Delmar Commercial Committee — 2002 Report To The Community

Historical November–December 2002 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.

The Delmar Commercial Committee has been working towards the successful redevelopment of Delmar Boulevard for several years.

We have been gratified with several successful steps forward during 2002. • Bidding will finally begin in November for the streetscape improvements on Delmar between the MetroLink Station and the City Limits.

This includes widened sidewalks, new trees and planters. Hopefully, this will not coincide with the beginning stages of the MetroLink shutdown of Forest Park Expressway, which recently was reported to start within a month of the notice to proceed, which is scheduled to be issued in June, 2003. That work will last until 2005; the Delmar Streetscape construction will be underway by late spring, 2003, and will last approximately four months. • The streetscape will include pedestrian light fixtures (lower than the cobra lights, which remain).

These were finally negotiated by Bi-State and the City, working with our committee and with Joe Edwards and the University City Council and City Manager Leland Walker’s Office, to be the same fixture as the fixture to be installed in the University City Loop.

This will give the entire streetscape a unified look, from the Wabash Station all the way to the Lions’ Gates.

This was not an easy accomplishment! • The cobra street lights will be repositioned, across from each other, so that in future years, we will be able to have holiday lights all the way down Delmar. Joe Edwards and Alderman Lyda Krewson have worked especially hard for these lighting improvements. • The Community Pathway, between the MetroLink parking lot and the Pageant, finally has its poles for the artwork to be installed. Sarah Smith’s Arts in Transit group will be overseeing the final art project, which coordinates with the Walk of Fame with quotes and images of famous St. Louisans.

The icon poles are now in place!

With the poles installed, artist Ron Fondaw has gotten accurate measurements and has begun carving the icon elements. Throughout October and November he will be fabricating the elements and sending them on for fiberglass treatment.

After proper weathering of the poles, Ron will begin painting them in mid-November.

In December, the shades and wind vanes will be completed, leaving January for painting the remaining elementS. installation is scheduled for the beginning of February.

The Regional Arts Commission groundbreaking was held, and a crane is now to be seen there. Their new headquarters building will be in place by next year. • Redesigning the space where the 6154 building collapsed is continuing. Whatever Joe Edwards develops there will be coordinated with the new Loop Theatre at the old Olivet Church, still in the planning stages with the newly formed board of directors of the nonprofit group representing several St. Louis theatre groups. • The retail building at 6172, next to Church’s Chicken, is well underway, and structural work is taking a big chunk of the construction time.

Another reminder that these buildings cannot be left poorly maintained over a long period of time. • Most recent purchase by entrepreneur Joe Edwards is the wonderful old Wabash Station building, proving that once in awhile reality might just catch up with everyone’s”vision for that site-perhaps a great “destination” restaurant will be coming there. • East of the station, Big Jakes has opened at the former McDonald’s, and at last glance was hosting a radio DJ who was vowing to stay on the roof until the Rams won a game! • The medians east to DeBaliviere were installed and sprinkled and have recently been replanted with perennials.

They look great!

To the north of Delmar, one can see new houses built by various developers, including Bank of America, spearheaded by Alderman Iry Clay. • The SDCC Housing Corporation continues to make plans to renovate their building at the corner of Hamilton and have applied for several programs to make that a reality.

In 2003, this should take center stage, as we continue to work on planning for this important corner. • During 2002, the Delmar Commercial Committee also engaged in a parking study. Jennifer Olmstead, who serves on both the commercial committee and the housing corporation, has worked with Dave Mastin and Neal Shapiro of the Business Assn. and Jo Ann Vatcha of the Commercial Committee. Assisting us this summer, a student intern, Farhaad Chanduwadia interviewed 40 business and building owners on Delmar about their parking needs for tenants and customers.

This gave us some timely data, and will help justify the final report’s expected call for a TIF or other public subsidy to help us create sufficient parking for the coming years. • Finally, we were surprised and honored to have been recognized by the State of Missouri’s Department of Economic Development. Thanks to Laure Porterfield, who also obtained recognition for St. Louis Design Alliance, which was selected for use of Preservation Tax Credits, and Joe Edwards, for a special Show-Me Award. Our award as Volunteer of the Year honored us in just the right way, for it is over 12 years since the Commercial Committee was formed and set its sights on improving Delmar. Along with committee members-extraordinaire Lana Stein, Dennis Townsend, Loretta Lloyd, Steve Brammeier, and Sam Green, and a few other volunteers over the years, we have worked with elected officials Aldermen Iry Clay, Lyda Krewson, Dan McGuire, Arts in Transit Director Sarah Smith; and most recently with Bi-State’s Carol Schmidt and many others. Thanks to that marvelous phenomenon, volunteer effort, as Lana recently said, “what seemed an impossible dream is fast becoming a reality!”

Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2002.

Read this article in the original newspaper issue.

Original source: SD_Times2002_11.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 7; PDF page(s) 1, 7.