The 14th Ward is represented by Alderwoman Carol Howard and encompasses all or parts of Southampton, Bevo Mill and Princeton Heights. While development has been slow here, the trend appears to be shifting towards renovations and redevelopments with some new construction. This is due, in part, of the Wards very distinct neighborhoods. Bevo Mill's business district, along Gravois, is slowly undergoing renovation to become a better place to own a business and visit. Southampton has the Macklind District, which is relatively strong. In between the two, the large swaths of auto oriented plazas along Kingshighway don't seem to be doing too well, but multiple projects could strengthen the Ward and in turn improve the outlook on future projects.
Let me give you the run down of projects as listed in Carol Howard's monthly Ward email update.
Old Shop N' Save at Kingshighway and Chippewa
After going abandoned when Super Value shuttered their Shop N' Save stores in the St. Louis area, plans are underway to renovate the old store into a Planet Fitness. According to Carol Howard, the property is, "under contract" and "the prospective developer plans to subdivide the building with the potential of adding a small grocer in a portion of the building". So it appears that this redevelopment plan could lead to exterior alterations being carried out on the property. The possibility of a grocery store here is also a nice touch since the nearest grocery store is Aldi in Gravois Plaza or Schnucks at Hampton Village.
Kingshighway YWCA (4510 S. Kingshighway)
Garcia Properties recently acquired the former YWCA building, which for those who don't know addresses, near the White Castle. Plans call for a redevelopment of the building into market rate apartments and office space. No defined numbers were given on how many apartments will be squeezed into the building or how much office space will be created. Either way, the building is an odd shape and doesn't offer too many windows so we will see how it turns out.
Vacant Lot at Chippewa and Morgan Ford
"Fast foodies no the deal" is the phrase coined by fast food chain Rally's and Checkers and if negotiations go positive, the vacant lot at Morgan Ford and Chippewa could be hope to a Rally's. The site was last home to Steak N' Shake before the new location opened a few blocks West. The construction of a new Rally's seems odd to me since I don't recall seeing a new Rally's built in the St. Louis region. Maybe there has but I was never aware of it. Despite it being a fast food place, it will make this relatively dark corner brighter and add a different fast food joint to the area around Bevo and Tower Grove South.
The Rally's will become the second new fast food place to be constructed along Chippewa in recent years. A Burger King is currently under construction behind the CVS at Gravois and Chippewa.
The Drake Building (4648-56 Gravois)
This building, on the main commercial strip in the Bevo neighborhood, is pretty run down looking but the new owners, Criminal Justice Ministries (CJM), have acquired the building and are planning to renovate it. Hopefully the renovation plans calls for new windows and an exterior clean up job because the Drake is clearly in need of some help to make it sparkle again.
Wrap Up...
The other two projects that were mentioned are the Southampton Church at Nottingham and Macklind, which will be converted into loft apartments, and the other is a new construction project in Bevo. I am working on getting information from the developer on that so there is nothing else to say on the new construction project.
In all, all 6 projects combined represent millions of dollars of investment into a Ward that is certainly gearing up for more projects in the future. What those will be remains a mystery but the current projects are welcome, depending on who you ask.
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