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Driving Redevelopment
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I-70 Enhancement
Project ramps up redevelopment between Hanley and Bermuda roads.
By C.B. Adams
Remember putting a kink in the garden hose? As soon as you let go,
the water burst from the end of the hose with tremendous force.
That is analogous to what the I-70 Enhancement Project is doing
for redevelopment efforts between Hanley and Bermuda roads.
This stretch of I-70 has long had a “kink” in it. It is one of the
oldest sections of interstate in the nation, and due to a steep
curve and a hill, the roadway near Florissant Road has been notorious
for accidents. It was designed more than 40 years ago when traffic
volumes and speeds were much lower than today.
Now, thanks to a nearly $48 million rehabilitation that began in
Spring 2001 and is expected to be completed later this year, the
curve will be straightened, the hill tamed, and new bridges and
interchanges will be constructed at Hanley, Florissant and Bermuda
roads. Think of it as an angioplasty for one of St. Louis’ most
arterial highways.
“It’s a long overdue improvement to that portion of the highway,”
says Steve Wegert, mayor of the City of Florissant. “It will positively
impact local businesses.”
But the project will do more than just improve the safety and access
to these roads. It will also pave the way for a dramatic redevelopment
of the area on both sides of I-70, according to Denny Coleman, president
and CEO of the St. Louis County Economic Council.
“The improvements will help spur private redevelopment and investment
in the area. We certainly think the area is ripe for development,”
he says.
On the north side of I-70, the Council is helping with plans to
redevelop almost 500 acres of unused or underused land around Lambert
Field. The Council is creating a commission to examine how to best
approach the redevelopment. The commission has representation from
the communities of Kinloch, Berkeley and Ferguson, as well as St.
Louis County, the State of Missouri, St. Louis City (current owner
of much of the land around Lambert Field), the University of Missouri
and the business community.
“The airport land reuse development north of I-70 is the largest,
single tract of land not in a flood plain available for redevelopment
anywhere in St. Louis County. It certainly offers a tremendous opportunity
for job generation and private investment, not only for North St.
Louis County, but for the entire region,” Coleman says.
There is just as much, if not more, happening on the south side
of I-70. At Hanley Road, a new ramp configuration will make it easier
and safer for motorists to access the roadway. This will benefit
the new hotel conference center and parking garage that the Bi-State
Development Agency is planning on building near the MetroLink station.
One of the key players and beneficiaries in the I-70 Enhancement
Project has been the University of Missouri–St. Louis. During the
past decade, the university has been purchasing land along I-70
between Hanley and Bermuda roads.
“Some of the land was purchased with the intent to use it for university
functions,” says Bob Samples, director, university communications
at UMSL. “But as we moved along, we realized we didn’t need all
the land. We began working with the Missouri Department of Transportation
on an arrangement whereby we would let them use some of our land
to realign the highway.”
This allowed for a new, raised bridge across Florissant Road. The
bridge will look similar to the Route 141 bridge over Manchester
Road and the Route 40 bridge at Boone’s Crossing in Chesterfield.
“There are aesthetic, structural and architectural enhancements
to the Florissant Road bridge that include the use of different
colors and textures to the columns and girders,” says Lee Hillner,
project manager for MoDOT.
In return, the university received a new, four-lane entranceway
onto its main campus called University Place. The new, upscale Florissant
Road bridge is an important component to the redevelopment of approximately
100 acres along I-70. Working with landowner MoDOT, UMSL has an
agreement to develop the area into a research park, according to
Samples.
“We are billing it as a research/technology park rather than an
office park, because we are interested in attracting a certain type
of clientele that would be able to create partnerships with the
university, particularly with faculty research and perhaps to use
students in employment or research opportunities. We are not developing
the area as a normal developer would. Instead, we are using this
as a way to enhance the region and create partnerships with the
university,” Samples says.
Once the work on I-70 is completed later this year, the university
will decide whether to develop the research park itself or seek
a partnership with a developer. Either way, the university will
lease the land to companies, not sell it.
As a result of the road improvements, UMSL will have a 100-acre
high-tech/business park site adjacent to I-70 and just 10 minutes
from the expanded airport.
“The improvements to I-70 are changing the landscape in the area
dramatically,” Samples says. “This is a prime location for an upscale
research-oriented facility because of the proximity of MetroLink,
the highways and the airport. And, right next door as your neighbor
is a research university. As one person said to me recently, ‘We
want what Stanford had with Hewlett-Packard and the University of
Washington had with Microsoft.’ We are looking to attract the next
Microsoft.”
C.B. Adams is a St. Louis-based writer, communications consultant,
and adjunct faculty member at University of Missouri–St. Louis.
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