I was over there yesterday. Someone had sent me a sketch of what is to come on Chouteau they had found on their site.
This article was about the future Chouteau Park.
Here is history about how this park came to be.
It came to my attention that BJC/Wash U were going to set things in motion for their future. The Rose Garden across from the hospitals had become an underground parking garage to meet the needs of their customers and visitors back in the 60's or 70's, That was a part of Forest Park that had been severed from the rest of the land by the highway department. When the garage was finished, they had it recovered to resemble a park and installed racquet ball and tennis courts, along with playground equipment and named it Hudlin Park after a famous St. Louisan. They did a nice job of letting that piece of Forest Park remain a park. Time moves forward and the future has arrived. Hudlin Park needs to be redeveloped. The hospital complex has outgrown their existing space and are having talks about expanding there business to a new building complex on the parking garage space.
Their existing space now is from Forest Park South to Barnes Plaza, East to what used to be Kingshighway, then South to the fence in both directions and East to Taylor, North to Forest Park and West to Kingshighway. BJC/Wash U has been like a vacuum in their pursuit of power and space. They have an investment in more land in their neighborhood than the City does. They own this neighborhood and they have for a long time.
They wanted to get clearance to rezone Hudlin Park. I protested, other people protested, we drew a crowd, we were seen on a news broadcast, select people from the CWE were asked to meet with the decision makers and come to a conclusion. None of the protesters from FPSE who instigated the protest were included in the negotiations.
Our reward ( FPSE ) for protesting the loss of public land was the piece of dirt you know as Chouteau Park. That was 7 or 8 years ago at least.
It was not always a piece of dirt. It was divided by a street running east and west and 6 or 8 single family homes faced south on the street and were occupied. There was a scaffolding business on the corner and had been there forever. It was a business which provided 5 or 6 jobs. Cowboy was the owner. He wore a white cowboy hat. The front of his business served as a voting precinct back in the 90's. Further east on Chouteau from Newstead were more homes.
This block of land was being scrutinized for the future. Wash U made several offers and was told no it was not for sale. The existing use of the property did not fit in with the future plan and it needed to change. The little houses were wood, had not had the care they needed to look good and the scaffolding business had a back yard to store a lot of stuff in. This was an eyesore for the new apartments that were in the planning stages as well. Everything was coming right along. Even better than expected.
Wash U had been coveting this property for a long time and now because of the loss of Hudlin Park this would be the replacement green space. Now an offer was made with eminent domain attached. The sale was made and Chouteau Park was born. I don't know what they plan to replace but I hope it includes tennis and racquetball courts, restrooms. pic nic areas and playground areas. That is what we lose when Hudlin Park disappears in the future. I think they should replace what they are destroying. They can do that. They can find out from the people who use Hudlin Park what services they want the Chouteau Park to offer , ask the people in the neighborhood what they would go there to enjoy if it were installed there.
Like I said this was a hostile purchase. The owner was forced to sell out, get out and retire. At the time it was a disgrace the tactics used by the PTB to get what they want. It still is. They have all the power and they keep everything in check and put all the players on committees and leave out the rest of us so there won't be interference from meddling and bossy land owners. It works very well. People on these committees are given the freedom to represent my interests without me even being aware there is an interest in something that would concern me. There is no transparency in my neighborhood and I have reached a place where the risks outweigh common sense. The future is at stake. I hope they do a fantastic job with Chouteau park, I hope I can go there and play racquetball, sit at a table swing in a swing. I hope the grass is soft and there is a lot of shade. At one time there were some beautiful old trees on that block which would have been as asset to any piece of dirt. A pavilion with a snack bar would be fantastic. Some really nice fountains, places to sit and meditate. Who knows what they will give you, but you really need to be asking for the things you think would be beneficial for the future. You will have it for 20+ years, enjoy it, one day in the future it will be housing,
That is the History of Chouteau Park for those of you who like to know the past.
