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Historical February–March 2023 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
As anyone who passes by the corner of Forest Park Parkway and DeBaliviere can see, the Expo development has completed construction. Apartments are occupied and Fields Foods grocery is set to open in February.
With this project, the urban design vision of the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Plan and Form Based District is starting to take shape. Transit-oriented development, architecture that prioritizes the pedestrian experience and building forms that connect to and complement the existing neighborhood fabric: these key features of the Expo were designed with the draft Form Based District in mind. Unlike traditional zoning, which primarily focuses on property use, Form-Based Districts prioritize physical form (rather than separation of uses) and promotes a vibrant, pedestrian friendly, mixed-use, and transit-oriented neighborhood.
According to the City of St. Louis’s website, “a Form-Based District (FBD) is a zoning overlay district… intended to enhance the vibrancy and atmosphere of a…commercial corridor by providing a cohesive urban form and character.” The Delmar DeBaliviere FBD supports several aspects of the SDCC mission statement and Strategic Plan, including: Preserve and improve the physical condition of the community…while maintaining the standards required by designation as a Local Historic District.
The FBD also supports increased public safety by fostering new residences and businesses along Delmar and DeBaliviere.
The FBD builds off prior planning studies and reports that identified the need for high-quality transit-oriented development on Delmar and DeBaliviere.
The FBD provides for retail uses in the ground level spaces in new buildings on the 6000 and 6100 blocks of Delmar, to encourage street-level vibrancy.
It does not eliminate any rules regarding package liquor or late night bars. Any changes to the FBD must be passed via City ordinance. FBD plan funders include SDCC and surrounding neighborhoods (West End, DeBaliviere Place), Washington University and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
The City Planning Department. is providing in-kind support.
The steering committee includes representatives from each sponsoring organization, plus city staff with zoning and planning expertise, and 26th and 28th ward alders. Why have an FBD?
There are many reasons, including rebuilding our population base (S-D has lost 30% of its residents since 1990), replacing vacant lots with quality new buildings, increasing housing supply and reducing housing costs, bridging the Delmar Divide, and creating enough density to support retail goods and services that residents can walk to.
The FBD provides a framework for the community to shape development in a positive way. Brooks Goedeker, current Executive Director of the St. Louis Midtown Redevelopment Corporation, who previously led the establishment and administration of the Central West End and Forest Park Southeast Form Based Districts, sums it up this way: “I wholeheartedly believe in the power and usefulness of FBDs for
St. Louis neighborhoods.
In my opinion they are the number one tool that allows neighborhoods to build consensus and create prescriptive guidelines to inform investors/developers what can and cannot be built in a specific community.
From my experience, I have seen and heard that investors/developers very much appreciate FBDs because they no longer have to spend precious time and money to find out what the community wants to see and what they are allowed to build. Likewise, because of FBDs, communities can rest assured that their neighborhood’s building form and integrity will be protected.” The Delmar-DeBaliviere draft FBD Plan was endorsed by the SDCC board in December, and now will be taken up by the City of St. Louis for further review. More information on the FBD can be found here: https://skinkerdebaliviere.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/form-based-code/
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, February–March 2023.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2023_02.pdf, printed page(s) 1, 3; PDF page(s) 1, 3.
