Car Walk

Saturday morning about 7:15 I drove our '96 Plymouth minivan to Don Brown Dodge on South Kingshighway for its annual safety inspection. The weather was pleasant, so I decided to make the three mile walk home from the dealership.

South Kingshighway is auto dealer row, so for the first few blocks, I was able to stroll through dealership lots, checking out lots of new car models. On the Dodge lot there were sporty new models, the Toyota lot had some of those boxy Scions, and looking into the windows of one of my favorite places, Charles Schmitt, there were rows of classic cars.

I crossed Kingsighway about a block north of Chippewa to get a closer look at the Holy Ghost church. Holy Ghost sits behind the row of 1930s vintage commercial buildings fronting Kingsighway. You can see its steeple from Chippewa, many blocks to the east.

The alley on the south side of Holy Ghost backs up to some of the four-families off of Chippewa. Conditions vary on the backs of the buildings and the garages, some showing new rehab, others showing their years. One garage had no doors and the interior was filled with cast off junk.

I walked through one of those easement paths between buildings towards Chippewa, and on the other side, there was a police lady writing up a parked car for some ordinance violation. I approached her and asked the officer about open garages with loads of junk visible from the alley. She informed me that police have no jurisdiction in such cases.

You can't legislate common sense, so we're free to keep our garage doors open, and filled with junk and visible to the street if we want. This sounds like one of those delicate situations where some friendly neighbor to neighbor contact, perhaps through an NSO, might help convince the property owner to take better care of the property. Let's hope no one hears that tired "I can't control my tenants" line.

Around 7:45, crossing Chippewa, I bumped into an old friend pulling weeds in her bath robe. We talked about ten minutes, and she told me it was about another two miles from her place to ours. She said that her area had some problem tenants in recent years, but lately things have been good. The homes were being well maintained, and she said most of the 2-family properties had owner occupants.

The rest of the way was good, with the walked well-shaded by abundant street trees. Its nice walking past all the brick homes on their 25-30 foot lots. It's fascinating to see the little details in people's landscapes and years' of home improvement from block to block.

In our gridded-street neighborhood layout, there were thousands of alternate routes of commercial and residential blocks, streets and alleys, for that three mile walk home. Just guessing here, but I've heard that our city has some three or four thousand total miles of streets and alleys. And believe it or not, there are St. Louisans in the middle of quests to walk every block of it during their lifetime.

Fox 2 Promotes City Life - Block Party Season Arrives

Fox 2 Morning Crew Visits City Block Party; the block party season is on!

Where else but St. Louis are neighbors crazy enough to show up for a 7:00 AM block party? Hey, it's Friday!

Highlights from Recent STL Fed Conference Available Online

You can visit the May 2007 STL Federal Reserve community development finance conference as a virtual guest by clicking Exploring Innovation.

Site courtesy of the STL Federal Reserve Bank.

Funny Site Promotes Benefits of City Living

Created by the historic rehab pros at LoftWorks

SLPS Turn the Page

After many years of turmoil, the SLPS have turned the page to begin a new chapter. An interim board takes control today, comprised of a diverse group of St. Louisans: A major home builder, a former Metropolis St. Louis president, and a long-time city businessman and SLPS parent and grand parent.

It's all about substitution

The best when to analyze a market is to think in terms of substitution. Are the prices of comparable opportunities equal or higher to my choice? If so, then I'm probably paying about right.

In real estate, for example, is that house I'm thinking of buying on this block similar to the one for sale a block away? How similar? Is it in like condition? Is it less expensive? Is the block as nice? If so, then I'll probably go to the substitute and leave my original choice behind.

The idea of choosing substitute opportunities has me thinking about recent news of some popular people leaving St. Louis. We always are sad to see talented people not "choose" St. Louis. It makes some of us feel a little rejected.

When people leave, especially in such a strong neighborhood place as St. Louis, it can make us feel a little less validated about our own decision to choose St. Louis. For a long time, St. Louis has had issues and challenges in retaining young people. However, when people leave, they are making a similar substitute decision.

What are they substituting? Weather. Traffic. History. Neighborhoods. Friends. Cost of living. Gritty urban fabric. Stable economy. Strong academic institutions. Great parks. Easy access around town. Lots of free amenities. Great restaurants. Overall, a great quality of life.

A friend and I were discussing this issue yesterday. I was asking him about what sorts of things would motivate him to leave St. Louis. Then we talked about it in terms of the overall substitution choice. You might get better urban density somewhere else, say in Manhattan or downtown Chicago, but what about the cost of living? You get the idea.

So what about you? Are there substitution choices so powerful that they'd motivate you to leave town? Besides a lover, a job, a teaching assignment?

For years, weather was a huge choice, driving millions of people to California. However, now other factors in a California choice, such as congested roads and high living costs, are having would- be emigrants to the west coast reconsidering the California option.

If you put everything in the lifestyle substitution basket together, you have your overall quality of life. Has anyone ever seen a quality of life ranking for US Regions? It would be interesting to see how St. Louis rates.

However, these lists always seem a little suspect. San Francisco probably rates very highly in terms of quality of life. However, unless you're an investment banker, a real estate tycoon, a dot-com millionaire, or a trust fund baby, you would have a hard time affording it.

If you're like most average income Americans, by choosing San Francisco, you'd be living in an area with great scenery, resort weather, congested roads, and probably crowded into a tiny apartment or a house under a freeway interchange. Which substitutions are you willing to make?

STL Rising - From 630 Feet

Have you heard about Archfund, a new organization seeking to secure supporters to help maintain and promote our town's most recognizable symbol? The flash version of the website has some great views of the Arch.

Market at McKnight in Rock Hill

Rising at the corner of McKnight and Manchester is an interesting looking mixed use development.

Fronting along the south side of Manchester Road are smaller-sized retail spaces, with parking to the rear of them (out of view from Manchester), and then larger-sized stores are in the back. Future phases of the project are planned for residential.

With most of the buildings now standing, the form of the development is readily recognizable: it will be new urbanism in the heart of St. Louis County.

"PPD"

With our semi-tropical warm season climate, St. Louis gets lots of rain in the March through June months. Our emerald green forested neighborhoods and countless flower gardens love the moisture, but all the rain wreaks havoc on amateur baseball schedules.

The rain makes it especially tough on the adult volunteers. They go in to the commitment with no idea of how much time they will ultimately give. Matt plays on two teams: a Catholic parish team and a more competitive South County team.

As of June 1, the parish team has only played one game this year, with six rainouts. Every time there's a rainout, the managers (dads usually) have to meet to schedule a makeup game. And with lots of the kids having various other scheduling commitments, rescheduling games is no easy proposition.

With a big rain, sometimes it can take 2-4 days for the fields to dry out, and if rain falls three or four days in a row, it's possible that a whole week's worth of games can be postponed ("PPD"). So, thanks to the moms and dads that keep youth baseball going. Without their commitment, the kids wouldn't get to play.

Who knows if the Old Man River vision, with its plan to build a mile-wide umbrella-inspired covering over a portion of the East St. Louis riverfront and downtown, will ever be realized. But if it came with baseball fields, I bet there'd be lots of St. Louis kids ready to cross the river to spend spring and summer afternoons and evenings in downtown East St. Louis!

As far as tonight's Baseball and Bricks fundraiser for Mullanphy, news regarding field conditions at Heine Meine can be had by calling the rainout number, at 314-638-8524. Keep in mind that it might be dry in Old North St. Louis, with a monsoon happening just a few miles away. If skys are threatening, best to call right before game time. The field crew (one or two guys with a small tractor and some soil drying agents) does everything in its power to get the games played. Tonight's game is scheduled on the big field for 8:00 o'clock.

With all the rain in the area yesterday, they were still able to get last night's games in at Heine Meine. Meanwhile, just a couple of miles away, games at Carondelet Park, were all rained out. As of this moment Friday morning, tonight's games at Heine Meine are still scheduled. Stay tuned...strong thunderstorms are predicted for the St. Louis area later today.

Blending Bricks and Baseball

I’m pleased to report that last night, the St. Louis South Sox, Juvenile One Division (ages 14-15), won their second game of the year by a score of 8-1, improving their season record to 2 wins against 5 losses. Son Matt pitched four scoreless innings to help secure the victory.

Weather permitting, the South Sox play again this Friday night at 8:00 PM at historic Heine Meine Field. Heine Meine is a beautiful baseball park just outside the city limits off of Lemay Ferry Road, a block south of River Des Peres. The St. Louis Cardinals have helped finance major improvements at Heine Meine, and in a few years, they will celebrate their 100th anniversary (so I’m told…they say it opened around 1911).

To tie this in with the drive to raise funds to preserve the Mullanphy Emigrant Home, STL Rising is pledging to donate $1 for every soda or beer purchased by supporters of the effort to rebuild the Mullanphy Emigrant Home in attendance at Friday night's South Sox game (Heine Meine's rainout number is 314-638-8524).

Every STL Rising dollar for Mullanphy combines with your buck or two for a soda or beer for Heine Meine, and together we turn a double play for historic preservation and kids baseball.

STL Rising: Find Your Grail

Whenever I read news about talented St. Louisans leaving town for places like New York or LA, I'm saddened to see them go. Yet it always reminds me to be thankful for the creative and energetic ones who choose to make STL home.

STL is a place where individuals without a big name or a lot of money can still make a big difference. The abundance of active dialogue in popular STL community interest blogs shows the impact individuals are making here. We know each other; STL is like a big small town. Opportunities abound to directly participate in the growth and improvement of our community.

Our-slightly-off-the-radar-screen, less-than-top-tier-status makes us affordable and fun with lots of work to do and places to help make a positive difference. Not getting lost in the crowd is one of the best things about STL.

Cassilly's Riverfront Project Rising?

Was it at Mayor Slay's blog, where there's mention of a new northside project under development by Bob Cassilly, creator of the City Museum?

Does anyone know where it is? What it will be? Any details or links?

STL Rising Thanks "Grafitti Buster's"

With much of the recent blog world discussing the activities of "Ed Boxx", a local grafitti tagger, it was interesting to see a City Parks Department truck driving down the road this morning equipped for another day of grafitti removal.

Two city workers, a truck and trailer were headed somewhere to remove grafitti. On the back of the truck is a sign that reads "Grafitti Buster's". The trailer was loaded with a huge pastic vat filled with liquid (cleaning chemicals probably), a power washer, compressor, buckets, hoses, and other tools.

Cleaning grafitti must be a thankless job, and the cost to the city is substantial. It's a good thing we have these crews, but wouldn't it be nice if they were planting trees and maintaining park improvements rather than cleaning up the vandalism of others?

Let's keep our city beautiful. Please discourage grafitti artists.

Hampton Village "Noodles" Sets Nat'l Sales Record

Word is that the "Noodles" restaurant at Hampton Village smashed the chain's previous national sales record for grand openings.

"On the Couch" with STL Rising

Few things perk up the collective St. Louis psyche more than when out-of-town writers offer affirming things about St. Louis.

Here are two articles written by "Chip, the Beer Guy" from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Chip was here covering the recent St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival.

We met Chip and his fiance, Diane, at Iron Barley on Virginia. Chip is an on-air personality of the radio station "Rock 107" in Scranton. In a two-part series, he has nice things to say about St. Louis.

Part One

Part Two

Marti Frumhoff

Last night St. Louis lost a great friend in Marti Frumhoff. Marti was a true believer and inspiration for many.

Marti was a marketing and public relations powerhouse and she was a huge factor in building the momentum for the city's rebirth. Her annual Big BIG Tour project was a major positive force, promoting the entire city.

She was a doer until the end. On the day of her passing, she was announced as a co-sponsor for the concert to raise funds for the preservation of the Mullanphy.

When they write the story about the revitalization of St. Louis, they will need a whole chapter just for Marti.

Thank you Marti for your friendship, your vision, your passion, and the pathways you have created for the rest of us.

STL Rising Welcomes Your Anonymous, Unfiltered Comments

In the last thread, "STL Rising: In Search of the $100,000 Neighborhoods", I nearly succumbed to the temptation of deleting an anonymous comment. Someone anonymously suggested that the reason for affordability in a neighborhood is crime, by making a link to an STL Today article from this weekend which told the story of a 90 year-old South City man mugged in his alley back in March.

If you read the article, you probably felt sorry for the man, but also might have been scratching your head as well. We don't see too many personalized news stories about crime victims, written weeks after the incident, with a major angle of the story connecting the crime to the neighborhood. So, I nearly deleted it.

However, given that the story was front-paged in the Post Dispatch, and widely available online, what would be the point of deleting it here? The link remains, as do all of your uncensored, anonymous, non "blog-owner approved" comments.

At STL Rising, we welcome your unfiltered comments. If they should be challenged, challenge away! Anonymous or not, it's up to you.

STL Rising: In Search Of The $100,000 Neighborhoods...

With property values on the rise in St. Louis, it's getting harder to match first time homebuyers with quality affordable housing.

There are still homes for sale in the $90,000-$120,000 range, but the choices are getting fewer and competition for starter homes is getting tough. First time homebuyers often wind up competing with real estate investors buying homes for use as rental property.

If you were making recommendations to someone starting out in the St. Louis housing market, what would be your advice?

Ballpark Village Groundbreaking?

Based on previous news reports, it should be starting any day now. Any word on the official start date?

One possible use - a baseball-themed hotel for the area - has not been mentioned. Doesn't that seem like a perfect fit, replete with player or team themed rooms and baseball decor? How about a rooftop party area with bleachers overlooking Busch stadium, similar to Wrigley Town?

Does Ballpark Village "complete" downtown's comeback? Or are we already there?

.012346

Do you know the significance of the number .012346 to St. Louis? It's a tiny number, but it represents something very important to the City. Do you know what it is?

If you think you do, post your answer in the comment section. The first correct answer wins an STL Rising prize package!