Chouteau Greenway (St. Louis: condo, live, shop)

[pdm_ad]

We were just discussing the sea of empty parking lots to the South of Busch in the thread on the 2nd BPV tower and, voila, the four renderings for Chouteau Greenway were released. Here is a description of the project followed by the 4 finalists, which do you prefer?

https://nextstl.com/2018/01/go-chout...y-events-week/

If you haven’t yet heard of Great Rivers Greenway (GRG) or specifically the Chouteau Greenway, you’re missing out on one of the most exciting developments planned in St. Louis. GRG, the regional public agency created in 2000 to maintain and develop the metro’s trail network, has begun planning a massive new project: the Chouteau Greenway. Continuing a national trend of urbanism landscape interventions, the new greenway will connect the Arch Grounds to Forest Park via a continuous pedestrian corridor. For this specific greenway section, GRG decided to go all in by launching a design competition that received 19 international bids and has since selected 4 finalists. These finalists, each receiving a privately funded $75K honorarium, now have until April to design a full plan.

https://nextstl.com/2018/04/chouteau...way-proposals/

Chouteau Greenway Braid – James Corner Field Operations




The Loop + The Stitch – Stoss Landscape Urbanism




+StL: Growing an Urban Mosaic – TLS Landscape Architecture, OBJECT TERRITORIES, and [dhd] Derek Hoeferlin Design




Chouteau Greenway: One City Belonging to All – W-Architecture

[Drunkenwolf]

All are great & unique in their respective ways however 4 is by far the most desirable specially with the restoration of the pond. I truly hope that this could really create a true southern end to the St.Louis riverfront. I hope any of these get beyond renderings & into reality.

[mjtinmemphis]

I don't have a preference yet but am very excited about the possibility of riding my bike from my downtown condo to the CWE or shopping at the foundry. This adds a dimension to urban life in St. Louis that enhances our livability.

[glamatomic]

I'm not sure I have a preference either.... But the 3rd is very similar to initial interstate ideas proposed for St. Louis in the late 1940s (the first renderings of which accommodated for multiple modes of transit and pedestrians).

ETA: I think I like the 4th the least- I would fear that something like that would just be a mosquito breeding ground.

[STL74]

I just generally love the idea, not sure I have a preference. I don't live downtown or even really anywhere this would be, but i would absolutely take my dogs and go walk it.

[STL1980]

I also think the fourth looks the best, if I had to choose. There are some great aspects of each that would be great though. These plans should also highlight adjacent "develop-able" land parcels for future residential, office, retail infill. We already have a fair amount of green space and museums. We don't need to add tons more, other than the pond area, and a few other smaller areas. What we do need is a good "bike and pedestrian connector", whether that's north-south or east-west. I would love a "quick" biking option from Forest Park to Downtown in addition to pedestrian areas as well.

[Mosep]

Originally Posted by M0sep

Lovely pictures, very utopian!

Where are the eventual gangstas/thugs/tweakers/homeless that will permeate this proposed beauty?

LOL! Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

[RisingAurvandil]

I don't think the City needs that much green space. A little? Sure. But this will not bring commerce to the area south of 40.

Downtown already has a ton of open space that is underutilized. We don't need more. The same rhetoric was spewed when the Gateway Mall was being cobbled together. That area needs commercial and residential development more than anything else.

[kipfilet]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I don't think the City needs that much green space. A little? Sure. But this will not bring commerce to the area south of 40.

Downtown already has a ton of open space that is underutilized. We don't need more. The same rhetoric was spewed when the Gateway Mall was being cobbled together. That area needs commercial and residential development more than anything else.

This is more likely to trigger commercial and residential development than the current railway tracks, no?

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by RisingAurvandil

I don't think the City needs that much green space. A little? Sure. But this will not bring commerce to the area south of 40.

Downtown already has a ton of open space that is underutilized. We don't need more. The same rhetoric was spewed when the Gateway Mall was being cobbled together. That area needs commercial and residential development more than anything else.

I think a big issue is that it's just so unattractive at this point between Chouteau and 64. It's even worse from 64 to 44/55 at the northern edge of Soulard. Much of it just isn't appealing from a residential standpoint due to the tracks, the industry, and businesses with massive parking lots. Why live there when you can actually move into a place like Lafayette Square or Soulard?

Mind you, I would love for a large swath of the area to be redeveloped into commercial retail and housing, but where's the push for this to happen? It hasn't been coming from downtown, and the spillover from a place like Lafayette basically stops at Chouteau.

I'll take the green space over what's there now, and who knows, that might actually be a more appealing incentive for future developments than what's currently there.