Posted February 1, 200619 yr looks like the promenade plantee in paris and the highline in ny have been inspirational! from the highline newsletter: ELEVATED RAIL STRUCTURE IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO PARK The Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced on December 30, 2005, that it acquired an abandoned two-mile-long rail corridor running through St. Louis's Produce Row and conveyed it to the Great Rivers Greenway District. The corridor includes a historic elevated rail structure similar to the High Line. It will be developed by the District into a biking and pedestrian route, connecting densely populated neighborhoods north of downtown to the popular Riverfront Trail along the Mississippi River and the Branch Street Trestle Connector, as well as the McKinley Bridge Bikeway leading into Illinois. Planning and design for the project will begin in 2007, with efforts made to connect it to a larger network of paths throughout Missouri and Illinois. The project description cites both the High Line and the Promenade Plantée in Paris as precedents. FHL featured a story about other similar projects in our E-Mail Newsletter on May 13, 2004. Key Connector for St. Louis Trail System Acquired Contact: Bryan Fawks, Trust for Public Land: (314) 436-7255 St. Louis, MO, 12/30,2005 -The Trust for Public Land (TPL) announced that a two-mile stretch of an abandoned rail corridor running through St. Louis's Produce Row will be protected and transformed into a biking and pedestrian trail connecting the underserved neighborhoods north of downtown to the area's emerging trails system. The nonprofit land conservation group acquired the corridor earlier today from Ironhorse Resources, Inc. and conveyed it to the Great Rivers Greenway District (GRGD). The corridor, which includes a historic steel trestle, will be developed by the GRGD into a biking and pedestrian route, connecting densely populated neighborhoods north of downtown to the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and the Branch Street Trestle Connector, as well as the popular Riverfront Trail along the Mississippi River. GRGD paid $1.5 million for the property, well below the appraised market value. This is the third project TPL has completed since 2001 with GRGD. According to David Fisher, executive director of GRGD, elevated sections that wind through industrial areas, over Interstate 70 into downtown St. Louis, the route will be a wonderful interpretive and historical experience, as well as an opportunity to enjoy the many unique views of the urban landscape of north St. Louis. "This corridor is a particularly important addition to our emerging network of trails and greenways encompassing the region," said Fisher. "The trestle, which will ultimately connect to the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle, will be a vital link to Missouri and Illinois, providing opportunities for citizens to access residential, employment, cultural and recreational areas." Fisher added that until now, only New York City and Paris, France have successfully initiated programs to convert historic elevated railroad viaducts into linear recreational amenities. In New York City, the elevated High Line (www.highline.org) currently is being transformed into a one and a half mile long promenade on the West side of Manhattan for pedestrians to move between Penn Stations and the Hudson River Park, and from the convention center to the Gansevoort Market Historic District. In Paris, during the 1990s, a similar elevated rail viaduct near the Bastille opera house was converted into a three mile pedestrian walkway called the Promenade Plantée. Bryan Fawks, Director for The Trust for Public Land in St. Louis, said, "This corridor is a crucial part of the development of St. Louis' regional trails system. TPL is pleased to be part of this effort and we will continue to work with The Great Rivers Greenway District to pursue the formation of the River Ring." Although development plans for the newly acquired trestle have not begun, Great Rivers Greenway District is currently working on developing the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and Branch Street Trestle Connector. All three projects were originally part of the Illinois Traction System streetcar network, which connected several Metro East communities to downtown St. Louis via the McKinley Bridge. The streetcar line was abandoned in 1958. Plans for the McKinley Bridge Bikeway and the Branch Street Trestle Connector include converting the elevated trestle into a bicycle/pedestrian route that will connect to existing and planned trails in Missouri and Illinois. Targeted for completion in 2007, both projects will be developed by GRGD and the Metro East Park and Recreation District. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross the McKinley Bridge to access the regional system of greenways, parks and trails spanning both sides of the Mississippi River. About The Great Rivers Greenway District: The Great Rivers Greenway District is the public organization leading the development of a region-wide system of interconnected greenways, parks and trails, known as the River Ring. The River Ring will join two states and cover an area of 1,216 square miles. The Greenway District was established in November 2000 by the successful passage of the Clean Water, Safe Parks and Community Trails Initiative (Proposition C) in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and St. Charles County, Missouri. For more information about Great Rivers Greenway District, visit www.greatrivers.info. The Trust for Public Land is a national, nonprofit land-conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Established in 1972, TPL is the only national nonprofit working exclusively to protect land for public enjoyment and use. TPL depends on contributions from supporters to continue protecting land throughout the state. Visit TPL on the Web at www.tpl.org. link: http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=20354&folder_id=669
February 8, 200619 yr I'm jealous for Cleveland. The old Superior Viaduct is only a so-so linear park in my opinion, but could have been an awesome one, a la promenade plantee, if a pedestrian connection could have been made across the Cuyahoga. Of course Nautica might disagree..
February 8, 200619 yr ^ imo something cool like that idea is worth tearing nautica out of there for. they can move it! hows about: nautica at steelyard commons? heh.
February 8, 200619 yr ^Stonebridge people own the viaduct, they want to put a trolley on it. Its really in their hands what they can do with it. We should look at other possibilities in cleveland. Central viaduct is nothing more than a stump, and will soon be eliminated entirely by odot. Rail that crosses at euclid and e 55th is a thought, but thats still active.
February 9, 200619 yr i didnt know that they owned it, cool. you wonder who they had to talk to to buy that. can you imagine the discussion? "hello, how much for your viaduct?" now they have a treasure no question. i am so glad people are waking up and puting these striking structures to creative use rather than just tearing them down.
February 9, 200619 yr I guess handing over the viaduct to the developers was part of the price to get Stonebridge rolling but I wish it were still publicly owned... I've seen the trolley pull they've operated on occasion and it looked kind of cheesy. A landscaped walkway/bikeway to the East Side on the otherhand would have been a pretty sweet amenity. My biggest knock against the growing Stonebridge empire is that the bridge is less and less visible. In city where so much of the 19th century has been wiped away, it is one of the most beautiful and profound reminders of the City's history and age.
February 11, 201015 yr The new St. Louis Amtrak station was James Kuntsler's "eyesore of the month" for January 2010. Kuntsler's predictions accompany the pictures: Check out this monstrosity: the new St. Louis Amtrak station, an utterly bewildering piece-of-s*** shoehorned under a bunch of freeway ramps behind a UPS depot parking lot. Where's the Prozac dispenser? "It is a nasty pocket in the city's neglected back yard, and the first things you see when you exit the station are the dark parking lot under the overpasses, weed-choked vacant lots, and abandoned, shacky little buildings." the Rape-o-matic back entrance. While three blocks away the old St. Louis Union Station no longer used for trains: more: http://kunstler.com/eyesore_201001.html
February 11, 201015 yr It is a pretty odd little corner but trust me when I say that this is a huge improvement over what was there before (which was nothing). Greyhound and Amtrack leave from this parking lot that is near the Scotttrade Center and Metrolink lines but completely removed from them. I believe the first picture is to connect the site to metrolink and bus lines, the 2nd picture shows the actual stations for Amtrack and Greyhound. It's no union station (which is now a mall) but we don't really build those now a days.
February 11, 201015 yr James Kuntsler seems quite a bit melodramatic. Tell me about it!! I heard him speak at the Ohio Planning Confernece. The guy is hillarious but yes a bit "doomsdayish"
February 11, 201015 yr I have a penchant for sardonic, snarky, "we're doomed" humor. so it goes, I agree something is better than nothing unless that something sours people on what should be a good thing. *cough*-slow 3C rail to Sharonville-*cough*
February 11, 201015 yr Looks like a sort of fast food place...but anything is better than the current "credit union" style Cleveland station we're forced to live with.
February 11, 201015 yr Yeah, it's definitely better than what was there before. There was a parking lot and a trailer, I kid you not. But no, it is not in the most desirable portion of downtown no matter how you look at it.
July 3, 20222 yr A 29-story mass timber building has been proposed for St Louis, potentially taking the tallest mass timber crown away from Milwaukee. Nice looking, too. This is in the area of Centene Stadium and looks like more than a "sports village." https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/ahm-downtown-west Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
January 9Jan 9 In another thread barneyboy said: "Compare that to the 44 story, 40 year old AT&T Center in St. Louis which recently sold for $3.6M and I'd say I'm more encouraged with commercial real estate in DT CLV than ST LO MO." Heres the building in question: the taller one Remember: It's the Year of the Snake
January 10Jan 10 I was in Downtown St. Louis a few weeks ago. Its not great. The Arch and Ballpark Village are in alright shape but the rest of is on life support. Both Downtown STL and KC suck compared to Cleveland and are a harsh lesson in disinvestment if thats the road we keep heading down.
January 11Jan 11 St. Louis' big mistake was demolishing the old riverfront neighborhood for the Arch and a big-ass park surrounding it. They should've kept some of it next to the Arch or at least rebuild the lost blocks and make the park area smaller. You already have park space on the river and all that space next to the Arch is unnecessary.
January 11Jan 11 On 1/9/2025 at 4:05 PM, Dougal said: In another thread barneyboy said: "Compare that to the 44 story, 40 year old AT&T Center in St. Louis which recently sold for $3.6M and I'd say I'm more encouraged with commercial real estate in DT CLV than ST LO MO." Heres the building in question: the taller one Wait, that building sold for 3.6MM? The entire building? Wow!
January 11Jan 11 3 minutes ago, Jenny said: Wait, that building sold for 3.6MM? The entire building? Wow! Yep - for perspective, it's a little over 70 feet shorter than 200 Public Square but the square footage is about 200K larger - built around the same time and same architects as well. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
March 21Mar 21 Hello all! New joiner, from UrbanSTL. Just thought I would give an update to the above and a few others. There are many great projects around the region, just listing the previously mentioned or larger projects. STL is also expecting movement this year on conversion of abandoned AT&T building as state and city have approved incentive packages. The 314 - Start 2025 (https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/the-314-ahm-s-downtown-west-project-moves-closer-to-construction) The Albion West End - Start 2025 https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/albion-west-end-is-moving-ahead Millennium Hotel Redevelopment - Start 2025 https://nextstl.com/2025/02/cordish-proposes-complete-rebuild-of-the-millennium-site/ Edited March 21Mar 21 by addxb2
March 21Mar 21 Thank you and welcome! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 21Mar 21 31 minutes ago, addxb2 said: The 314 - Start 2025 (https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/the-314-ahm-s-downtown-west-project-moves-closer-to-construction) This one looks pretty similar to The Merchant Building that is being built in Columbus. Looks like some great projects happening in St Louis, thanks for the updates
March 21Mar 21 ^Yes! And congratulations to St Louis for attaining some real architectural imagination in the designs of its new building projects. I hope they all get built.
March 21Mar 21 11 hours ago, addxb2 said: Hello all! New joiner, from UrbanSTL. Just thought I would give an update to the above and a few others. There are many great projects around the region, just listing the previously mentioned or larger projects. STL is also expecting movement this year on conversion of abandoned AT&T building as state and city have approved incentive packages. The 314 - Start 2025 (https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/the-314-ahm-s-downtown-west-project-moves-closer-to-construction) The Albion West End - Start 2025 https://www.cityscene-stl.com/post/albion-west-end-is-moving-ahead Millennium Hotel Redevelopment - Start 2025 https://nextstl.com/2025/02/cordish-proposes-complete-rebuild-of-the-millennium-site/ Thanks for the updates. I really like St. Louis and feel it gets an unfair rap in the national media, it also saddens me how a lot of the big companies have abandoned Downtown. It has some great walkable neighborhoods and a really rich history, I can relate to it and find it very similar to Cleveland. Living in KC I used to hear constant St. Louis hate (which is laughable as KC itself is very unimpressive) Its my type of city over these places that have popped up overnight like Nashville, Austin etc. The business community there need to really start supporting the developments Downtown and come back from the suburbs. Hopefully stuff like this helps. Edited March 22Mar 22 by snakebite
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