[TGE-mail] commerce bank development

[dralexp]

Mr. Vogt,

I must respectfully disagree with you that no one will park behind Commerce. People do not seem to have a problem parking behind the buildings that house Qdoba, Bread Co. and Hollywood Video. That lot is almost always full.

When I first moved to the area from Chicago five years ago, a couple things struck me about that lot. One, I thought it was Commerce customer parking only, and if I parked there, perhaps I might be towed. That might have been the Chicago 'combat parking' training kicking in, but perhaps many people here think the same. Second, the condition of the lot has been improved some since they rebuilt the bank, but not so long ago (and still even towards the back of that lot) you would be placing the well being of your vehicle at the mercy of the potholes and glass that littered the place. 

Keeping the buildings on the street and parking in the back would be the best decision now and for the future. Plans for down the road are rarely followed through with, unless they are put into contracts. Delmar in U-City has no problem with parking lots behind buildings, why should Grand be any different? I think some good signage ("FREE PARKING HERE --->"), or like the lots around the Pageant would be a huge help in letting people know where they can park. That is my two cents, but I have to agree with Andrew on this one.

Thanks,
Alex


On 3/8/07, Tim Vogt <tvogt at mrdcorp.com> wrote:
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2007 12:02:48 -0600
> From: "Tim Vogt" <tvogt at mrdcorp.com>
> Subject: Re: [TGE-mail] commerce bank development
> To: "'Andrew Weil'" <abweil at sbcglobal.net>,     "'tower grove east
>         listserve'" <tgena at lists.more.net>
> Message-ID: <000401c760e2$d0e4f610$d001a8c0 at millenium.local>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Mr. Weil I understand your points of view on this matter, but numerous
> studies have been taken, and the fact of the matter is that no one will
> park behind commerce.  Commerce has selected a developer to build condos
> on the vacant lots behind the bank.  I have talked with this
> 
> Developer and he hope's to break ground this summer.  Commerce
> understands the need for parking on Grand and I personally feel that
> this additional parking will only help the businesses on Grand.
> Consumers want to be able to park as close to their destination as
> possible.   Commerce is also open the idea of, down the road, building a
> 2-3 level garage with 1st floor retail.  An older site plan shows this
> building on the corner of Grand and Juniata.  The building on the site
> plan has the same design as the current bank.  As the demand increases I
> am certain Commerce will proceed with the addition of a building that
> will accommodate retail and parking.  In the end the there will be a
> more continuous flow of retain along this stretch.  The bank has
> invested 14 million in their site to date, and I have the utmost
> confidence that the Commerce understands and agrees with the need for
> close proximity parking to Grand and the additional need for retail.
> 
> 
> Timothy Vogt
> Vice President
> Millennium Restoration & Development Corp.
> P: 314.772.9200
> F: 314.772.9201
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: tgena-bounces at lists.more.net [mailto:tgena-bounces at lists.more.net]
> On Behalf Of Andrew Weil
> Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 10:18 AM
> To: tower grove east listserve
> Subject: [TGE-mail] commerce bank development
> 
> 
> Is anyone else concerned that the Commerce Bank development is planning
> on putting yet another surface parking lot that fronts on Grand, rather
> than using the space where the vacant Roosevelt Bank building is to
> continue the commercial/mixed use corridor?  It is very backward from an
> urban design perspective, especially when one considers that there are
> already surface lots on either side of Jay's (immediately south of the
> proposed lot).  The South Grand strip is currently booming, and to
> ensure that the pattern continues, we need to make sure that the
> developments adhere to principles of density and design.  The more dense
> the development along Grand, the more walkable it becomes. The more
> walkable it becomes, the better the businesses will do. If businesses do
> well, more will come and Grand becomes more of a destination.  More of a
> destination, higher property values and more fun things to do in our
> neighborhood.  They can put the surface lot off of Grand, we need that
> space for a mixed use development of some kind.
> 


 
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