Last week I wrote up how Double Eagle won the Public Works sweepstakes. Ahead of this Thursday's City Council public hearing on the Double Eagle proposal, I wanted to explore the other proposals that the Council passed up. The Public Works RFP process unfolded in two stages. Initial bids were submitted by five applicants —Double… Continue reading Public Works Site: The Rejects
Well folks, after nearly a year of waiting, the results of the Request for Proposals on the former Public Works site have finally surfaced via this week's Planning & Zoning agenda. The selected proposal comes from St. Louis-based Double Eagle Development and calls for 202 homes across six four-story buildings, accompanied by 247 parking spots.… Continue reading 202 Homes Proposed for Former Public Works Site
After winding itself through the approval process three times, the Council finally offered first reading approval to Pitman Place, the 60-apartment mixed-use project proposed for the former Commerce Bank site at 300 N. Kirkwood Road, at their November 20th meeting. The Kirkwood City Council was supposed to issue its verdict on the project in early… Continue reading Council Greenlights Pitman Place
On September 4th, Kirkwood City Council unanimously voted down a contract with a local company, Fybr, for a technological solution that aimed to address the parking issue in Downtown Kirkwood. I was disappointed by that decision because I've long been a fan of Kirkwood's previous adoption of the technology and especially its long-term potential. The… Continue reading String of Errors Leads to Rejection of Parking Solution
Last summer and fall, I covered four of the development proposals Kirkwood received—and ultimately rejected—in response to its RFP for two city-owned parking lots along Jefferson Avenue. With the city poised to decide on a new RFP for the vacated public works site, it’s time to revisit the final two rejected proposals. First up: Ridgehouse… Continue reading Ridgehouse Wanted to pay Kirkwood $2M, Kirkwood Said No
Update: 03/22/2025: East-West Gateway's public comment period is now open for the Argonne grant application. You can navigate directly to Kirkwood's application by clicking here. By commenting on your support of the project as well as ways it might be improved, you can help ensure that Kirkwood secures the funding and that the project will… Continue reading Argonne Drive: Spitting Distance from Perfection
At tonight's meeting, Kirkwood City Council will approve a grant application to overhaul Downtown Kirkwood's most iconic street. If East-West Gateway approves the city's STP grant application, the federal government would foot $2,089,600 —80%— of the $2,612,000 of the total estimated cost to redesign and repave Argonne between Geyer and Taylor, with the City covering… Continue reading Argonne Deserves a Bike Lane
Kirkwood has issued a Request For Proposals for mixed-use development on 6 city-owned acres in the heart of Downtown. The city hopes the responses will yield a multi-faceted windfall for the community, but the stipulations listed in the RFP and the —$12.5 million the city has already sunk into facilitating such development— may mean that… Continue reading Public Works Site RFP Issued: Kirkwood Seeks to Recoup $12.5M
Update 9/30/2024: I made a mistake in estimating the tax revenue impact of this project. While I originally estimated the city would have brought in $900k in annual tax revenue from the project, upon further review, the impact would have likely been closer to $300k annually. For transparency's sake, I would like to thoroughly explain… Continue reading HDA Plan Rejected; City Loses $300k a Year
I've long made the case that in order for Kirkwood to get the most out of its significant development in the Grant's Trail extension, they should clear the way for the private sector to invest in the land alongside it. That mostly means loosening zoning restrictions for what uses are allowed on adjacent land, but… Continue reading Present & Future Development Along Grant’s Trail
