Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. 

Town Hall Meeting: Come one, come all to the 17th Ward Town Hall Meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 at the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, 4317 Vista Ave. in Forest Park Southeast. You'll hear from representatives from local community development corporations and Alderman Joe Roddy about what's going on in the various neighborhoods of the 17th Ward. For more information, call 533-6704 or 535-5311.

Halloween Extravaganza: About 450 kids and adults enjoyed a safe but spooky evening of fun at Forest Park South's Halloween Extravaganza Friday, Oct. 31 at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium at the Saint Louis Science Center. The event was sponsored by the Saint Louis Science Center and Forest Park Southeast Development Corp., with proceeds benefitting the Education is Key Scholarship. 

Business After Hours: Merchants met and mingled at the Business After Hours event Oct. 29 at the newly opened Mia Rosa in the Grove. Local winners of the RFT Best of St. Louis awards were recognized. The quarterly event is sponsored by the Business Association of Forest Park Southeast.

Forest Park Southeast in the news: KMOV-TV's Laurie Waters recently reported on the revitalization of the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. To see the report, click here.

City Talk: About 80 17th Warders ventured over to Café Ventana in the Central West End for the latest 17th Ward City Talk Wednesday, Oct. 1. Residents heard Father Lawrence Biondi of Saint Louis University talk about SLU's plans in the neighborhood and chatted with neighbors and community leaders, including 17th Ward Alderman Joe Roddy, CWE Midtown Development Executive Director Dan Krasnoff and Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. Executive Director Irving Blue.

Mia Rosa opens: Philip Noe's new restaurant, Mia Rosa, is now open at 4501 Manchester. The restaurant, named after his mother, features coastal Italian cuisine as well as cicchetti (Italian tapas). Other new FPSE businesses include The Nurturing Spirit at 4301 Arco and Kolors Salon by Kevin Idoux at 4188 Manchester. 

The Grove named "Best Restaurant Neighborhood": Congrats to area establishments named in the Riverfront Times 2008 Best Of St. Louis awards:
Best Restaurant Neighborhood: The Grove
Best Soul Food Restaurant: Sweetie Pie's
Best Sunday Brunch: La Dolce Via
Best Burger: Newstead Tower Public House
Best Guacamole: Agave Mexican Table & Tequilaria
Best New Bar: The Gramophone
Best Gay Bar: Novak's Bar & Grill
Best Place For Cocktails: Atomic Cowboy
Best Lesbian Bar: Attitudes
Best Art Gallery: White Flag Projects
Best Comfort Food: Revival

Sauce Magazine Readers' Choice: Three Forest Park Southeast eateries earned top votes in the 2008 Sauce Magazine Readers' Choice awards:
Favorite soul food (1st): Sweetie Pie's
Best-kept secret (2nd): La Dolce Via
Favorite Korean (3rd): Everest Café and Bar
Favorite vegetarian-friendly: (Honorable mention): Everest Café and Bar
Favorite Indian (Honorable mention): Everest Café and Bar

Hotel Proposal: Representatives from Drury Inns presented a proposal to build a $100 million hotel project on Kingshighway south of the Interstate 64/Highway 40 interchange to more than 100 residents at the last Gibson Heights Neighborhood Association meeting. The Drury Development Corp. outlined a plan for two 16-story hotels on about four acres of land. Each hotel would house 345 rooms, with most parking underground. Part of the project site would be purchased from the Missouri Department of Transportation. Click here to read the article in the St. Louis Beacon.

Back to School at Compton Drew: Students and their families picked up school supplies, registered for school, received medical screenings and learned useful information at Compton Drew Middle School's Back to School event Saturday, Aug. 9. The Saint Louis Science Center provided science activities and the Citizens Emergency Response Team showcased their “Teen” version of safety precautions for natural and man-made disasters. The event was sponsored by the Saint Louis Science Center and Pepsi with the participation of Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. and several educational and medical organizations. Compton Drew students served as ambassadors for the event.

National Night Out: Neighbors gathered on several blocks in Botanical Heights, Forest Park Southeast and Tiffany to celebrate National Night Out Tuesday, Aug. 5.




Yes, Chef!: Christina Machamer, a St. Louis native and line cook for Revival at Chouteau and 39th Street, has won top honors in the reality show "Hell's Kitchen," starring the notorious chef Gordon Ramsay. Machamer's prize for enduring Chef Ramsay's tantrums is the senior chef position at Ramsay's The London West Hollywood restaurant in Los Angeles. Click here to read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

Grove CID: The Board of Aldermen has passed a bill to create a Community Improvement District for Manchester's Grove district to provide funding for streetscape improvements, lighting, beautification and security. Click here to read more. Click here to read an article about the district from the South Side Journal.

Oakland Improvements: The next phase of the Oakland Avenue improvements has begun. Traffic on Oakland has been moved to the outside lanes, with the inside lanes and center turn lane closed for construction of the new median. One outside land is open on westbound Oakland, with two outside lanes  generally open on eastbound Oakland. Parking is prohibited along eastbound Oakland in the construction zone in front of the Science Center and SLUH. When the project is completed by the end of the summer, Oakland will sport a landscaped median, sculptures, new signs, street resurfacing and safer access to the Science Center and Saint Louis University High School. Click here to read more.

City Talk: Nearly 150 folks came out for 17th Ward City Talk Tuesday, June 24 at Newstead Tower Public House in the Grove. Guest speaker John O'Shaughnessy from Shriners Hospital for Children presented plans for the new hospital on the Washington University Medical Center campus. The event was sponsored by Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. and Central West End Midtown Development and hosted by Alderman Joe Roddy. More photos

No Smoke: The South Side Journal recently published an article about smoke-free establishments in the Grove. Click here to read the article.

Commerce Bank Site: Commerce Bank is seeking a developer for its 5.6-acre property at the intersection of Manchester, Chouteau and Vandeventer. In its Request for Qualifications, Commerce expressed a preference for a mixed-use project that will be a focus for the community, although single-use projects may be considered. Commerce has not yet decided whether to include branch bank on the site.

New Cobblestones on Lawn Avenue: Traffic-calming cobblestones have been installed in the block of Lawn between Berthold and Oakland in the Kings Oak neighborhood. The area has long been troubled by speeding traffic from the I-64/Highway 40 construction and Saint Louis University High School. The project was paid for through the Ward 17 Half-Cent Capital Improvements Sale Tax and SLUH.

Top Teams: Saint Louis University High School's volleyball and water polo teams recently took home state titles. To read more about the Jr. Bills' victories, go to www.sluh.org.

FPSE's First Green Building: Developers plan to renovate 4512 Manchester as one of the first "green" buildings in the community. Other projects recently reviewed by the Development Committee include a new retail/office building at 4542-44 Manchester, the renovation of apartments on Oakland and several residential and retail renovations. Click here to read more.

FPSEDC Restructuring: The Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. board has approved significant changes to its by-laws to make it easier for community residents to participate in decisions. Changes include reduction in the size of the Board of Directors and the creation of two standing independent neighborhood committees. Click here to read more. 

Grove SUD: An ordinance recently passed by the Board of Aldermen prohibits or restricts many potentially troublesome new businesses in the Grove commercial area. Click here to read more.

Chouteau Apartments: Three projects, including a 200-unit apartment building, have been proposed for the former site of the Laclede Gas storage tank at Chouteau and Taylor. Click here to read more.



Manchester Streetscape: A plan is in the works for a new streetscape along Manchester Avenue from Taylor to Sarah. Click here to read more.