Architect Lawrence Group now plans a low rise retail building along with the condo high-rise to replace the sidewalk shopping that’d be bulldozed for this. @KMOXNews pic.twitter.com/mI5H8i8l4I
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 20, 2019Parking would be underneath the proposed retail building. No surface parking; two buildings directly touch each other pic.twitter.com/E43vCLIvF4
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 20, 2019The Lawrence Group's Steve Smith is among those who've signed on to work on former hotelier Fred Kummer's 180-million dollar plan. He made the pitch to the Clayton planning commission.
“I know there’s been a lot of commentary about this,” Steve Smith says as he pulls up a rendering pic.twitter.com/vpoHtN5e3S
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 20, 2019It's a brick tower that some on social media say looks like it belongs better in Miami Vice or Pyongyang... and Clayton planning commission chairman Steve Lichtenfeld doesn't disagree.
Clayton planning commission chairman is ripping this project apart.“It’s probably the least inspirational building I’ve been proposed for a downtown.” “It doesn’t meet any of the things you were talking about.” “It effectively kills the street retail we have now.”@KMOXNews
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019Then, the rest of the Clayton planning commission got their licks in.
“It would deaden the street even more than it is right now.”“It doesn’t relate to the context of either downtown Clayton or the residential area to the north of it.”“I don’t think this does it.”Max bldg height is 4 stories, commissioner doesn’t see variance.@KMOXNews pic.twitter.com/94H4kmRs4q
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019“I really think it needs to be started over.”Welp, so that’s the chair of the Clayton planning commission, wrapping up.Other commissioners comment:“The building looks incredibly foreign.”“It looks like it could’ve been designed in the 60s.”
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019Commissioner says Clayton homeowners with south-facing lawns will lose all their landscaping because of the shadow from this.
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019Commissioner says she moved here from coast and chose Clayton because of buildings like Armstrong and human-scale brick architecture.“To take it out for something like THAT? I feel offended.”
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019Graybar, a major company based in Clayton, also doesn't like it.
Graybar representative gets up to speak, says “this building doesn’t make sense.” Their headquarters is also in downtown Clayton.
— Michael Calhoun (@michaelcalhoun) May 21, 2019And with all that said, Smith said it's back to the drawing board.