South Grand’s business mix has changed in recent years, with major workhorses announcing closures or relocations elsewhere in the region.
With these changes, community leaders are considering how redevelopment of the South St. Louis neighborhood and business district can help establish new attractions.
Rachel Witt, executive director of the South Grand Community Improvement District, said: “Blessings and curses of the South Grand, we live long, but many businesses are starting to retire at this time.”
This week, the Community Improvement District released findings on redevelopment opportunities along South Grand Boulevard and surrounding streets. Witt said the study looked at what the business district was missing.
One of the core ideas that emerged in feedback from existing business owners, property owners, residents and other local stakeholders was a market hall, she said.
“To be like an incubator space for companies that are trying to be free but aren’t ready to have a physical store or capital, but want to test their products,” Witt said.
In the study, an underutilized parking lot along Hartford Street east of the Grand was identified as a location to develop this concept and bring more density and walkability to the area, said Improvement District. CEO Natasha Bahrami said.
“It’s really nice to continue to be a walking district and deliberately evolve it so that it can create opportunities beyond the buildings in the South Grand Corridor,” she said.
Bahrami has personal experience with some of the ways the South Grand is currently changing. Natasha’s, a coffee shop run by her mother, closed last year, but its legacy lives on through the Gin Room owned by Bahrami. Other flagships that have closed or moved include: the king and i and Foreland.
“After decades and generations of being here, some have decided they need to go in a different direction,” Bahrami said. “There is a very exciting void in the South Grand right now, as it creates the potential for new energies to pour in here.”
Other South Grand business owners share this sentiment, welcoming the potential of a bazaar-type market.
“Not everyone wants a very big store. Some people want a small cubicle or a small stall. Or maybe they’re just starting out and want something really small.” Mary Hennessey, co-owner of South Grand’s Urban Matter.
Her store sells products from local artisans and independent artisans across the country, she said. He explained that he was attracted to the concept.
“We’re very close to Tower Grove for the farmers market,” she said. “People who want to be able to sell their wares year-round, whether it’s food or crafts, now have the opportunity to do so. And it creates exposure, too.”
Both Bahrami and Witt emphasized that the idea of redevelopment along the South Grand is still in its early stages and subject to change.
“This is not set in stone,” Bahrami said. “This is an opportunity for us to create possibilities, and those possibilities may look different than what we are talking about today.”
Witt said it’s important for community improvement districts to let neighbors, business owners, others, and the larger community know that they’re open to development. But one thing she hasn’t changed is Southgrand’s commitment to small, diverse businesses, she added.
“I love that Grand has 23 immigrant-owned businesses in 15 countries,” Witt said. “It’s our brand, it’s our identity, and we’re not trying to change it, we’re trying to grow it.”
The goal is to bring the current concept to life in the next five years. That will begin later this year with a request for proposals and ample opportunities for community members to get involved, Witt said.
Eric Schmid is responsible for economic development for St. Louis Public Radio.
