In April 2023, I wrote a piece titled "Meacham Park is an Island: Part 1" that described the ways in which the historically Black neighborhood in the southeast corner of Kirkwood remained physically isolated from the rest of the community. The article seemed to resonate, and I even got a lot of comments from Meacham… Continue reading Meacham Park is an Island: Part 2
Update 12/11/2024: We learned new details about the origins of this proposal and which way the council is leaning at last week's public hearing. Here's the latest. When Director of Planning Jonathan Raiche presented to the council, you could tell he was a little pissed. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to… Continue reading Foregoing Sidewalks Won’t Make Kirkwood Affordable
Over a year after Kirkwood published its Attainable Housing Study, the city took its first cautious steps toward implementing some of its recommended solutions at last Thursday's City Council Work Session. But as Director of Planning Jonathan Raiche began presenting the study's findings, some council members appeared skeptical of its underlying premise. Council Member Jaksetic,… Continue reading Housing Reform on the Horizon?
On November 5th, Kirkwood voters will head to the polls to make an incredibly important choice. I speak, of course, of the question of whether or not the city should institute Prop T, a city-wide Transportation Development District (TDD) that would fund street improvements through a new city-wide half-cent sales tax levy. While the condition… Continue reading Four Reasons I’m Against Prop T
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 written 95 stories since I started Kirkwood Gadfly back in 2017. Of those 100 stories, my three stories covering the Jefferson RFP responses the city rejected rank 2, 3, and 8 in terms of numbers of views. Why? Well, my theory goes a little something like this: Kirkwood residents have repeatedly indicated that their… Continue reading Council Passes on $60m Investment & 362 Parking Spaces from NOVUS
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
A few weeks back I began my exploration of the proposals that had been submitted to Kirkwood City Council in response to the RFP the city issued on the two city owned surface parking lots on Jefferson Ave. We first looked at IPG's proposal for a mixed-use boutique hotel and parking structure on the East… Continue reading PJ’s Rejected Proposal Shows the High Price of NIMBYism
Last week I wrote that the city had officially rejected IPG's proposal for the city-owned East Jefferson Parking Lot. That plan would have added a 66-room boutique hotel, shopping, and a net increase of over a hundred parking spots to Downtown Kirkwood, but it was only one-half of their submission to the city. Today I… Continue reading IPG Part 2: Council Rejects Another $33m of Investment
