The vacant store on July 27, 2005. Photograph by Michael R. Allen.

LOCATION: 10th Street at and Cass Avenue; Downtown; Saint Louis, Missouri
DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: 1985?
DATE OF CLOSURE: 2000
OWNER: Allston Alliance LC

Posted March 25, 2006

In the parking lot of destiny, eager people light fires. First, despair. Then, a tourniquet on every arm. Next, a warm glow spreads -- the fire’s blaze subdued and the blood flow moderated. Acceptance of the situation turns into naturalization of the problem. And we all sleep as peaceful as we can negotiate, or we pass out.

The Schnucks store on Cass Avenue stands empty, with a meek banner announcing its availability to other shopkeepers. The grocery chain apparently would have no more of downtown, and closed the store right as downtown entered an unprecedented period of reinvestment. Of course, patrons of the store had long complained of inadequate and second-best stock compared to other stores in the chain.

Meanwhile, the store has become a place for all sorts of interesting activity that contradicts the image of the new downtown. The parking lot is a meeting place and camp for the homeless, a place to dump and chop stolen cars, a place to park a car when you are with a prostitute -- among other places. The huge parking lot is obscene in its relative emptiness, and serves as an informal continuation of Hadley Street, which should run through this superblock but does not.

People have talked about luring other big box retailers to the location once the proposed new Mississippi River Bridge opens here. Ramps to and from the bridge will connect to Cass Avenue directly north of this site. However, a more appropriate re-use would be reintegration of the street grid on the parking lot and creation of more infill housing that would connect Columbus Square with Old North St. Louis. Perhaps the Schnucks building would be able to be reoriented to an urban setting and maybe a suitable retail use could be found. Of course, any redevelopment of this site may prove futile if the disruptive bridge ramps get built here. There are so many boundaries between downtown and surrounding areas that talk of downtown’s renewal sometimes seems like a distant and exclusive fantasy. One more barrier is not needed. Take away the barrier of the Schnucks site, and downtown might connect to the near northside; introduce the ramps and progress may be impossible.

In the meantime, the parking lot remains a reminder that not every downtowner is partaking of renewal.

~ Michael R. Allen