The Pruitt-Igoe Housing Development
The City of St. Louis is planning to sell 162 acres, over 1,200 parcels, in North St. Louis to developer Paul Mckee. The price? $3.2Million. Mckee already owns some 800 parcels in North City and this latest deal would give him the opportunity to start realizing his vision of a “Northside Regeneration”. (McKee was also part of a group that recently acquired the 17-acre Bottle District site, just north of the Edward Jones Dome.)
As an added bonus, the City is willing to give McKee a two-year option to buy the 33-acre former Pruitt-Igoe Housing Development site for $100,000. The deal to sell the 1,200 acres seems rushed (it could close today), but Pruitt-Igoe is included as a two-year option. Was the transaction designed this way so McKee can do an environmental evaluation of the site? It may be. The $100,000 price tag sounds like a sweet deal but cleaning up a 33-acre site can run in the millions.
A perfect fit
Now, this is nothing against Mr. McKee, but why put all your eggs in one basket? There might be an alternative. Instead of giving McKee another (optional) 33 acres on the north side, why not diversify and give Ingvar Kamprad a call? Kamprad is the founder of the Swedish furniture and design store IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd). Our region has been long been wanting a franchise store of this worldwide giant and this might just be the right spot for them.
A birds eye view of IKEA on Pruitt-Igoe site
The Pruitt-Igoe site is located smack in the middle of the St. Louis Metro region. After the New River Bridge opens, downtown-bound traffic from the Illinois side will directly funnel onto Cass Avenue, which leads directly to the P-I site just 1 mile west of the bridge. The same easy route is available to eastbound I-70 traffic coming from the northwestern suburbs. West Countians would have easy access via I-64 or I-44 and the Jefferson exit. The site is only 1 or 2 miles north of the respective Interstates. Traffic from South County on I-55 would use I-44 West and Jefferson.
Perfectly centered, remarkably connected
IKEA has indicated that the St. Louis area could support an IKEA store. They already operate stores in similar-sized or smaller metros like Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Austin and Denver. A St. Louis store could service an area with a 250-mile radius, inclusing Memphis and Kansas City. The nearest store to the south is in Dallas.
A clear gap
Not only is the Pruitt-Igoe site centrally located within the region, it’s also the right size. IKEA is looking for 30 acres so P-I fits this profile just right with its 33 acres. An IKEA store employs around 400. This would be a great shot in the arm for St. Louis, and in particular North St. Louis. Most important, an IKEA store on this site might be able to help break the psychological “Delmar Barrier”.
IKEA rendering
City Hall, please give Ingvar Kamprad a call and offer the site for free. After all, who needs a lousy $100,000* when you can have an IKEA.
Update 2:16 PM: Per Tim Logan, $100,000 is required to hold the 2 year option. The site is for sale at $900,000.
I’d love to see this kind of thing come to fruition. I don’t see why the city boosters (CVC, LCA, heck, the Mayor) can’t communicate this.
As I tweeted, I’d put up $20,000 toward acquiring the land for IKEA, if the city wants its $100k. I’m not kidding.
An IKEA? Really? I’m not a McKee fan, but I don’t think this is a better option. 400 jobs in 33 acres? I would think we could find a way to get more jobs in there, not just 1 retailer, wouldn’t that create mainly low paying sales associate positions? Wouldn’t multiple companies could create a better variety of jobs?
Lets be honest – an IKEA in North Saint Louis?
To start over, I am in love with Old North Saint Louis neighborhood and the general history and re-purposing/re-development of the entire North Saint Louis area. I believe that in due time (years, probably more like decades), North Saint Louis will be as attractive as Soulard/Carondolet/Benton Park is now.
Back to my first statement – IKEA operates 38 stores within the United States, this isn’t like a Target/Wal-Mart that operates 38 stores within one major city. Denver just celebrated the opening of its FIRST IKEA this past summer and if it took that region this long I would bet that we are far down the line – and the fact that without a regional distribution center all hope is futile.
Also, like the IKEA in Centennial, parking is contained within a parking structure that the main store sits atop of (think Hampton Target), as opposed to the plan graphic you have delineated above.
Again, I love the creativity and inspiration but I’ll put this in the stash of StL creative proposals along with the Chouteau Greenway.
One last comment – the demolition/site prep costs for this site are going to be its largest determent with all of the foundations from the high rises buried and filled in with rubble and debris from the structures. It’ll be another 100K just to hire a consultant to figure out that environmental mess.
To Geoffksu: Please, reread the article. The environmental concerns were addressed, as well as the reasons why St. Louis could be next in line. Further, almost all IKEAs have parking on large lots around the store. That’s why they prefer sites of 30 acres or more. The centennial store is an exception, not the norm.
For the city, I think an IKEA would be more suited for the Industrial Valley (around the MERS Goodwill area) where there’s plenty of interstate access with on and off ramps and arterial roads. IKEA requires major interstate access. It’s a dead zone back there. Ikea requires lot of a parking, delivery and pick-up points. Most of its stores sit next to or very close to interstates. That whole portion of the Industrial Valley area could be redeveloped because there is a lot vacant land and incomplete streets back there. Not only is the PI site not near an interstate, but an IKEA in the PI area would cause too much traffic and pressure on roads – and it is very unlikely most people would want to venture even that far into north St. Louis from Interstate 64/40 or I-70. IKEAs usually border the interstate. IKEA is likely to end up in St. Charles County or Chesterfield.
STOP the IKEA madness already. This would be an absolute aberration compared to the normal model for locating an IKEA store. If you looked further into the locations of IKEA stores they are almost always except for the case of much larger markets on the coasts like NY and LA on the PERIPHERY of the metropolitan area. IF IKEA were to come to St. Louis, it would be more likely somewhere like Wentzville or outside of Columbia or Kansas City to capture St. Louis, Columbia, and KC markets all in one swoop. And ‘smaller’ markets that you mention like Cincinnati for example capture several metros by proximity. Cincinnati captures: Indianapolis, Columbus,OH, Lexington and Louisville, KY. Austin is smack dab in the middle of: DFW, Houston, and San Antonio. You may have the size requirements for a building and parking pad correctly but your demographics are way, way, way off base. If my job as a site selection specialist is dependent on finding sites with the least amount of brain damage and strong demographics that fit the model for a company, North City in a stagnant to middling growth region like St. Louis is not the one I’d likely bet my job future on.
Joe: Austin might be in the middle of Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, but you might have forgotten that Houston and Dallas both already are home to IKEA stores. That makes it kind of a moot argument. I strongly disagree with your position on the demographics. The St. Louis Metro could support an IKEA store. I believe STL would be a better location than Columbia, not just because of size, but because Memphis would be included in the target radius. I fully agree with you that it’s more likely IKEA would go for a location with direct interstate access.
The Count: Again lets be honest – would you prefer a sea of concrete for parking or a scheme that maximizes land use and incorporates parking into the larger structure??
Thanks, I read the article already, but I think you underestimate the severity of the issue with the environmental cleanup – this is no simple matter – why do you think the site has sat in its state for so long? 33 high rise building foundations filled with rubble – that’s an effort the size of the NorthSide project itself.
No IKEA – not anytime soon in North Saint Louis.
Lets focus on real options – Transit-Oriented Development surrounding the future MetroLink NorthSide line, more organic re-purposing/re-development (similar to Crown Square), and green infrastructure (greenways, bio-retention, etc.) development to link individual neighborhoods together (i.e. Stapleton). REAL SOLUTIONS FOR REAL PROBLEMS.
I am all for incorporating the parking into the larger structure. Don’t take the rendering as an absolute. It’s just a conversation starter. About maximizing land use: Not really a priority here. There are hundreds of acres around this site available for (denser) infill. (BTW: McKee is planning retail on this spot as well.) The environmental cleanup is IMO not the main reason for this site to have been sitting vacant for so long. Further, regardless of who is going to build there, they will have to deal with it. IKEA or not. Also, I think the chance of an IKEA in North St. Louis is better than that of a Northside MetroLink line. (If ever, that will not happen in the next 20 years.) I am not opposed to anything you propose, and think most of it is feasible. Again, a huge area is available for development. Whatever happens, I am hoping something will get started soon. It’s time for shovels in the ground. Thanks for the conversation! – Frank
Fun little fantasy, thanks for posting! Live in North city. Like IKEA. That being said, IKEA does not belong in the city. Trader Joe’s on the other hand…
While we’re rebuilding the city, let’s make decisions that will help ensure a healthy city in the future. Urban density. Rail transportation. Less surface level parking lots. No more strip malls, SLU style suburban architecture, or suburban residential developments either please.