Update: The rezoning of 250 Commerce failed its first reading before city council last week and seems to have little hope of moving forward in the near term. There's more work to do. Original Story On Thursday night, Kirkwood's newest zoning distinction began its first real test. The R-MM zone (Residential-Missing Middle) created last year,… Continue reading 250 Commerce Ave: A Test for R-MM
Over the past three years, Kirkwood has notched numerous successes in adding to its housing stock. 38 new homes were approved on a one block long stretch of Madison, 24 new town-homes are coming to South Kirkwood along Big Bend, a massive parcel that once held a mansion will now hold three, a much needed… Continue reading Why Our Missing Middle Stays Missing
Last Thursday Kirkwood agreed to its second consolidation of services with a neighboring municipality in the past two months. These examples were small and I doubt anyone will really notice anything has changed but I do think they're worth celebrating. I also think they offer some important insight for how bigger, more significant consolidation can… Continue reading Kirkwood Sets the Example on Consolidation
Update 06/07/2023 The fourth unit is back, and the design has changed as 144 W. Adams finally made its way back before the Architectural Review Board this week! Original Story Tonight Kirkwood City Council will hold it's first public hearing of 2021. Most notably on the agenda is the Council's incredibly important vote on the… Continue reading An Update on West Adams in the New Year
Update 01/07/2021: The Starbucks was unanimously voted down upon first reading. I'll keep you updated if Starbucks comes back to the drawing board as I suspect they will. Previous Story: First of all, I just want to say sorry for going AWOL for a couple months. The end of the semester got sort of busy… Continue reading The Starbucks Project is Really Bad, Actually.
I've long contended that Webster Groves and Kirkwood are natural rivals. That Webster certainly had it's advantages: A more distinguished cultural scene facilitated by Webster University and especially its very legitimate Repertory Theatre, and a more distinguished culinary scene featuring four restaurants on Ian Froeb's STL100 (including two in the top ten: #5 Olive +… Continue reading Arms Race: Webster Groves Takes a Step Kirkwood Must Match
I've long been a big fan of the sort of baseline liberal agenda the County Council and County Exec Sam Page have been able to implement on a number of fronts: paid maternity leave, the elimination of salary compensation history in the application process for county jobs, a $15 minimum wage for all county employees,… Continue reading St. Louis County Should Lead on Zoning
Update 11/20/2020 Last night, a proposal recently redubbed "The Hutton", Savoy's twelve unit condominium proposal for 134-138 West Madison was approved 6-1. Pitched as the"last of it's kind" by Savoy, this project completes their rapid transformation of this block long stretch that up until very recently had been dominated by small businesses located in small… Continue reading The Hutton
Well, it's been a while, but we finally once again have news on the development front. Next week, after more than a three month layoff, Kirkwood's Planning & Zoning Committee will meet for double session: once on Tuesday and once on Wednesday. They will have a jam-packed agenda to take on when they do so.… Continue reading Starbucks, Flats, and Banks, Oh My!
On Saturday, June 6th, I participated in the Kirkwood Teachers of Color-organized, Black Lives Matter Peace Walk. Early in the week leading up to the event, it seemed like the walk would be a somewhat controversial and divisive event for a pretty quiet, wealthy suburb; one likely attended by no more than a couple hundred… Continue reading Our Zoning is Racist: a multi-family housing story
