Desco, the development arm of Schnuck's grocery stores (you know the stores that are allegedly the friendliest in town), wasn't happy enough razing the historic 1896 Century Building downtown. Now they want to tear down 20 homes at Grand & Loughborough.

An 'Urban Review St. Louis' reader alerted me to a new Frontline special entitled, "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?"

From a recent Deb Peterson column in the Post-Distpach:
BUSINESS PER USUAL: THF Realty took the acronym out of its name and put the words back in - To Have Fun - at the company's annual meeting Thursday night at the St. Louis Zoo's Living World. About 300 people - including 100 employees and 200 business partners - listened and danced to rock 'n' roll Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson. The revelers were toasting THF for being recognized as the fastest-growing privately held developer in the country.

The Post-Disptach reported a few days ago that THF is seeking TIF financing for a project in Arnold. In the way is a VFW Hall. Municipalities across the region are doing whatever they can to increase their budgets. Unfortunately, many seek auto-centric big box developments.

This past Saturday (November 6th) I wrote about my dismay with the lack of pedestrian connection between Brentwood Promenade (Target/Trader Joe's) and Brentwood Square (Whole Foods, REI, etc...). Less than a week later I look a bit closer at one part of Brentwood Square - the Bread Company.

I love "old town" St. Charles and the surrounding residential neighborhoods. It is compact, urban, charming and it works. To county officials, developers and home builders it doesn't work. Massive office parks, industrial parks, strip shopping centers, apartment complexes and single-family subdivisions are what works.