ST. LOUIS聽鈥 Throngs of pedestrians who once strolled sidewalks and thoroughfares here gave way long ago to automobiles, stoplights and potholes. But a lofty $245 million plan to build a trail network connecting four important parks in 50度灰视频 aims to change all of that.
Regional trail district Great Rivers Greenway is proposing the Brickline, a roughly 10-mile stretch of bike and walking paths that would connect Fairground Park in the north to Tower Grove Park in the south, and Forest Park to the Gateway Arch. District leaders say the Brickline will improve safety, help break down racial barriers and bring economic development along the paths.
would run past organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of Greater 50度灰视频 on North Grand Avenue, and the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency at Jefferson and Cass avenues, as well as connect to the new Major League Soccer stadium and City Foundry STL, the Midtown entertainment district.
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It鈥檚 an ambitious plan for a region long criticized for being big on promises but short on delivery. Great Rivers Greenway, known as GRG, still has to finish designs in addition to fully funding the Brickline. And perhaps its biggest hurdle will be persuading enough of the region鈥檚 residents to travel to a part of town that receives more attention for homicides than for cycling.
But regional leaders say it will transform sections of the city, entice younger workers and entrepreneurs to move here, and perhaps even land CEOs and larger companies. City officials tout the Brickline鈥檚 potential to connect historically white and Black neighborhoods, and, maybe, break down long-standing barriers. Its designers say the greenway, which will be positioned along the most widely used bus line, will provide residents more ways to get to work.
鈥淚t would bring light to the area and have some people naturally associate the greenway with the Fairground neighborhood,鈥 said resident Lillie Clay.
And Brickline backers said GRG鈥檚 mix of private and public revenue sources and its 20-year track record of building 128 miles of trails so far is proof enough that the organization will fulfill its promise.
Connecting north city to the central corridor is what the city needs to grow, said Alderman Brandon Bosley of the 3rd Ward, where some of the greenway will be laid.
鈥50度灰视频 is a tale of two cities, and it shouldn鈥檛 be like that,鈥 Bosley said.
With the greenway, he said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e getting ahead of the future.鈥
A web of trails
Great Rivers Greenway is a taxing agency, created in 2000 by voters in 50度灰视频, 50度灰视频 County and St. Charles County. It levies a one-tenth of 1 cent sales tax in those counties and an additional three-sixteenths of 1 cent sales tax in 50度灰视频 and 50度灰视频 County. GRG receives about $20 million to $25 million annually from taxes, one of the few greenway developers in the U.S. that collects tax dollars.
The rest of its funding comes from federal grants and private donors 鈥 Enterprise鈥檚 Taylor family is funding the 1-mile stretch of the Brickline that will pass the new Major League Soccer stadium, now under construction, which is also a Taylor family project.
GRG鈥檚 greenways already spiderweb across the region, from Kirkwood to River Des Peres; Legacy Park in Cottleville to Dardenne Park in St. Peters; and from Chouteau Avenue up the Mississippi Riverfront to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. It also was involved in the recent renovation of the Gateway Arch grounds.
More than 3 million visitors used the trails in 2020, a 70% increase over 2019, the agency said. Usage dipped last year to 2.5 million 鈥 but that was still up 40% over 2019, GRG said.
The agency relies on community input to form its regional plan, refreshed every five years, to help it decide which trails to build next. (The public has until Sunday on the newest plan, which will be published later this spring.) It also looks at data like population, walkability and access to transit. Some desired paths don鈥檛 work; others take years to build. It took GRG a decade to get control of land to build a long-requested path connecting Kirkwood to River Des Peres in south 50度灰视频 County, said CEO Susan Trautman.
And it can cost $4 million to $6 million to build one mile, she said.
Greenways have paid off for other metro areas, according to GRG. Indianapolis saw $1 billion of new real estate development when it opened its Indy Cultural Trail that it built for $63 million. Atlanta saw $4.1 billion of new development because of its $800 million Beltline trails.
They also can have benefits that are harder to measure, like improvements to the environment and public health, said Patty Heyda, a professor of urban design at Washington University.
鈥淕reenways are never bad,鈥 Heyda said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just one piece of what neighborhoods need.鈥
The Brickline
The Brickline, part of which was formerly known as the Chouteau Greenway, would connect major landmarks: the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus, the new soccer stadium, 50度灰视频 University and City Foundry. Once complete, it will be at least 10 miles long and perhaps as many as 15, officials said.
The section running by the soccer stadium, which will include art installations honoring the former Black neighborhood called Mill Creek Valley, will be finished by the first MLS game in spring 2023.
Other parts are in the design phase. The northern segment that will connect Fairground Park 鈥 a 130-acre former racetrack that once served as a Union encampment during the Civil War 鈥 to Page Avenue received a $15 million federal grant late last year to help fund construction. Des Peres-based financial services firm Edward Jones and other private donors are providing a match. Penny Pennington, managing partner of Edward Jones, called the Brickline one of the 鈥渕ost important investments in the 50度灰视频 region.鈥
GRG is counting on the private sector for funding. Of the Brickline鈥檚 $245 million price tag, $155 million will come from businesses and private donors.
The city won鈥檛 be solely responsible for maintaining the Brickline; GRG is setting aside about $15 million, or 2% of all private fundraising, for a maintenance fund.
鈥淵ou have to actually do what you say you鈥檙e going to do,鈥 Trautman said. 鈥淲e are absolutely committed to not starting a project that we can鈥檛 finish.鈥
The prospect has organizations like the Boys & Girls Club excited for the future. President Flint Fowler, who is involved in the Brickline鈥檚 development, said he sees it as a catalyst for development in the neighborhood.
That area of North Grand has seen a high rate of homicides, a symptom of decadeslong disinvestment that also has led to decrepit brick buildings and few opportunities for growth.
鈥淲e need an opportunity like this to invest in our communities,鈥 Fowler said.
Trautman said the Brickline could be one strategy to help deter crime: When the neighborhood takes ownership of the trail and more people use it, the area is likely to become safer, she said.
The Boys & Girls Club, which has operated there since 1967, is partnering with the Gateway PGA Reach Foundation to redevelop the neighboring Carter Carburetor plant into a golf activity center. The project and the greenway could be beneficial for each other.
鈥淚 used to speak a lot about the psychological impact that the Carburetor building had on the minds of kids with its broken windows and trash,鈥 Fowler said. 鈥淔lip that, and imagine trees and music and artwork and people engaged in the community, and what that does to their mental well-being.鈥
The Brickline also could bring grocery stores, coffee shops and other amenities that make an attractive neighborhood, he said.
Still, urban planners are wary of gentrification: With public projects come attention from outside developers, on the prowl for investment returns, who could oust long-term residents. 鈥淭he whole thing becomes a land grab,鈥 said Washington University鈥檚 Heyda, who has worked on the greenways. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just the story of 50度灰视频.鈥
City leaders have an opportunity to create the rules for developers, ensuring there鈥檚 some affordable housing, she said.
Trautman said the agency is looking into a community investment trust that can subsidize investment for neighbors or a community development corporation that could help reduce taxes for homeowners.
It鈥檚 going to take a village, she said.
Clay, the Fairground resident, already has been working to improve her neighborhood as president of the nonprofit Fairground Neighborhood Revitalization Organization.
Fairground Park is an asset 鈥 residents use its 131 acres for fishing and for hosting parties. And they鈥檇 like to see more amenities here, like a bigger pool. The greenway, Clay said, would be another positive.
Current designs call for the Brickline to begin at the southern corner of the park. That means it would miss most of Clay鈥檚 neighborhood, to the north and east.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to have any big impact on our neighbors, per se,鈥 Clay said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 good to have.鈥