Lots of exciting things are
happening in Shaw this summer, and several of those things are happening on our
block and street! As the Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association block
captain for 3900 DeTonty, I want to inform you of what has been going on, what
is coming down the pike, and how you can get involved and make your voice
heard. I have included internet links below for more information on several
items.
1. 3818 DeTonty is in the process of being remodeled after sitting vacant for a few years. As you may already know, Corey, the grandson of the previous owners, purchased the house and with his wife and son are making it into their new home. Please take a moment one day, walk down and introduce yourself and welcome them to the block!
2. There are several dead trees and shrubs in the vacant
lots at 39th and DeTonty. In my capacity as Chair of the SNIA
Beatification Committee I have hired a landscaper to remove these and prune up
some of the other trees. This work is ongoing and should be finished soon.
3. The beatification committee is planning to install a
flower bed at each corner of 39th and DeTonty in the spring. This is
one of our neighborhood’s most visible entrances and it looks pretty crappy.
Along with flowers we will be installing a nice wooden sign welcoming visitors
to Shaw. We will need volunteers to plant flowers in the spring. We also need
an Eagle Scout or some similarly motivated person to help with building the
sign. If you know of any such possibility please get into touch with me.
4. A plan is underway to install surveillance cameras at
the entrances of the neighborhood and this includes the 39th and DeTonty
intersection. This plan comes from SNIA's Safety Committee and is currently in
the discussion stage. Nothing has been finalized yet. There will be an SNIA
Board meeting on August 19th and I will be there as block captain and will have
the opportunity to express the will of the block on this issue. Feel free to
pass your comments and concerns on to me and I will make them known. This item
will also be on the agenda at the next SNIA general membership meeting on
September 9th at St. Margaret's of Scotland at 7pm. Feel free to attend, but be
aware that voting on issues is restricted to SNIA members.
5. The underpass at DeTonty and Thurman is getting a major
make over. A design competition was held last year and the winning design is
being implemented this fall. The outcome is that the overgrown brush and trees
and the large concrete barriers will be removed. A prairie restoration project
will turn this area into a pocket park extending from DeTonty on the south,
beneath the overpass, and to Lafayette on the north. The park will include a
newly paved surface with a bike path and pedestrian trail and a painted map of
the Mississippi River and St. Louis. Other improvements include new lighting,
signage and (potentially) public art. The underpass will remain closed to auto
traffic and is being renamed the Thurman Gateway Park.http://lifeinshawstl.blogspot.com/2013/05/thurman-underpass-thurman-gateway.html.
This important project will link the Shaw, Botanical
Heights and Tiffany neighborhoods and will encourage bike and foot traffic
between the restaurants and pubs springing up on Tower Grove in McRee and along
Shaw Blvd. The bike path will be an easy link from inside our neighborhood to
the bike lane on Tower Grove heading north into the Grove and the Central West
End http://safetga.org/?p=247. It will
also connect with the Russell Avenue bike trail being put together to connect
Tower Grove with Soulard. This is an important connector for making St. Louis
more bike and pedestrian friendly.
6. A redesign of Shaw Blvd has been underway for a year or
so now. The plan is being spearheaded by the Shaw Neighborhood Housing
Corporation and includes improvements to the street, the curbs and sidewalks as
well as assistance to homeowners and businesses for building improvements. Some
of these improvements are already underway. Regal Market at Shaw and Klemm has
gotten a facelift. Other improvements will continue to appear for the next year
or so. http://shawhousing.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/shaw-neighborhood-housing-corporation-launches-a-comprehensive-shaw-boulevard-improvement-action-plan-with-a-10000-donation-from-tenet-health-care/.
7. The vacant old gas station at Thurman and Cleveland is
being rehabilitated and will house a new catering and restaurant business
called ‘The Social Affair’. They plan to open their doors some time in October.
Learn more about this project here: http://preservationresearch.com/2013/05/the-streamlined-standard-service-station-in-shaw/. Learn about the history of the building here:
http://preservationresearch.com/2013/08/thurman-station-where-it-all-began-for-me/.
8. Sherman School, at 3942 Flad, has been vacant for a
while now and the St. Louis School District has put it on the market at more
than $1.3 million http://www.drpartnersllc.com/?page_id=11. A group of
concerned neighbors are meeting with school district officials on August 26th
at 7pm at St. Margaret of Scotland (39th and Flad) to discuss what is going to
happen with this important neighborhood landmark. Please consider attending and
voicing your opinions. We do NOT want this building to end up like so many
other public school buildings in the city – a dilapidated and decaying eyesore.
9. The vacant lots on the 4100 block of DeTonty have been
the focus of several unsuccessful development projects over the past decade.
UIC, the developer who is doing lots of good stuff in McRee, has their eyes on
the lots now. They have developed a plan (you can see it here http://www.livegreenstl.com/detonty-commons.html)
and received support from the alderman and the Shaw Neighborhood Housing
Corporation. Unfortunately, their designs do not meet the historical guidelines
of the neighborhood and have been turned down by the Cultural Resources Office.
I am not sure what the next step is for this project but
at a meeting with the developer in July, he said he was NOT willing to work
with the neighborhood to change his designs to a more historical appearance. He
claimed that would “water down his brand”. We need to pay attention to this
project so we do not end up with a block of cheap non-historic housing on our
street. DeTonty is now the least desirable street in the neighborhood and we
need to improve our street – not build cheap housing that will make our street
even less desirable in the long run. I encourage you to attend the September
SNIA meeting and make your voice heard on this issue as well.
10. If you are not a SNIA member please consider joining
so you can vote on the issues affecting us all: http://www.shawstlouis.org/ and http://shawstlouis.wordpress.com/.
11. Our old neighborhood list serve,
Shawtalk, is not used much anymore. We have transitioned to the social media
site Nextdoor. You do not have to be a member of SNIA to participate or follow
neighborhood discussions – you just have to live here. In order to join
Nextdoor Shaw send me an email introducing yourself and I will send you an
invitation. abbottmonte@hotmail.com
