Key Concerns on "The Beacon" - Detail

1.  Size/Scale of the Proposed Building (see image above): 

• Does not meet existing zoning restrictions:  The proposed building would not comply with existing zoning restrictions for this lot, with two key areas of non-compliance:

  • Building Height: It will be nearly twice the height of the existing height limit:

    • Current zoning:  3 stories maximum

    • Proposed height:  6 stories (see image below to visualize relative height to existing buildings)

  • Hanley Rd setbacks:  It would not observe the setback requirements on Hanley Rd

    • All existing buildings on this block of Hanley have significant setbacks (25-50 ft.)  from Hanley Rd

    • Proposal has Zero setbacks from Hanley

• Building dwarfs neighboring buildings:

  • Surrounding buildings are all 3 stories or less for hundreds of feet in all dir

• Encroachment on single family homes:  Unlike other larger buildings on this block, this development would be built directly across from single family residences.  (Other large buildings on Hanley are surrounded by other multi-family buildings.)

 

2.  Parking:  Parking plans are inadequate in both the short and long term.  Desirable businesses like I Fratellini and Bar Les Freres have concerns about the impact to their business and ultimately may be forced to relocate.

• Short-term:  Removal of the parking lot during the 12-24 months of construction will significantly harm desirable local businesses. 

  • Existing lot’s ~30 spaces are highly utilized

  • Businesses rely on these spaces for customer parking given the scarcity of street parking and other lots nearby. Business owners believe removing this lot will significantly hurt customer traffic to their locations.

  • There is no current plan to replace these spots during the time of construction

• Long-term:  The proposed 188 parking spaces total is likely not adequate to support the needs of tenants for 84 units (2 cards x 84 units = 168 spaces) and maintain the ~30 public spaces that exist today.

 

3.  Traffic:  Non-resident parking access will enter/exit from Hanley, dramatically increasing traffic congestion, disproportionately impacting nearby residents.

• Public parking will be accessed from Hanley Rd, which is already heavily congested at many times of the day.  Neighbors accessing Hanley Rd from Wydown Rd, Polo Rd, and buildings off Hanley will be disproportionately impacted.

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4.  Neighborhood Aesthetic:  The proposed plan removes all green space and trees from a prominent corner lot and adds very little retail space (~2.5% of total sq footage or less than 20% of the first floor).

• Removes nearly all Green space and trees:

  • Proposed building removes is pushed to the edge of the lot on all sides and removes all lawn and replaces them with concrete walls and columns

  • 20+ trees and numerous prominent bushes will be removed from the lot and a prominent corner in the City.

• Adds little new Retail space and thus limited additional foot traffic to the neighborhood: 

  • Only ~2.5% of the sq footage will be new retail

  • Most (~80%) of the ground floor is used for parking and storage.

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Why sell a valuable City asset to add to a potential oversupply of residential and rental units in Clayton? 

 

• Developments under construction or in more advanced stages of planning in Clayton could increase the total number of residences (all are planned as rental properties) in Clayton by >10% in the near term.

  • ~600 units under construction:

    • The Crossing (212 S Meramec): 250 new units

    • Opus One (Central and Maryland): 120 units

    • Vanguard (8500 Maryland): 229 units

  • ~600 units in advanced stages of planning:

    • Centene development:  120 apartment units

    • Solire "Millennial" Micro Apartments (12-23 Lee Ave.):  80 apartment units

    • Old 7up building conversion (121 S Meramec):  ~100 apartment units

    • Old Schnucks (Clayton and Hanley):  291 apartment units

  • Excluding this development, the total number is residences in Clayton is ~11,400; adding 1,200 rental units will increase the total residences in Clayton alone by greater than 10%

  • Additionally, many other developments are adding similar quality units to the Central Corridor.  Some notable additions include:

    • Opus One (4643 Lindell):  200+ units

    • Whole Foods building (Euclid and West Pine):  175+ units

    • Cortex Phase 3:  200 units

    • Dale and Boland complex:  185+ units

    • Too many others to list

• Key questions we believe the City should study:

  • What will be of this large increase in units if the demand for these units isn’t enough to meet the supply?

    • What will be the impact on other rental properties? 

    • On sales prices for City houses and condominiums?

  • Should the City be fueling this increase by selling their assets?