3801 Hampton Avenue - In Danger of Suburbanization

Man, I recently got a slap in the face when I went to get some Christmas shopping done at a place I have a long history with: FYE at 3801 Hampton Avenue just north of Chippewa in the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood.

As I was entering, there was a posting on the front door urging people who don't want a fast food joint to buy out this store, demo the building and put up a typical suburban drive thru to contact the city leaders and FYE's corporate HQ:

I failed to publish this before the Jan 5th deadline...sorry.

Now I've got nothing against chains, really. They can fit quite nicely into a city's urban fabric. Check Chicago as an example. I was taken aback by how much chain stuff exists in that city. It gets harder and harder to find a decent, locally owned place to eat in downtown Chicago. The chains are taking over, yet they are forced to fit into those beautiful Chicago buildings because they are mixed-use buildings, the floors above ground level in Chicago are usually residential or office. Here it is easy to mow down a single story single-use building and build new...in this case drive thru garbage.

No doubt, Hampton Avenue is a car-centric thoroughfare. But, the mid-century buildings that still had somewhat of an urban feel are going the way of the dodo and being replaced with the modern suburban model. Bradburn School supply was recently mowed down for another QT just up Hampton near Elizabeth Avenue.

So what is this fast food joint that wants the property on Hampton? In this case Chic-fil-A is on the prowl.

Why do I care, Hampton is a lost soul you might say. It is the Big Bend of the city.  Well, the problem is, this is not a higher use proposal. It'll be a setback for Hampton as a city street. It turns it more toward the suburban auto-centric boring generic, American crap.

I have no beef with Chic-fil-A in particular. I've never even been there. This would be the first Chic-fil-A in St. Louis. The current locations are all in the suburbs in this regional market. A Chic-fil-A would likely generate more tax dollars than FYE. It may even generate more jobs.

But, it will not make a place. A place that can bring people together. A place-making place. Believe it or not, but FYE is a place where people who love comic books, weird movies, off the beaten path music, anime and other things can converge. It is a place to get a job if you want to talk about non-mainstream things. It is kind of like a Hot Topix for the city.

And, there's a personal connection. When I first graduated college in the mid-1990's and moved to St. Louis after landing a job in my scientific field, I needed supplemental income. I was living in Dutchtown and searched the yellow pages for music stores to work part time. I went into (then) Blockbuster Music and got a job shortly thereafter.

This was a great job because I could judge other people's music choices, a sport/art I was obsessed with back then. It was easy because Blockbuster's business model at the time was a "listening station" where you could bring up any CD in the store and the employee would pop it in and you'd put headphones on and rock out. It was my job to open the disc they brought up without breaking the CD seal or packaging and insert the disc in the player, let them listen, and return the disc to it's container and resort it if they didn't buy it or package it back up for the customer if they wanted it.

If the customer brought an Ace of Base CD up, I could work my disapproving eye rolls (without getting caught).

If they brought up a Pavement CD, we were (you can goddamn count on it) going to have a long conversation.

Sounds cheezy and 90's for sure, but it was fun because I felt like a bartender for music fans. Soccer moms, hard core music fans, burn outs, kids...it was great and hilarious. I liked the job.

Then, the employees took turns on shifts where you were given the keys to the in-store sound system. I looked forward to my nights. I could finally show these guys how cool I thought I was.

One night formed a memory/experience that I'll take to the grave. Now remember, this was pre-Internet, so you didn't have every song in the world available in a click. You didn't have an algorithm making constant recommendations based on what you listen to. You had to tune in and turn on the hard way, by listening and reading and hanging out in the right places. Or you could have one of the most personal human gifts: the heartfelt recommendation from a friend. This is gold to a real music fan. If someone takes the time and effort to make a personal recommendation, it is a very intimate thing. I miss that about the pre-Internet music days.

It was my night to spin the hits. I went to pick out a Superchunk CD to let these drum machine mf'ers hear a real band. I picked a release I didn't own, No Pocky For Kitty. The album cover is burned into my memory banks.

Superchunk, if you don't already know, is a straight ahead, hard driving rock band. The singer/guitarist and bassist later founded Merge Records. They are an important American band to people who loved guitar rock/punk/indie.

They are consistent, meaning almost all records sound similar. They forged their own distinctive loud guitar sound, and they stick with it.  You know what to expect.

When I popped in the disc, it was weird. Like nothing I'd ever heard. It was challenging, weird, 1960's psychedelic, 1990's lo-fi, British-sounding? Maybe they had another band lineup in their early days that I was not aware of.

I was perplexed. So was the store manager who came down from the catbird box. It was literally an office up high that could look over the entire store floor.

He came down from the box, asked what the hell I put in. I said Superchunk. He walked back silent, slightly disapproving. A couple tracks later he came back and asked me to take it out.

I obeyed with no thought about it. Put the CD back in the jewel box and re-filed it.

I told my girlfriend/now wife about it, and how that sound stuck out. Man, the band must have taken a turn early in their career. I couldn't shake the sound, so I went onto CD Now and bought Superchunk's No Pocky For Kitty online.

When I got it in the mail. I invited my wife over, appropriately set the scene for listening to music, popped it in the stereo and said "listen to this".

Track one comes on...and it's typical Superchunk. Crunchy guitars, driving drums and bass and Mac's sweet voice. I was shocked. Sure it sounded great, but it was textbook Superchunk, I fast forwarded again and again. What happened, this wasn't the weird thing I'd experienced at Blockbuster Music.

I forgot about it and months passed, I quit the job at Blockbuster. But, the memory of that night and the sound of that record was still lingering. I decided to go back to Blockbuster and find No Pocky For Kitty. I grabbed it and went to the listening station and asked the guy to play it. There it was again. That weird ass sound.

An employee at the listening station mistakenly placed the wrong CD in the Superchunk box. I asked for the CD, looked at it: Scat Records, Guided By Voices "Bee Thousand".

I went to the G section and no Guided By Voices. So, I guess I was going to buy the Superchunk case with the Guided By Voices CD in it.

This GBV album was like nothing I'd ever heard. None of my friends new this band. It was completely new and fresh. I listened to it over and over. I recommended it to whoever would listen. I had a new favorite band...they were from Dayton, OH where another favorite of mine at the time were from (the Breeders). I love Midwestern rock bands.

This was how I discovered GBV and I've since bought hundreds of their songs, gone to several shows, etc etc etc. They are a lifelong favorite ever since I crossed paths with that weird mistake. To a music nerd, these stories are like gold.

The memory comes to mind every time I pass 3801 Hampton.

The probability of someone having a meaningful life experience working at Chic-fil-A are close to nil.

The soul will be gone.

According to my boss at Blockbuster, the building used to be a Peaches and a grocery store before that.

The building has history, per city records it was built in 1954. It has an urban form. It abuts the sidewalk along Hampton.

Here's a nice photo from beltstl.com as well as confirmation that it was a grocery and Peaches:

photo credit: Toby Weiss "The Built Environment in Layman's Terms"

Peaches must have been a 1970's dream, I've seen the crates all over town in antique shops and at yard sales. 

Here's the only photo I could find of the Hampton location; that is Mama's Pride doing a promotional event:

(photo source)

The Pinterest poster claims the event was in a St. Louis Peaches, but I have doubts unless the interiors of all Peaches were identical.  There are some great videos of the Ballwin, Missouri Sound Warehouse/Peaches location the day it closed on June 29th, 1986. The interior looks exactly like the Ballwin store. I will keep searching for the truth.

Note on the first video, Rocks Off by the Rolling Stones is playing in the store (followed by Rip This Joint). That's what I'm talkin' about. I cherish every second of these videos, thanks for sharing YouTube user styxreo:

 Per a recent Riverfront Times article:

The building, which sits at 3801 Hampton Avenue, has a long and storied history — for the most part, as a purveyor of music. The space was constructed in 1954 as a National grocery store. In 1976 the record store Peaches opened in the spot, selling mostly vinyl throughout the '80s. Then it was known as Sound Warehouse and, later, Blockbuster Music in the '90s. In 1998 it became Warehouse Music, which was purchased by Trans World in October of 2003. Trans World kept the existing name for three years before rebranding to F.Y.E. in 2006. (source)

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the proposed buy out of FYE in November, 2016:

Chick-fil-A has under contract the F.Y.E. store at 3801 Hampton Avenue in St. Louis and plans to replace it next year with one of its fast-food outlets. 

A manager at the F.Y.E. store said Wednesday he was unaware of the Chick-fil-A project. 

HR Green is handling the project's engineering and "running point" on getting a conditional use permit for the Chick-fil-A at the site, Vavrina said. The Atlanta-based fastfood chain plans to have one of its customary general contractors build the Hampton Avenue outpost, he said. (source)

Read: a suburban American crap shack eyesore.

This is not a higher use.

If you are like me and want to rage against the suburban machine, contact the following and make yourself heard:

Ward 23 Alderman Joseph Vaccaro:

Email Joseph Vaccaro 

Phone: (314) 622-3287 

Fax: (314) 622-4273

Or FYE's corporate offices at:

Transworld Entertainment

38 Corporate Circle

Albany, NY 12203

1-800-540-1242

Now it's time to Motor Away!

River des Peres Greenway Extension - Lansdowne/Shrewsbury Metrolink Station to Slay Park

Continuing on my top twenty projects announced or under construction in 2016, we have the Great Rivers Greenway (GRG) River des Peres Greenway Extension that was announced early in the year.

This 1.5 mile extension is part of the larger 7.3 mile River des Peres Greenway that will eventually connect to Forest Park and the Mississippi River in South County. 

I first learned of this project at a community feedback session held in October. This was the last of three public meetings designed to get community feedback, so the project details were fairly refined. As I was browsing the posters and renderings, one thing really stuck out, an important precedent for St. Louis. I'll get to that in a minute.

To make sure I interpreted the design correctly, I sat down with Elizabeth Simon, Great Rivers Greenway Community Program Manager to learn a little bit more about the project. Ms. Simon has lived in St. Louis for 11 years and has worked at GRG for 3.5 years. She has a wealth of information on this project and others and it's the tireless efforts of people like her that help me have solid hope for the future of our city and region.

One of my favorite things about living here is the willingness of people to sit down and give the average citizens the time of day to explain the work they are doing to move our city and in this case, region, forward.

Ms. Simon helped me get the facts straight and answer some of my questions. One of her main roles is soliciting and evaluating feedback from the community before, during and after GRG projects; so her perspective on this project goes back to the very beginning stages of planning.

Why does this < 2 mile extension make my best of 2016 list and not larger, higher dollar projects like NGA or the Armory? Well, this one has a personal connection and there is a big-picture win that makes me hopeful for the future of the entire city and region.

First of all, this entire Greenway project is a testament to the various electorates voting for the future with the region in mind. Sharing and pooling our tax dollars to connect us all, vs. walling off suburban towns from the city is a step in the right direction. This brings us together in the best and healthiest of ways. It is evidence that we would have a better community if we chose to work together instead of fighting and hoarding our assets.

Back in 2000, St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County voted for a tax increase for Proposition C to raise the funds for the greenway. Then again in 2013 St. Louis and St. Louis County (no St. Charles this time) voted for Proposition P to raise additional funds for the greenways among other items.

Secondly, I have a personal connection to this part of town having lived in the Boulevard Heights Neighborhood for several years.  We owned a house right along a stretch of park ground that would eventually become the Christy Greenway. GRG built an extension going through here that connected Christy Park, Joseph Leisure Park and St. Marcus Commemorative Park to the River des Peres Greenway. We watched every tree get planted and every brick and paverstone laid. We walked the path while under construction and dreamed of where trees should go and it was like they read our minds, planting diverse, native species in threes, planting at the correct depth, excellent placement, and respecting the trees that were already there.  It was perfectly designed and perfectly executed.

We listened closely as the local NIMBYs changed their minds on the trail once they saw the positive activity it brought to these parks. A true community asset came to this part of the city. People walking grocery carts to the Sav-A-Lot on Loughborough, kids learning how to ride bikes or skate, serious cyclists, dog walkers, etc. It was a great vibe.

It'll be great to see the same level of positivity and potential being built in another part of town.

The second reason I like this is while living in Boulevard Heights, I worked in West County and commuted to and from I-64 daily along this stretch of road that the greenway extension will grace. The commute was stressful. I drive small four cylinder cars and this stretch of four lanes is a raceway. When you drive this street in rush hour, it is an unspoken race to get home. People are in their daily commute and racing like NASCAR drivers. It was crazy, but it is what it is...a when in Rome type of thing. When I would drive River des Peres and McCausland at times other than rush hour, I'd still drive it at top speeds as I was conditioned. A friend of mine said "I attacked that street". My wife asked me if everything was alright. It is an overly wide street that is built for speeding and getting the heck out of town and quickly.

This project will bring a road diet, new landscaping, hardscaping and infrastructure to a stretch of road (Lansdowne, Ellendale and Wabash Avenues) that desperately needs it. A road diet is something we need very badly in this city and this location is undeniably established as needing a reduction in lanes. This road diet will set precedent for future traffic calming measures that are greatly needed in other parts of the city (think Jefferson Avenue from Cherokee to I-44). Here's an example of the lane reduction:

Per Ms. Simon's summary of community feedback, the lane reduction NIMBYs were the most vocal, but clearly not the majority. The fear was that lane reduction would cause traffic congestion. These fears were somewhat allayed following a presentation of a thorough traffic study conducted prior to the community sessions.  The data generated were clearly in favor of a road diet and some folks were more receptive after hearing the data-based recommendation.

Others indicated that speeding was one of the main concerns on this stretch. The data showed that the road was overbuilt for the number of cars that were traveling it. The north bound direction was more condensed in the morning rush hour, so that was how they decided to recommend the southbound lane reduction when traffic is less. Makes sense. For a summary of the traffic study click HERE and go to Slide # 25.

But the lane reduction is not the only thing to be excited about. 

This will be the sixth phase of the River des Peres Greenway which is a small part of the massive St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County masterplan to connect our region with 600 miles of bike/pedestrian trails. This overall plan has the opportunity to set us apart from other cities and regions...and I feel so lucky to live during the time when the construction is happening all over the region.

Per GRG:

The River des Peres Greenway currently has direct connections to the Lansdowne Shrewsbury MetroLink Station, the Holly Hills neighborhood and Carondelet Park. In the fall of 2016, it will connect to Lemay Park, the River City Casino, Jefferson Barracks Park and the Pavilion in Lemay. In the future, the River des Peres Greenway will also connect to Forest Park, Downtown Maplewood and Webster Groves and Grant’s Trail. (source)

This 1.5 mile extension will connect the existing path that terminates at the Shrewsbury Metrolink station at Lansdowne Avenue in the Lindenwood Park Neighborhood and runs all the way north and east to Francis R. Slay Park in the city's Ellendale Neighborhood on the southwestern edge of St. Louis.

The trail will eventual extend north to one of the jewels of the Midwest: Forest Park. It will also extend west through the inner ring suburb of Maplewood, MO along Canterbury Avenue to connect with the Deer Creek Greenway. The latter is further along in the planning stages than the former...so we'll have to wait to ride all the way to Forest Park. Once construction is completed further south near the city/county line near Lemay Road, you'll be able to connect from Slay Park to the Gravois Greenway (Grant's Trail) and the southern stretch of the Mississippi Greenway.

Another route was considered that would have routed this extension along the easement of the River des Peres itself; but there were engineering, utility and safety concerns due primarily to the steep slope as well as overhead wiring, complicated property ownership landscapes, etc.

They are about to bid out construction, so the actual project cost is yet to be determined; but, GRG successfully received a $1.5M federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant to help fund the extension. Along with the lane reduction which has obvious benefits, there are other environmental benefits as well:

• Concrete trail will provide cost‐effective long‐term maintenance
• New storm water management features are designed to be low maintenance
• Strategic drainage design minimizes the number of sewer structures
• Existing sewage pipes and planters will be recycled
• New trees, native plants and grasses will be planted along the greenway that require minimal maintenance, reduce storm water runoff and prevent erosion.

Some trees will be removed, but overall, a net gain will be observed as more trees will be planted:

Species selection will be determined by the landscape contractor. It will be vetted with the entity that will be responsible for maintenance, in this case the City of St. Louis. Therefore, design will be rudimentary with simple trees and grass that can be mowed.

Now let's take a look at the various sections of the 1.5 mile extension with a couple details on each.

The southern most section of the extension will begin at the Shrewsbury Metro Station.  

A bike counter will be installed near the entrance to the Metro station. These use electromagnetic and infrared sensors to count trail users and whether they are walking or biking. These data are used to determine uses and calculate community benefits of the greenways. A second bike counter will be installed on the northern section of the extension near Esplanade Street.

The Lansdowne bridge section of the trail will the same width as the rest of he trail (~10 feet), so the existing pedestrian section will be widened.

The section of Wabash Avenue from Lansdowne to I-44 will have several interesting elements:

One of three "nodes" will be constructed at the southeastern section of Lansdowne and Wabash. These will include a resting area with trees, trash receptacles and possible interpretive signage and public art. Information could include historic facts of the area, the significance of the River des Peres as a watershed, bird migratory patterns, etc. The installation of public artwork is part of the plan for the future and would be a unique element for the River des Peres Greenway.

Parking along Wabash will remain in both directions along Wabash Avenue, and will be freshly striped to clearly designate the parking lanes.

Bump outs on the corners will be constructed to calm traffic, protect the parking lanes and pedestrians using the trails. The bump outs will be planted with grass and trees to avoid runoff and provide a green buffer. These light green areas in the maps indicate storm water mitigation "best management practices" (BMPs) as defined by the sewer district, MSD.  BMPs including rain gardens, bioswales, etc to minimize ground water runoff into the sewers and are mandated by MSD when new pavement is being added. In this case, grass channels with trees will allow for absorption via amended soil and grass.

Driveway restoration will take place to make the ten foot trail seamlessly intersect with the many driveways along the route.

The only designated pedestrian crossing on this extension will be placed between Lindenwood Place and Mardel Avenue. It will have solar-powered flashing signals, signs, and striping on the roadway to alert drivers that they are approaching a crossing. There is a refuge in the median for people to pause when they are crossing so that they are only watching for cars traveling in one direction at a time. There are no signalized intersections on Wabash/Ellendale between Lansdowne and Canterbury, so the mid-block crossing is an opportunity to cross where there are fewer points of conflict (no cars turning – the cars on each side of the crossing are only traveling in one direction). Another benefit of this location is that the width of Wabash Avenue is the most narrow at this location. Pedestrians are only crossing three travel lanes (two northbound, one southbound, and no parking lanes).

The first of several raised pedestrian crossings will be constructed at Tholozan Avenue. These crossings will feature slight ramps with an elevation change of only four inches over six feet in each direction from the ten foot trail allowing a very slow decline in each direction. It'll be a unique surface that will be a visual queue to drivers to inform them that they are coming to a greenway passage. 

The other raised pedestrian crossings will be located at Manhattan Avenue, Piccadilly Avenue and Esplanade Street.

The I-44 underpass will feature a stained concrete surface. The walls and interstate deck piers will be painted to define the area and provide interest. The north and southbound trail lanes will be split around the piers. The underpass will be lit for safety, think of the Macklind tunnel going to Forest Park.

While the section along Wabash Avenue has sidewalks, much of the 1.5 mile section along Ellendale Avenue does not. Some sections have steep slopes, so significant grading will be necessary. This will be one of the most aesthetically pleasing elements of the plan as the current views are less than ideal:

St. James Square, Leamington Avenue and Tremont Avenue will be closed to vehicle traffic to Ellendale/Wabash. Cul-de-sacs will be installed; while emergency vehicle and pedestrian access will remain. These are dangerous access points, neighbors were mixed but overall in favor due to the traffic calming elements and play spaces that cul-de-sacs bring. Folks not in favor feared it would add to their drive time to go around to the other streets.

The second "node" will be at the entrance to Slay Park and the third in the median greenspace on McCausland Avenue.

The entire roadway surface will be resurfaced and re-striped. The cyclists who prefer to ride on the road was in favor of this clear striping. This is a much needed upgrade over current conditions:

When both projects are complete, there will be a continuous corridor from Francis R. Slay Park (Intersection of Canterbury & Ellendale) in the City of St. Louis all the way to Jefferson Barracks County Park in St. Louis County!

Aerial views of the full north and south sections of the greenways are available from GRG.

Construction is expected to start in March with completion in late 2017.