In an effort to connect the controversial Northside Regeneration project to the ongoing NGA West Project, a focus has been made on the area immediately surrounding the NGA. The goal? A mixed-use neighborhood that hopes to be a major anchor for future developments to grow off of.
According to a video presentation by Northside Regeneration, the projects surrounding the NGA campus will consist of...
2700 housing units (in renovated houses, new homes, townhomes, and new apartment buildings).
1 Million Square Feet for Science, Technology and Applied Research.
2 Million Square Feet of Retail Space.
3 Million Square Feet of Office Space.
A hotel.
Ponce Health Sciences University.
A Hospital.
New Green Spaces.
A Rugby Stadium and Training Fields.
E-Sports Arena.
Student Housing.
The Lamar Johnson Collaborative is the architect and the firm behind the master plan.
In recent years, the Northside Regeneration project, which is a 1500 acre (2.3 square mile) development zone in North St. Louis City, has run into some trouble with the City. It has also been lamented by urbanists, preservationists and Northside residents who focused on the big promises made by developer Paul McKee well over a decade ago that never came to fruition. In 2018, the Krewson Administration sought to cancel the 2009 development agreement with McKee, which focused on the Northside. Earlier this year, a bill that said the Northside Regeneration Project was making satisfactory progress was vetoed by the Mayor. Several lawsuits have come and gone for the project as well, but it now appears that there may be some foundations that the project can build off of.
In March of this year, Ponce Puerto Rico based, "Ponce Health sciences University" announced that they would build an $80 Million medical school campus on the former Pruitt-Igoe site. In August, McKee's M Property Services reported to the City that it had financing to begin construction on the first phase of the new, Homer G. Philips Hospital, which sits on the Pruitt-Igoe site. The first phase is a 3-bedroom hospital. However, no visible progress has been made since that time. With these developments, the Pruitt-Igoe site will be renamed the Healthworks Village.
Now, Northside Regeneration is stating that the Carpenters Union will have a training center at the Northwest corner of the Jefferson and Cass intersection. This building would be part of the "community district", which will include apartments, shops, townhomes, a park, E-Sports arena, and office space.
While it is unclear when, and if, we will see construction start on any of the projects included in the presentation, it is clear that M Property Services is not ready to give up on the Northside Regeneration project, which was once called "Blairmont" and was estimated to cost $8 Billion. Years after it was initially unveiled, the time may very well be right to begin construction on several aspects of this new plan. Utilizing the NGA Campus as a major anchor is a decent move. Getting Ponce Health Sciences University built and open can be another anchor. But focusing on getting tech companies, in particular: Geospatial Tech, to occupy the office space could be a good move to getting the ball rolling on the office components.
Housing, such as the townhomes, renovated historic homes, new homes (such as the NetZero Homes), and apartments will come as time goes on.
The neighborhood will also be getting a boost from the proposed Doorways Housing and Office complex on Jefferson at Gamble, which is just a few blocks south of the Jefferson and Cass intersection. That project will bring 50 low-income apartments as well as the office for Doorways, which is currently based in the Central West End. The site is currently under utilized.
Another boost the neighborhood could get is if the FBI moves to the NGA campus, in a separate building, as is currently rumored.
At this point in time, Northside Regeneration has seen the completion of a gas station and grocery store on Tucker Boulevard North of Downtown. But people can hope that the plans shown here happen because if they do, it would be extremely beneficial to the surrounding neighborhoods.
To view the presentation, please visit this link: https://www.northsideregeneration-homeofnextngawest.com