A truly ambitious, and thoroughly innovative development, project in St. Louis will adapt a former hospital facility to house numerous nonprofit and neighborhood investment organizations.
Rachel Rice reports on a proposal to develop the former St. Luke’s Hospital, located on Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, which shut down after bankruptcy in 2013, operating at the time as ConnectCare.
"But come fall 2021, the 500,000-square-foot building will begin its second life — housing apartments, offices, a cafe and a highly anticipated nonprofit collaborative," reports Rice.
The project will be called the Delmar DivINe, named to counter the racial and income stratification that comes with the “Delmar Divide” moniker. [Maxine] Clark and Executive Director Jorge Riopedre anticipate closing on the project within the next few weeks and are completing leases with more than 20 different organizations and nonprofits.
Nonprofits such as the Mid-America Transplant Foundation and Humanitri are likely to be tenants, along with Washington University and the St. Louis Community Credit Union, all as part of a $100 million project that could transform a portion of the city near the Delmar Loop. Supporters say the project is precisely the kind of heavy investment needed to invigorate neighborhoods that fall just north of Delmar.
Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-a-Bear, came up with the idea for the project after working in the Cortex Innovation Community, which offers office space, capital, mentoring and networking opportunities to businesses, according to the article.
The project has already been delayed because of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but initial phases of construction will focus on nonprofit working spaces and residential apartments before later phases build out more office space and services such as early childhood education.
"The project is funded through a public-private partnership that includes a loan guarantee from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, new market and historic tax credits, and donations, including Clark’s own funding," reports Rice.
Additional coverage of Delmar Divine is also available in a more recent article by Amanda Woytus for St. Louis Magazine.
FULL STORY: Ambitious $100 million St. Louis project hopes to erase ‘Delmar Divide’
Surveying the Rising Trend of Office-to-Residential Conversions
With office vacancies climbing and a stubborn supply crunch driving up the cost of housing, some downtowns have emerged at the forefront of a new wave of adaptive reuse.
Looking to Vacant Retail Spaces for Needed Housing Supply
The Phoenix City Council has taken the first steps toward zoning reforms that can balance out the oversupply of retail spaces at one end of the market and the lack of housing units at the other.
Walkable Waterfront Takes Shape on the Schuylkill River Near Philadelphia
The Pencoyd Landing development is focused on providing access to pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users in the neighborhood of Lower Merion Township, across the Schuylkill River from Philadelphia.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.
A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood
Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research