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CitySide
St. Louis Front Page presents St. Louis CitySide, an overview of the City Government of Saint Louis. From time to time, we will take an indepth look at many of the projects in which the city is involved and how these projects will affect residents and visitors.
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Concept #4 represented the most elaborate design for the redevelopment of the St. Louis Riverfront between the Eads and Popular Street bridges presented Tuesday at a public forum at the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor & Education Center in Forest Park.
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Concept #4 presented lush landscaping and large areas for activities on the Mississippi River.
Nancy Carol, St. Louis County, stated that she was most impresssed with design concept #4 in the presentation for a new St. Louis Riverfront.
Concept #2 created more of an informal shoreline along the Mississippi River.
(L. to R.) Architect Louis Saur, Saur & Associates, Clayton, MO, discussed Concept #1 for the promenade with Chip Crawford, senior vice president and practice director for The HOK Planning Group.
Maps and renderings displayed at the public forum were closely scrutinzed by participants.
The St. Louis Riverfront between the Eads Bridge to the north and Popular Street Bridge to the south in concept #4 reflected the curved linear shape of the Arch and the Arch grounds.
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St. Louis Riverfront Plan -
If You Dream It, Can You Build It?
By Bob Moore, SLFP.com
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), October 12, 2005 - The redevelopment of the St. Louis Riverfront has been the focus of numerous master plans over the years. As other cities across the country have sparked renewed interest in their riverfronts through energetic plans and millions of dollars, St. Louis has remained uncommitted to the future redevelopment of its riverfront along the Mississippi River.
Recently, a collaboration of organizations with a vested interest in the region, have stepped forward with an aggressive agenda to enhance the riverfront.
Last May, a design team comprised of The HOK Planning Group and Balmori Associates, Inc. was chosen to begin work on a new Master Plan.
The second in a series of public forums to view the plans was presented Tuesday at the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor & Education Center in Forest Park. The Great Rivers Greenway District and the Danforth Foundation.
Members of the design teams were available to talk one-on-one about the maps and renderings displayed on the walls of the center. Mark J. Vogl, senior associate, The HOK Planning Group, presented an overview of the four concepts to St. Louis Front Page.
"There may be a series of outdoor rooms for seating for cafes or for public events as shown in concept #1," stated Vogl.
"The whole thing would be a series of different kinds of landscapes. It would take the cars off of Lenore K. Sullivan Blvd and it would be a pedestrian space."
Vogl noted that concept #2 displayed unique edges. "We would create more of an informal shoreline along the Mississippi. We would keep Lenore K. Sullivan open but still provide some locations for these pedestrian spaces along the river," he said.
Responding to a question on the levees, he stated that the cobblestones would be removed and there would be a series of different terraces. "The water level may rise and fall and then the different levels would be much more exposed."
He pointed out how the different perspectives shown would still accommodate the tour boats. "They are important for the riverfront and we should have a location to moor the boats," stated Vogl.
Vogl said that concept #3 fits into a much more aggressive approach where they would try to bring people out into the water.
"We actually have to manufacture land in the Mississippi. Because of the rise and fall of the water, it can cause a lot of structural challenges. But we are looking at floating islands. It's an idea that is popular in certain locations such as in Europe. It would be a much more cost-effective way of doing landscape in the river and bring people out into water," observed Vogl.
He said that one of the most important objectives is to provide a lot of different activities for people. "They would actually be surrounded by the Mississippi. It would create some of these "rooms" or landscapes that are surrounded by the river itself."
"We have the idea of doing fountains and treating water in a way that is exciting and dynamic," continued Vogl. "It's not a static landscape. Kids love that kind of thing. It will be a big draw for people."
"Some of the things we are exploring are doing misters so that during the summer time, it will provide a mist out there that will cool the air and make the rooms physically a more comfortable place to be," he said.
Pointing to one of the illustrations for concept #3, Vogl stated, "This section down here shows how some of those islands might actually work. They are floating on the Mississippi and tethered to the ground. But they would have to sort of rise and fall with the river. The same way that the riverboats operate their ramps right now.
Vogl acknowledged that the concepts were quite ambitious given the unpredictability of the Mississippi.
"There are going to be engineering challenges to do this. But we think it is important if we are going to try to bring really large groups of people out here and provide a variety of spaces," he affirmed.
Concept 4# drew considerable interest by many attending the forum. Vogl said that it created a lot more space being actually out in the water.
"One of the important things considered by the design teams was to provide connections," Vogl said. "We are talking about doing some really lush landscaping and trying to make this a very pleasant place for people to be, particularly in the summer time when you have a lot of sun."
"On this one," he said pointing to an area of the illustration for concept #4, "there might be play fields where people can do passive recreation. There may be the possibility of swimming or ice skating out on these islands," he continued.
"You have to look at this as a world class event," he said with conviction. "A lot of waterfronts around the world are exploring new, innovating ways to bring people back to the water. It may look kind of farfetched for St. Louis, but when you compare this to some of the amazing new waterfront landscapes around the world, it really puts St. Louis on par with some of these other ones."
"There is a price tag that goes with this, of course," added Vogl. "There maybe a strategy over time where you start with terraces and then you add islands. So this can be phased over time."
He stated that the actual building schedule would depend on factors including cost, who the partners are and funding sources.
"Keep in mind that the Arch took forty years for the idea to turn into the design and get constructed," observed Vogl.
"We are creating a legacy for future generations," he said. "I think it is very important to realize that this isn't going to get built overnight. It may take some time to plan it, but it is important to get it right."
Vogl noted that because there are so many different interests involved in the area being considered, it has been one of the challenges that has precluded any kind of major riverfront redevelopment from happening.
"The National Park's land actually comes down to Lenore K. Sullivan. The street area to the river is actually owned by the City of St. Louis but also controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers and the St. Louis Port Authority," explained Vogl.
"It has taken a long time for these different entities to get their agendas aligned. Now, it seems that all these groups have come together - The National Park Service, the City of St. Louis, Downtown Now, the Danforth Foundation, Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis Downtown Partnership and Metro." he stated.
"When you see all these groups committed together in making the riverfront happen, that's when you will see a successful implementation," said Vogl.
"I think that if you look at the success of the "Eats Bridge" and the pedestrian connections that go across, a lot of people will want to see the riverfront treated in a bi-state fashion and get both sides of the community to appreciate the river," stated Vogl.
David Fisher, executive director of The Great Rivers Greenway District, emphasized they wanted the public to have an ownership and buy in no matter what scheme was chosen. "Obviously, there are schemes that have been built on each other - one that gets you to the river's edge, one that gets you a little bit in the river and one that gets you in the river. It's all about trying to get enough public buying in to see where we want to go with it."
"I think we have to be in this development to have a "go to riverfront" in the United States. St. Louis was at one time a "go to city". This is a go to riverfront plan. I think it's going to take a lot of public participation and input," he emphasized.
"This the second of three meetings," said Fisher. "About 125 people came to the one in June. They wanted dining, they wanted to be part of the river. They wanted the dynamics of the river. These plans tend to reflect all of the input. This forum will get the same sort of information that will refine these plans rather than take it to one build scheme," he said.
When asked about the more elaborate concept #4, Fisher stated, "Well, it might take longer to do it. I think if everybody agrees that this is what we as a community needs, wants and deserves, then we are going to try to build it all the way out."
"Let's not let our conservative nature be the judge of what needs to be built. Look at Millennium Park in Chicago. It started out at $125 million. They built the dream and it ended up being $470 million," stated Fisher.
Architect Louis Saur, Saur & Associates, of Clayton, was more reserved with his comments on the presentation. "I'm just getting acquainted with it. I like the theme where there is a lot of landscaping where the levee is right now. The levee is the left over that was used for industrial purposes. The landscaping seems to be a much more inviting place to come and spend time than on the hardscape levee. I think that is huge plus for landscape four where you see trees and there are places for people to sit."
"I like the curved linear forms because they seem to reflect the curved linear of the Arch and the Arch grounds. Those are the two things I like about it," he said.
Saur added that he was not comfortable with the pedestrian walkways out in the river. "They don't look like they really belong in the river," stated Saur. "They look like they are landforms that have been stuck out there. These real thin pedestrian bridges do not look inviting. They don't look like they would want to pull me out to walk along these great big long thin pedestrian bridges," he observed.
"That's my first reaction. After I see more presentations, I might be more convinced of it," stated Saur.
The third public forum in December will provide an opportunity for citizens to respond on the recommended concept for implementation of the redevelopment plan. For more information, visit www.greatrivers.info
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