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By
Christine Imbs
Never say never to
Mayor Francis Slay especially when it comes to St. Louis. “I
was told by a former city attorney who had spent 40 years in
St. Louis to just forget about it. This downtown would never
come back,” says Slay. “ That was about four years ago. I don’t
hear too many disbelievers anymore.”
That’s because St. Louis is definitely changing for the better.
Take a trip downtown and you can’t help but notice it. Even
the national experts in urban development who had us dead and
buried in the late 90s are amazed with what we’ve accomplished
in such a short time.
“We’re not only getting national attention, but people are now
beginning to look at St. Louis as a place to invest, and perhaps
move businesses. And for the first time in 50 years, more people
are moving into the City than moving out,” Slay says. “I think
that’s pretty remarkable.”
What’s really remarkable is Slay’s passion for the City. Ask
anyone who’s worked with him and they’ll tell you when he came
into office things really began to take off. But Slay admits
in the beginning confidence in city government was almost non-existent.
“As it turned out, there was an amazing group of people out
there just waiting for city government to step up and provide
some leadership—Downtown Now!, Downtown St. Louis Partnership,
the RCGA, Civic Progress, the Danforth Foundation, and other
organizations. So it actually wasn’t hard to pull all this together.
The hard part was getting people to believe that St. Louis’
future can be brighter.”
Gauging by the number of people congregating downtown these
days, you know his message is getting through. Lofts and condominiums
are attracting even diehard suburbanites. And those who may
not yet be ready to take the plunge and actually move downtown
are spending more time in new downtown restaurants and shops.
“People are getting excited about downtown again,” says Slay.
“We definitely have a lot of momentum going. And a lot to look
forward to.”
For instance, there’s the Bottle District directly north of
the Edward Jones Dome and the America’s Center complex, which,
when completed, will feature more than 900,000 square feet of
entertainment, retail, restaurant and residential space. Las
Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment is working on a $430 million
gaming, entertainment and residential development on 18 acres
north of Laclede’s Landing. And the Gateway Mall located between
the Old Courthouse and Union Station will also be making an
amazing transformation.
“We were inspired by Millennium Park in Chicago,” Slay comments.
“Of course it’s not going to be a Millennium Park, but we do
plan to transform it into a fabulous green space that will not
only be more esthetically pleasing and pedestrian friendly,
but will hopefully draw people into the area. Right now we’re
doing some design competitions for it.”
Also on the drawing board is Chouteau Lake and Greenway. Slay
says it will take an area of downtown that primarily consists
of railroad tracks and transform it into residential and commercial
properties.
“This project really excites me because one thing we don’t have
much of in downtown is new construction,” he says. “If we can
reclaim this property and develop high-rise or low-rise residential
and commercial developments around a lake to give it a nice
atmosphere, it opens up a whole new opportunity for downtown
to bring in some new construction.”
Also offering an opportunity for new construction will be Ballpark
Village. The $700 million project will feature a mix of offices,
townhouses and condominiums, as well as a new Cardinals Hall
of Fame. Its centerpiece will be a one-acre plaza with restaurants,
retail and year-round family entertainment venues. It’s also
one of Slay’s favorite projects.
“Actually this (Ballpark Village) and the Old Post Office District
are my two favorites,” Slays comments. “The area surrounding
the Old Post Office District was the most economically depressed
area of downtown. Nobody wanted to touch it. Now it’s pretty
much on its way to coming back completely. And the Baseball
Village, I like because of where it’s located.”
Slay explains there’s been a great deal of talk about how conducive
to development ballpark villages are when placed next to ballparks.
That being the case, the St. Louis project is getting a great
deal of national attention. And he says he wants to make sure
we do it right.
“I want to make this an exciting development that’s really going
to compliment the new ballpark in a big way,” he adds. “Of course,
it’s still a little farther down the line. I heard Bill DeWitt
Jr. say the other day that they hope to break ground right after
the first of the year and complete the first phase by 2008.”
Ballpark Village and the Old Post Office District may be his
favorite projects so far, but it’s the St. Louis Riverfront
he’s most anxious to get off the ground.
“The riverfront’s a great resource for St. Louis, but we haven’t
taken advantage of it. In fact, for the past several decades
the City has turned its back on the river and it shows,” he
says. “We have three million people visit the Gateway Arch each
year. We need to make the riverfront something we can be proud
of.”
Slay says plans include a pedestrian connection so people can
easily and safely reach the riverfront. They’d also like to
install ramps to the river to floating islands so activities
can be held without being impacted by the rising water. What
kinds of activities they’ll bring to the riverfront is still
up in the air. But Slay says whatever they decide on; plans
are to make the riverfront a year-round destination.
“The bottom line is this is our front door. It sits in front
of one of the most recognizable monuments in the world. It’s
a statement about what we are as a City and it has regional
significance. Hopefully when we’re through, the riverfront will
be more of an integral part of the St. Louis landscape and will
gain us even more international recognition.”
As for what he finds most impressive about St. Louis? Slay says
it’s the people.
“The St. Louis people are constantly making me proud of them,”
he says. “They can be as critical as anyone about their own
city, but they love it with a passion. And they are constantly
demonstrating that they’re wonderful people. During the World
Series I had emails from Boston fans telling me how well they
were treated while here. And when we had that big storm and
the power was out, there was no looting like you see in other
cities. So that’s what most impresses me about St. Louis. It’s
why I love it so much.”
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