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We went weeks and weeks with no news and now we have so much news that I don't even know where to begin. But I guess the new story I published yesterday afternoon is as good a place as any, especially since it means that the city will have the ability to clear the way for up to 65 new infill homes:
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38 New Condos Proposed For N. Kirkwood Rd
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Thirteen years ago, an ambitious plan to turn the intersection of Manchester and Kirkwood Road into a second walkable downtown fizzled, leaving behind an auto-oriented CVS and a Fresh Thyme grocery store. Now that long-stalled neighborhood may be getting a second chance. Debrecht Properties and their partners, CORE10 Architects, will go before the Planning & Zoning Committee tonight, Wednesday, June …
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But we have a bunch more going on, so let's get into some Quick Hits!
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- The other big story from the week is the news that the city apparently received an offer from Missouri American Water to buy Kirkwood Water for $27.5 million back in March. While that's a big number, it's nowhere near the $60 million threshold that investment banking / private equity professionals believe would make for a reasonably attractive opening bid
- Tonight's City Council meeting has one incredibly bad item on the agenda: an ask that the council approve $71,389.57 in new spending to repave the East Jefferson city owned public parking lot. As we've talked about extensively in our review of the Jefferson lot RFP responses a few years back, the city is leaving millions of dollars on the table by failing to develop these parking lots, to then spend an extra $71k to lock the parking lot use in for another decade at a time when the city is financially strained would be governance malpractice.
- A few highlights from last week's Webster-Kirkwood Times:
- On pg. 1, a nice update on the Grant's Trail Extension and the recent open house the city held on the subject. There's also a nice map of the extension published on pg. 18. I love an open house as much as the next guy, but I'm ready to build this damn thing. I guess that will finally happen in late 2027 (followed by phase II the next year), but I think this has taking way too long and I don't know how the city pulling TDD funding from the project will effect that timeline.
- On pg. 4, there's also a good write up on the push to enact stricter historic preservation laws in Kirkwood. I'm good with that, but the specifics matter here. Often times historic preservation rules are deployed to block new homes in the name of protecting some anonymous dumpy little building. If the legislation is targeted at existing historic landmarks, I'm all for it; if it's aimed at broader "historic districts" or we're adding additional buildings to the list, I'm going to have a lot of questions.
- Next Wednesday, June 24, 2026: Come meet Kirkwood's new CAO, Darren Lamb, in the Kirkwood City Council Chambers from 4:30 – 6:30 pm
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That's all for this week! The All 4 Nothin' Band will perform at the Station Plaza tonight from 6:30-9. Then we’ve got Tunes at Ten on Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market! Have a great weekend, everyone!
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