Douglass Hill Not The First Time Webster Has Rejected Developments
Date Posted: February 1, 2022
Posted In: Discussion, Projects,
From Webster-Kirkwood Times: A unanimous council vote in December that rejected the $320 million Douglass Hill development surprised many people, but Webster Groves has a long history of giving a thumbs down to ambitious projects.
In the case of Douglass Hill, the mixed-use project had advocates who argued it could spur an economic revitalization and perhaps, at some point, bring in tax receipts to ease the tax burden on existing residents.
Opponents argued that the scale of the project was out of proportion with the city’s size and its historic charm. Familiar buzzwords that helped take down the project included “density,” “traffic,” “tradition” “impact” and “harmony.”
Some environmentalists were troubled by a development to be built on a slope — downhill from West Pacific Avenue to Kirkham Avenue at its bottom end. How much water from new, impervious surfaces would roll onto residential property in North Webster? Could creeks and the watershed handle all the runoff?
News photos from August 2021 show water as high as car door handles at the intersection of North Gore and Kirkham avenues. Draining water periodically exceeds the banks of Shady Grove Creek.
Beautification Plan of 1926
In the 1920s, Webster’s city fathers had a plan for the low-lying area south of Manchester Road and north of West Lockwood Avenue. Many residents in the area were descendants of the Civil War’s freed slaves.
The city came up with a plan to clear out homes and churches along Kirkham Avenue, then called Shady Avenue. Aldermen and the city’s plan commission devised a plan for condemnation of properties to make way for wide streets and boulevards with modern lighting.
A bond issue was proposed to improve the area and advance economic prospects for the northwest part of the city. Park land and playgrounds in the plan sweetened the pot.