Development

4 Hands to Downtown Kirkwood: A Ticket to Ride

Update: 10/11/2022 4 Hands has announced that they now plan to open their Kirkwood location in the Spring of 2023, presumably to give themselves a chance to start out on the right foot in warmer weather. The space will have a gorgeous outdoor patio, but the indoor space is more limited. Peacemaker Lobster & Crab,… Continue reading 4 Hands to Downtown Kirkwood: A Ticket to Ride

Development, Meacham Park

250 Commerce Ave: A Test for R-MM

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

Policy Analysis

Why Our Missing Middle Stays Missing

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

Policy Analysis, St. Louis County

Kirkwood Sets the Example on Consolidation

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

Development, Policy Analysis

An Update on West Adams in the New Year

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

Development, Policy Analysis

The Starbucks Project is Really Bad, Actually.

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.

Development, St. Louis County

Arms Race: Webster Groves Takes a Step Kirkwood Must Match

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

Policy Analysis, St. Louis County

St. Louis County Should Lead on Zoning

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

Development

The Hutton

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

Development

Starbucks, Flats, and Banks, Oh My!

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!