[TGE-mail] commerce bank development

Fri Mar 9 09:09:04 CST 2007

Good morning Tim,

I grew up in St. Louis and still have many, many relatives living in St.
Louis, so I feel that I have a vested interest in the City.  In addition, I
plan to move back in the near future.

As a member of the Milford Planning and Zoning Board (an elected, 4 year
term in our city), we see numerous projects come before us every month.
I've been on the Board for over 5 years, and I can't tell you the number of
times developers have come before us with "facts" and after the project is
built, those facts don't hold up.

We have found that there are two types of developers:  those that want to
do right (and still make a profit) in our city, and those who do it at
minimal costs in order to maximize profits.  The smart developers know what
we look for in large projects and incorporate it in their design and
workmanship.  Once the project is done, it becomes a "showcase" for other
projects in the area and becomes a main draw for residents of our city and
surrounding towns.  The other developers we battle with on just about every
point and eventually the project meets our zoning requirements, but not
much else.  Aesthetics go out the window in order to maximize profits.

As you know, once a project is built, it is extremely difficult and costly
to change it.  Millennium Restoration & Development Corp may go out of
business some time in the future;  hopefully not.  However, what you build
will remain built for 50 - 100 years.

I would error on the side of caution and listen to the opinions of those in
the neighborhood.  They might not have "facts," but they express the
genuine concerns and opinions of those who will have to live with what you
build for the next 50 or so years.   They, too, have a vision for their
neighborhood.

Kevin G. Oscar Liddy
Vice Chairman
Planning & Zoning Board
City of Milford, Connecticut
914-499-4110 (work)

"Risk varies inversely with knowledge."  Irving Fisher

             "Tim Vogt"                                                    
             <tvogt at mrdcorp.co                                             
             m>                                                         To 
             Sent by:                  "'dralexp'" <dralexp at yahoo.com>,    
             tgena-bounces at lis         <tgena at lists.more.net>              
             ts.more.net                                                cc 

                                                                   Subject 
             03/08/2007 14:16          Re: [TGE-mail] commerce bank        
                                       development                         

I think it is great that so many residents are keeping up with the future
development at this site.  I am not here to debate anyone.  I am only
stating proven facts.  One additional fact is in regards to the Grand South
Grand House Tour. That lot was clearly made available to the public for
parking.  The ticket booth and shuttle starting point is located at Juniata
and Grand.  No one parked on the lot.  Only recently last summer were
barricades put in place to close off the entrance to the rear lot from
Arkansas.  For years that lot has been open, it was in a much better
condition than it is currently and no one used the lot.  The main reason,
the result of numerous studies completed, was the fact that it was to far
from Grand.  The lots behind Qdoba are directly behind that business.  A
customer doesn’t have to walk 150 feet or more to reach Grand.  These are
all facts provided by numerous studies.

Timothy Vogt
Vice President
Millennium Restoration & Development Corp.
P: 314.772.9200
F: 314.772.9201

      -----Original Message-----
      From: dralexp [mailto:dralexp at yahoo.com]
      Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 12:58 PM
      To: tgena at lists.more.net
      Cc: tvogt at mrdcorp.com
      Subject: Re: commerce bank development

      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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