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By Peter Downs
Claiming inspiration from Reston near Washington, D.C., Country
Club Plaza in Kansas City, and Santana Row in San Diego, Pace Properties
has broken ground on a prominent example of “new urbanism” in St.
Louis County: The Boulevard St. Louis.
The flag raising ceremony on March 16, 2004 marked
the official start of construction on The Boulevard. |
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Rob Sherwood, a partner at Pace, promises The Boulevard—located
between Interstate 170 and Brentwood Boulevard, immediately north
of Interstate 64—will be “a special place...a vibrant, exciting
place that people travel to see and experience.”
As envisioned, the $300 million project will feature 230,000 square
feet of lifestyle retail and restaurant space, approximately 300
luxury residences, and 490,000 square feet of Class A office space.
A single north-south street will run down the middle of the 14-acre
site, intersected by three cross streets, and connect to three public
plazas accented with fountains, sculptures, seating, lighting, and
outdoor entertainment.
The retail component is designed to benefit from and reinforce the
popularity of The Galleria (directly across Brentwood Boulevard
to the west), while attracting a unique mix of lifestyle merchants.
Several businesses will make their Missouri debut at The Boulevard.
National home furnishing retailer Crate and Barrel will open a two-story,
36,000-square-foot store; Bombay/ Bombay Kids will occupy 8,500
square feet; and Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant will be joined
by P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.
Restaurants and retail shops will line both sides of The Boulevard’s
main street, and 200 apartments will rise above the stores on the
east side. Apartment options will range from studios to large two-bedroom,
two-bathroom suites.
Sherwood says there are no commitments for a hotel yet, but Pace
would like to see one. “Our plans are flexible to move with the
market,” he adds.
Thirty percent of the development will be dedicated to open space,
much of it in three large plazas. There will be a “quiet” plaza
with a running stream, a performance plaza, and a commercial plaza
with sidewalk cafes.
“We want it to be the place you see before you see the rest of St.
Louis,” Sherwood says. Toward that end, the performance plaza is
designed to host sample performances from popular St. Louis attractions.
“We hope to get the Symphony to offer samples, or get sample performances
from Shakespeare in the Park.”
Pace has paid a lot of attention to balancing the needs of pedestrians
and drivers to create an area that is friendly to both. There will
be street parking along the sides of tree-lined streets and wide,
pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. Street parking offers convenience
to drivers, but also calms traffic to make streets safer for pedestrians.
Combined with the urban design elements such as plazas and outdoor
cafes, the intent is to create a fun atmosphere for people who live,
work, or visit The Boulevard.
To make the vicinity even more walker-friendly, Pace and Richmond
Heights are seeking assistance from St. Louis County to construct
a landscaped median down the middle of Brentwood Boulevard. This
would break up the eight-lane road, making it easier and more inviting
to cross from The Boulevard to The Galleria, Sherwood says. Pace
also intends to install crosswalks for pedestrians to cross Brentwood
Boulevard, and to reduce the 13 curb cuts for traffic into the development
area to three. Also envisioned are pedestrian links to the MetroLink
station that is under construction 200 yards away from The Boulevard,
and to the nearby University Club tower.
Site preparation began last February, and the retail buildings on
the west side of the project are scheduled to open in November 2004.
The first 74 apartments are slated to open in January 2005, and
a Grand Opening is on tap for Spring 2005. The final piece of the
project is expected to be completed in 2009.
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Groundbreaking
attendees learn more about The Boulevard. |
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Redevelopment of this key strip of land has been no easy task. The
Pace plan is the fourth redevelopment proposal for the area since
The Galleria opened almost 20 years ago. Originally built up in
the 1950s, the commercial strip and one north-south residential
street that occupied the site were cut off from the adjacent residential
area by the construction of I-170 in the 1970s.
Hycel Properties, the developer of The Galleria, proposed to redevelop
the land after the The Galleria opened, but the idea was vigorously
opposed by the residents and businesses still occupying the area.
Two later plans in the 1990s failed for various reasons.
“The city did not want spot development, we wanted something done
on a comprehensive level,” says Richmond Heights City Manager Michael
Schoedel. “We worked hard to find a project that fits into the area
and is of a quality with The Galleria. The Boulevard is something
we feel fits well with our concept for the area.”
The Galleria is a premier shopping destination in the Midwest, Schoedel
says, and The Boulevard “will play off of it. It will bring significant
benefits to the city and solidify the city’s long-term financial
aspects.” Schoedel estimates that when fully complete, The Boulevard
will generate an additional $1.2 million a year in revenue for the
city.
“We are particularly excited about the residential component,” Schoedel
adds. “It helps our population and goes back to the city’s fundamental
character of a strong residential community.”
Peter Downs is a St. Louis-based freelance writer.
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