Pedestrian Mall is nearing completion.

Shown on the big screen at the America's Center Ballroom at Friday's luncheon, Mayor Slay (on the left) and SLDC Executive Director Rodney Crim (on the right) presented the award to RHCDA President Stephen Acree, ONSLRG Executive Director Sean Thomas, and RHCDA Project Manager Aaron Burnett.

Celebrating the recognition for Crown Square were ONSLRG's Board President Tino Ochoa, Aaron Burnett of RHCDA, Sean Thomas of ONSLRG, Stephen Acree of RHCDA, Mike Harris, CEO of general contrator E.M. Harris Construction Co., and Phil Krull, Vice President at E.M. Harris.

Watch this site in the coming week for more photos of the progress achieved at Crown Square.

The Crown Square revitalization and Old North also got some attention from the city in the St. Louis Development Corporation’s 2009 Annual Report, which was passed out at Friday’s luncheon and inserted into this week’s edition of the St. Louis Business Journal.   The annual report features a front page photo of Phil Valko, ONSL resident and founder of the Urban Studio Cafe; an inside photo of Crown Candy; and on page, a profile of the Crown Square project (identified as Crown Village) as an example of a new and positive development in the city’s neighborhoods .

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Praise for Old North’s “edifying restoration and renewal”

Missouri Historical Society President Bob Archibald used his commentary on St. Louis Public Radio (90.7 FM) today to celebrate the revitalization of Old North St. Louis.  With a quick reference to the neighborhood as home of the much-loved Crown Candy Kitchen and a review of the community’s many years of decline, Archibald praised the passion and persistence of the area’s residents for bringing the neighborhood back to life:

“But some neighborhoods refuse to die. Thanks to the determined efforts of people hanging on in Old North St. Louis, Crown Candy Kitchen is in the midst of an edifying restoration and renewal. The enthusiasm of this re-emerging neighborhood is palpable. It’s been a slow process, not yet complete but moving with deliberation and good judgment.”

To read or listen to the whole commentary, click HERE to reach the St. Louis Public Radio website.

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Front Page Coverage of Old North Grocery Co-op

The most prominent story in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch profiled Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s plan to open a grocery co-op at 2718 N. 13th Street.

To read the online version of the Post story at STLToday.com, click HERE.

The summer edition of ONSLRG’s newsletter also provides a summary of the plan.

As noted in these articles, ONSLRG has been working closely with staff from the Community Partnership Project at UM-St. Louis and UM-Extension Services throughout the research and planning process.  As a neighborhood-based co-op, the grocery will be community-focused and structured to allow the people who shop there to be investors and participants in the decision-making process regarding various operational matters, including election of the board.  Most grocery co-ops also provide special discounts on certain items.  The Old North co-op, however, will be open to all and membership will not be required to shop there.  Another feature of this grocery will be an emphasis on providing food and products grown or produced locally or regionally.

With news that the Missouri Foundation for Health has approved a 3-year grant to help ONSLRG launch the co-op, the planned opening in 2010 has picked up considerable steam.  A lot of work remains to be done before that can happen, but community members and volunteers are coming forward to offer their services and support.  If you’d like to assist as a member of the planning committee, if you’d like to make a financial contribution to the cause, if you’d like to donate new or used commercial grade refrigerators, or if you’d like to offer professional services - electrical, carpentry, painting, HVAC, - or any other support, contact ONSLRG executive director Sean Thomas at 314-241-5031 or via email:  sean@onsl.org.

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The Urban Studio Cafe is Open for Business

Last Saturday morning, the Urban Studio Cafe at 2817 N. 14th Street opened their doors and started serving coffee and pastries.  The cafe is now open every day from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

In the weeks leading up to last Saturday's "soft opening," the staff have spent countless hours perfecting their technique. Here, Louise Chatman and Claire Wolff observe as Darnell Purnell prepares a tasty mocha.

Old North residents filled up all of the seats on opening day at the Urban Studio Cafe.

Claire Wolff and Granville Carter greet Graham Lane and prepare to take his order.

You can view David Holden’s video of the first customers arriving at the Uban Studio Cafe on YouTube.

The Urban Studio Cafe is much more than a place to pick up a cup of coffee and a muffin.   As noted on their website, “The Urban Studio has a successful history of providing art-based educational programs to youth in Old North St. Louis.  Revenue generated by the cafe will support these programs.”  For more information, visit that site at www.urbanstudiocafe.org - or, better yet, stop in and enjoy the experience in person while you get all of your questions answered by the friendly and knowledgeable staff.

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North City Farmers’ Market Continues to Add Flavor to Old North Every Saturday Morning

Although KSDK-TV (Channel 5) reporter Ashley Yarchin didn’t quite capture the crowd at its peak in her news story about the market last week, the North City Farmers’ Market continues to draw Old North residents and healthy-food hungry customers from surrounding neighborhoods every Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon.  Come on out tomorrow morning to pick up your fresh produce and show your support for the market while getting a chance to enjoy the tasty samples prepared on the spot by Chef Euylan Welch and the great sounds of this week’s featured musician, Bob Reuter.

By the way, if you’ve got some time to contribute, contact market master Sarah Pritchard at sarahpritchard@yahoo.com.

You can watch the full report below:

 
For more information about the market, contact the North City Farmers’ Market project coordinator at: lucas@northcityfarmersmarket.org.

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Now’s Your Chance to Become a Part of “One of the Country’s Best Revitalization Stories”

Recently we used this space to celebrate the achievements in preserving and breathing new life into historic buildings throughout Old North (see post from July 4) - and once again, Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC, picked up the message and shared our story with the rest of the world.

Kaid Benfield's latest blog post about Old North St. Louis on July 6 draws the attention of his readers to the progress at Crown Square.

In previous posts over the past year or so, Benfield, the director of NRDC’s Smart Growth Program, has referred to Old North as “one of the country’s best revitalization stories” and described the neighborhood as “the very antithesis of sprawl.”

Now YOU can get in on the action, become a part of the community, and keep the neighborhood’s momentum going all at the same time.  Last week the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group released a Request for Proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of six (6) vacant, historic buildings in the North Market area of Old North St. Louis.   The full details of this RFP can be found in the Rehabbers page of the Real Estate section of the ONSL.org website, where you can download the RFP and see a listing and photos of all of the properties:http://onsl.org/rehabbers/.

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group purchased these properties from the City of St. Louis with the purpose of stabilizing them before they deteriorate any further or completely collapse.  Since the ideal scenario would be to get these properties into the hands of legitimate rehabbers who have commitment and resource to preserve the buildings, ONSLRG would like to give rehabbers or developers the chance to purchase them before ONSLRG spends significant funds on stabilization.  If serious offers do not get submitted by August 14, ONSLRG will begin work on the buildings and offers to purchase after that date will be expected to cover those stabilization expenses.

With this offer, you can get a limited edition Old North historic property and customize it to create your dream home.   The following buildings are just three of the historic properties available through this RFP:

The building at 1312 Warren is in the Crown Square redevelopment area and is sandwiched between two other buildings that have already experienced complete historic rehabs.

The little building at 1217 North Market should be small enough to make it more manageable and affordable for an individual rehabber. The house is between a new North Market Place home and one of the nine buildings part of the North Market Place Apartments development that won a "Most Enhanced" Award from Landmarks Association a couple years ago.

At first glance, the building at 1300 Monroe may seem a bit challenging, but we have plenty of experienced rehabbers in Old North who can share their expertise and make referrals to reputable contractors. Besides, this building features a nice view of the Arch, straight down 13th St., and was featured in the New York Times a few years ago.

To learn more about these properties and the process for making an offer for one or more of them, download the RFP from the Rehabbers page.  If you would like to make an offer or have questions after reviewing the information included in the RFP, call ONSLRG’s real estate development coordinator, Karen Heet, at 314-241-5031, or send her an email - karen@onsl.org. 

If you’re not up for taking on a rehab project, you can still help out by sending ONSLRG a contribution to help cover the rather hefty costs of stabilizing these buildings.  For this option, call executive director Sean Thomas at 314-241-5031 or send him an email - sean@onsl.org.

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House & Community Tour - Just 3 Days Away! And Some Good Media Coverage Too

Word is spreading like wildfire, with a lot of media folks starting to pick up on how impressive everything is in Old North St. Louis - and how all of it will be on display this coming Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour.   See below for some links to recent media coverage, but first we would like to offer a sneak preview of one of the buildings along Crown Square that will be open on the day of the tour:

The historic rehab of the building at 2607 N. 14th is almost complete. It will offer some phenomenal apartments and fantastic commercial space.

In March of 2008, the building was in pretty sad shape.

This type of redevelopment is winning support from all over the place.   Just this morning, Charlie Brennan had some very kind things to say about the great progress being achieved in Old North St. Louis on his KMOX radio program.  As of today, you can find a link to his interview with Sean Thomas, ONSLRG’s executive director, on the KMOX webpage - or you can click right here to listen: charliebrennanshow050609reonslhousetour

The KMOX website features a link to today's show with comments about the Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour.

Meanwhile, a publication called St. Louis Construction News and Real Estate not only commends the Crown Square development, they have decided to present the development team with their Regional Excellence Award for Neighborhood Redevelopment.  You can read more about that on their website by clicking here.  The judges noted that Crown Square is “one of the largest and most exciting neighborhood redevelopment projects in the city.  In addition to breathing new life into the abandoned buildings along the former mall, this development will restore the 2600 and 2700 blocks of  N. 14th Street as a drivable but pedestrian-friendly street.”  Congratulations to all, including Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s co-developers, RHCDA, our general contractor, E. M. Harris Construction Co., and architects, Rosemann & Associates.

Come see what the buzz is all about on Saturday, May 9 at the Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour.  Click right here for more details or to purchase your tickets online.

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Watch Old North on Channel 4 Tonight at 10

Larry Conners and his “Good News 4 A Change” crew were in Old North St. Louis earlier today to do some interviews and capture some good footage of the redevelopment of Crown Square - and the revitalization evident throughout the neighborhood.  The segment is scheduled to air on the KMOV-TV (channel 4) 10 p.m. newscast tonight.

Left to right: ONSLRG Executive Director Sean Thomas, KMOV cameraman Stan, Steve Perron of KMOV, Channel 4 News Anchor Larry Conners, and RHCDA President Stephen Acree

Larry Conners interviewing Stephen Acree about Crown Square

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Old North called “one of country’s best revitalization stories”

For the the third time in less than a year, Kaid Benfield has taken note of the revitalization under way in Old North St. Louis.  As the director of the Smart Growth Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, Kaid has spent considerable time looking at and studying cities across the country, and he regularly shares his perspective on good policies and effective strategies for achieving sustainable development.  Last week Kaid used his blog to highlight the progress being made in Old North.

Kaid mentions that he could barely contain his enthusiasm last year when he discovered what has been going on in Old North, and offers his take on the neighborhood’s redevelopment: ”it is being brought back in a thoughtful, inclusive, diverse, grassrootsy sort of way, but with some terrific organizational support from the Old North Restoration Group and financial investment from the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance, among bevy of supporters.”

In highlighting the success of Old North, Kaid makes his case that “no other single category of activity is more important to sustainable development thant revitalization.  When done properly, it’s great for residents old and new, great for cities, and great for the environment.”   

You can read Kaid’s full blog entry on the NRDC website - and take a look at some of the pictures of ONSL that he’s discovered and re-posted…and then you can come see it all for yourself at the Old North St. Louis House and Community Tour on Saturday, May 9.

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Old North in St. Louis Magazine, on Channel 9, & featured on other blogs

A while back we mentioned that Old North was featured on Channel 9’s Living St. Louis program.  If you missed it when it was on TV, you can watch it online right here:

Other media outlets have been saying good things about ONSL, as well.  The April issue of St. Louis Magazine is all about the Best Places to Live in St. Louis — and such an issue wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the great things going on in Old North.  ONSL gets credit as a community ripe with opportunities for rehabbers.  To illustrate that case, the issue includes a full-page photo of V. and Graham Lane, who are in the midst of a one-of-a-kind conversion of an old charcoal warehouse into their residence and artist studio space.

V. & Graham Lane represent Old North in St. Louis Magazine

In the past week we’ve had at least a couple of good plugs from bloggers with Old North connections.  Michael Allen’s Ecology of Absence blog addresses the current wave of rehab activity throughout the neighborhood - and the chance to come see it all on May 9 when ONSLRG hosts the annual Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour. And Kira Switzer’s blog about rehabbing a house in Old North also makes a pitch for the house tour, which will offer an opportunity for a firsthand look at the unique combination of new construction and rehab in progress at 1318 Hebert.

Speaking of the house tour, information and links to buy tickets can now be found on the ONSL website — so tell everyone you know to click RIGHT HERE to get the details.

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