Other upcoming events: Meetings with MODOT (Jan. 21) and Habitat for Humanity (Jan. 26)

Now that you’ve got a new calendar for the new year, you can start filling it up with events in Old North, including the following:

Next Thursday, January 21, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with representatives from the Missouri Dept. of Transportation, who will be on-hand to explain plans for the replacement of the Madison Street overpass.  This meeting will start at 7 p.m. and take place in ONSLRG’s Crown Village Gallery, 2700 N. 14th Street.

Then, on Tuesday, January 26, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with Habitat for Humanity.  Staff from Habitat will be present to discuss the plans for the 17 new, homes they’ll be building this year on Dodier, Sullivan, and Hebert.  This meeting also will begin at 7 p.m. in the ONSLRG gallery. 

Feel free to make copies of this flyer for your friends and neighbors and help spread the word.

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Proposed NorthSide Development to be Discussed at Community Meeting Tonight

Alderwoman April Ford Griffin and McEagle Properties will be discussing the proposed NorthSide development plan at a meeting for residents of Old North this evening at Ames Visual and Performing Arts magnet school, 2900 Hadley.  We’ve been told that Paul McKee, CEO of McEagle Properties, will be in attendance to answer questions about how the development would affect Old North St. Louis.   The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.  See below for the flyer / invitation to the meeting from 5th Ward Alderwoman April Ford Griffin (who represents Old North and most of the proposed development area to the west) and Alderwoman Marlene Davis, who represents a portion of the western end of the proposed development area.

Although most of the area for the proposed project would be west of North Florissant (ONSL’s western border), the boundaries of the NorthSide project include the southern end of Old North St. Louis, between Cass and Chambers.  Companies affiliated with McEagle Properties also own buildings and vacant lots in sections of Old North not included in the development area.

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Jackson Park Improvements in Progress

One of Old North’s great amenities is the easy access to green space, with almost every household in the neighborhood within a couple blocks of a community garden or a public park.  One of those spaces, Jackson Park, is in the midst of some much needed sprucing up, thanks to a great deal of community input and some funding secured by Alderwoman April Ford Griffin.

The original circular portion of Jackson Park is being prepared for new plantings, while a new playground is rising in the area that has been added to the park.

The new playground equipment is installed and nearly ready for neighborhood children.

The work under way right now reflects the ideas and suggestions put forth by ONSL residents at community meetings coordinated by Old North St. Louis Restoration Group in April of 2008.  The neighborhood comments and reactions were collected by architect and Old North resident John Burse who drew up a plan and submitted it to the Alderwoman and the City’s Parks Department.  To their credit, these city officials took the community input seriously and made changes to the original plans.

The revised plan, as submitted to the city after significant community discussion.

ONSL residents Tom Tschetter and Joe Sweet discuss Jackson Park at the community meeting in April of 2008.

According to the book, “From Village to Neighborhood: A History of Old North St. Louis” by Miranda Rabus Rectenwald and Andrew Hurley, “Jackson Place, dedicated as a recreational park, is the second oldest park in all of St. Louis.”

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Scenes from ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper

A nice spread of home-cooked food

ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa with Rod Jones and David Weber from Grace Hill

Tino Ochoa discusses ONSLRG's plans for 2009

Alderwoman April Ford Griffin presented an update on developments throughout the 5th Ward

Current and new ONSLRG board members

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ONSLRG Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper Wed., Feb. 11

Please join us on Wednesday evening, February 11, for Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Annual Meeting and Pot-Luck Supper.  The event will take place at the former Parks Drug Store building, 2720 N. 14th Street at St. Louis Avenue, and will start at 6:00 p.m.

The former Parks Drug Store at 2720 N. 14th Street, now enjoying a new life as part of the Crown Square redevelopment

In addition to the great opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal of home-cooked food with residents and friends of Old North, the annual meeting provides an opportunity for ONSLRG leaders to review the highlights of the past year and present our plans and goals for the new year.  Also on the agenda will be the election of members to the ONSLRG’s Board of Directors.

Since the event includes a pot-luck supper, we are providing some recommendations for the type of dish you can bring to share.  If your last name begins with:

A through C….. bring bread;

D through F….. bring dessert;

G through K….. bring salad;

L through Z….. bring a main dish.

These are just recommendations to help us avoid having everybody bringing the same dish.  If you have a favorite family recipe that doesn’t fit with the guidelines outlined above, please feel free to bring that anyway.  If you can’t bring anything, please don’t let that hold you back.

For more information contact the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or email us at info@onsl.org.

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Crown Square Progress (& Meeting Roundup)

On Tuesday evening Old North St. Louis residents, neighborhood stakeholders, and prospective Crown Square commercial tenants gathered inside the former Parks Drug Store building to hear about the progress at Crown Square.

Among the speakers addressing the audience were Andy Karandzieff (above) of Crown Candy who discussed his excitement about Crown Square, as a 3rd generation business owner and a neighborhood resident; Alderwoman April Ford Griffin; and Susan & Paul Sauer of Duffe-Nuernberger Realty who reported on the growing interest among business owners who are considering locating at Crown Square (such as the two prospective restaurant owners attending the meeting). The Sauers reported that we have received a reservation to lease space for a fashion boutique and serious interest from several other businesses. One of the goals of the meeting was to share information about the various resources that could help businesses locating at Crown Square and neighborhood residents interested in jobs at Crown Square businesses. Above, Ken Riddick of SLATE (St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment) explains the assistance available to job seekers.

Meanwhile, the construction up and down 14th Street is moving forward and transforming the stretch of formerly crumbling vacant buildings into magnificently restored historic buildings.

In addition to the commercial spaces along the street, many of these buildings will have apartments upstairs, and many of these will offer incredible views. Below is the view from the south-facing windows of one of the apartments at 2600 N. 14th Street.

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The Growing Buzz About Crown Square

If you’d like to learn more about the progress being achieved at the Crown Square redevelopment of the former 14th Street Mall, please come on out next Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. (see below for details).One of the reasons for holding the meeting on Tuesday is to encourage neighborhood residents to sign up with SLATE so that they can be on the job referral list when new Crown Square businesses start hiring. SLATE will have representatives on hand to explain the training and job readiness programming that they can offer to prospective employees and for prospective businesses looking for workers. With some of these prospects getting very serious about signing a lease, we want to make sure that everybody is aware of the incentives and support available. At the same time, we want to offer the community a chance to get an update on how the 27-building development is progressing. Consequently, the meeting will take place in one of the commercial spaces nearing completion, the old Parks Drug Store building at 2718 N. 14th Street.

Even though that space isn’t quite ready yet, we already hosted an event there on Sept. 16 when an organization called Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) held a lunch program that featured a presentation on Crown Square.

With approximately 130 attendees enjoying the lunch, guest speakers Stephen Acree of RHCDA and Sean Thomas of Old North St. Louis Restoration Group discussed how the Crown Square project came about and how it fits into the comprehensive revitalization in progress throughout Old North.Meanwhile, we’ve been keeping busy providing a lot of tours of the development for a wide range of interested parties. Last week, we hosted a visit by Pete Ramsel, Executive Director of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, State Senator Joan Bray, and State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford. Among other recent visitors were groups from Crossroads School, Enterprise Community Partners, the Lawrence Group, Mackey Mitchell Architects, and the Society of Design Administrators.

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3 Days & Many Sides of a Comprehensive Revitalization

The past few days have offered glimpses into several aspects of the comprehensive revitalization under way in Old North St. Louis.

A crucial piece of the positive transformation of Old North St. Louis into a dynamic and sustainable neighborhood involves the residents working together to address and resolve the types of issues that affect all communities. ONSL takes this approach through a number of community-building events and activities which allow residents to get to know and build relationships with each other and through Quality of Life meetings held roughly every other month.

On Thursday evening, residents and stakeholders of the neighborhood gathered at North Market Apartments community space for the February Quality of Life meeting facilitated by North Market Place homeowner and ONSLRG’s newest Board member, Kathryn Bentley. Those in attendance heard from Kabrina Forrest, Coordinator for the Family Court Juvenile Division’s Neighborhood Accountability Boards, an innovative, community-focused response to juvenile delinquency. Kabrina reported that ONSL doesn’t have enough incidents of juvenile delinquency to qualify for a new N.A.B., but residents can support and become a part of other Boards that have been established in other neighborhoods. Also on the agenda were updates from the residential and commercial leasing agents for Crown Square, and a report from Kathy Woodard, the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Officer assigned to ONSL.

Above: Kabrina Forrest discusses Neighborhood Accountability Boards

On Friday and Saturday, the focus shifted to attracting new residents to add to the neighborhood’s diverse and active population. With an open house for new and rehabbed homes for sale on Friday evening, and an open house for rehabbed apartments at Crown Square on Saturday, ONSLRG continues to support efforts to offer housing options for anyone desiring to be a part of the community, regardless of their stage in life and position along the economic spectrum.
Above: visitors to 1412 Hebert admire the kitchen.

Another key component in ONSLRG’s rebirth is strong leadership by residents of the neighborhood, and that was evident over the past few days, as well, with Board members out in force at all three events, to meet their neighbors, greet prospective residents, and share their enthusiasm for the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board Member Nate Sprehe & his wife Kathy stopped by several of the open houses to show their support.


Below: CAMCO leasing agents Todd Whiteaker and Valerie Henry showed prospective renters around 1314 Warren while ONSLRG Board Secretary Johnnie Owens and member Kathryn Bentley were on hand to answer questions about the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa and newest Board member Kathryn Bentley outside 1314 Warren.

Below: Karen Heet, ONSLRG’s Real Estate Development Coordinator, greeted visitors at the apartment at 1310 Warren and answered questions about the neighborhood and the Crown Square development.

Below: ONSLRG Board Treasurer Phil Valko stopped by to see the apartments and put in a few good words about the community.

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Scenes from ONSLRG’s Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Dinner

We’re about a week late on this report, but it’s worth sharing anyway…

Despite the cold and icy conditions on Monday, February, 11, a large crowd of ONSL residents and friends gathered at Confluence Academy for Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Annual Meeting & Pot-luck Dinner. ONSLRG board members and staff presented the organization’s plans for 2008, while the community took the opportunity to enjoy a meal with old and new neighbors. Also on the agenda was a celebration of the past year’s achievements, including the start-up of construction at the Crown Square redevelopment, the inaugural season of the North City Farmers Market, and the wave of new neighbors and rehabbers throughout the neighborhood, from North Market to Hebert.

Neighbors and friends lined up to enjoy their fill of home-made casseroles, desserts, and various other dishes.

Alderwoman April Ford Griffin provided an update on development activity throughout the Fifth Ward, including an announcement about plans for significant improvements at Jackson Park.

Members of ONSLRG elected Board members for the 2008-10 term, including returning Board Members John Burse (presiding over the meeting in the photo above), Johnnie Owens, Tino Ochoa, and Phil Valko along with a new Board member, Kathryn Bentley, a homeowner in one of the new North Market Place homes and an assistant professor in the Dept. of Theatre & Dance at Southern Illinois Unversity-Edwardsville.

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Great Ideas, Energy, & Dialogue at Crown Square Charrette

Despite frigid temperatures and a last-minute change of location, a strong contingent of about 60 ONSL residents, stakeholders, outside friends, and partners of Old North showed up on Saturday at the North Market Apartments Community Room for the public spaces planning charrette. Our new ONSLRG office camera captured some video of the team presentations, so stay tuned for a later post with a link to some of the highlights. In the meantime, the photos below show glimpses of the healthy exchange of ideas that took place among the participants.

The program began with a welcome from 5th Ward Alderwoman April Ford Griffin who commended ONSLRG for its determination and vision, as evidenced by the preservation in progress at the Mullanphy Emigrant Home, despite great hurdles and doubts from outside skeptics. After introductory comments, the participants were divided into 5 teams, each with a mix of neighborhood residents and design or planning professionals. By early afternoon, the teams had come up with long lists of suggestions, ideas, and drawings of what could be done to promote sustainability while connecting the former pedestrian mall to the broader neighborhood in a way that can be attractive, safe, and dynamic. At the conclusion of the team presentations, each individual placed colorful sticky dots next to the ideas that appealed to them the most.

We’ll post more later on the many great ideas recommended by participants, but some of the most popular concepts (based on preliminary tabulation of sticky-dot votes) included proposals to:

-bring more of the activities of the buildings outside through use of French balconies on the buildings and rooftop patios;

-promote building density by building on empty lots or even through “temporary liner buildings”;

-use public art and/or water features in a way that is interactive (with the example of the “Jumping Waters” at Missouri Botanical Garden);

- knit the former mall into the original street grid of the neighborhood by extending development beyond the 2600 and 2700 blocks of N. 14th, from North Market on the south up to Wright Street on the north;

-establish a bike-focused park and ride section in the parking lot with bike racks and bicycle rentals (or even free “rentals”) to promote bicycle usage and connectivity to bike lanes and other nearby bike-friendly amenities, such as the Riverfront Trail and the planned redevelopment of the Iron Horse Trestle elevated trail;

-build “soft curbs” along 14th Street to allow for flexibility in uses, from parking lanes to street festivals and farmers markets during times when the street could be closed off.

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