Webster Groves business district presses for streetscape design, explores building lighting ahead of county-led project

Members of the Crossroads Business District Commission in Webster Groves devoted a large portion of their meeting to the status of the North Branch/Big Bend streetscape project and related lighting work.

Commission members said the formal streetscape design and county coordination are central to whether the district can add benches, banners and pole-mounted features along Big Bend. City staff described the project as still in the conceptual phase and said timing depends on county steps; the group repeatedly cited a target of 2027 for construction work.

The commission heard from city staff that Sanon (a project contact) and consultant teams have been slowed by winter weather and scheduling; staff said they will request renderings and public meetings once conceptual architects are engaged. "Once the conceptual architects are selected…we have to have public meetings," a city staff member said, adding that staff will push the timeline and press the county for coordination.

Commissioners raised several design constraints. One recurring point: sections of Big Bend are county-owned right of way, and utility poles and lines running along the railroad corridor limit the ability to bury utilities or alter pole-mounted fixtures. Commissioners said past agreements that allowed other districts to install banners and hanging baskets depended on specific county and utility arrangements that Crossroads did not originally have.

Because streetscape elements controlled by the county may limit the district’s options, commission members and business owners discussed interim steps the district could take before streetscape construction, notably building-mounted rooftop and string lighting attached to private buildings. The commission asked for cost estimates and inventories: the city has retained a contractor (referred to as ShowMe Electric and as a local electrician doing inventories in Old Orchard and Old Webster) who is assessing burned-out bulbs, string-light needs and inventorying fixtures. Staff said ShowMe (and an electrical contact named Damon) is working in Old Orchard first and that Crossroads businesses may be able to get on the schedule; commissioners were invited to connect directly with the vendor for individual quotes.

Commissioners emphasized continuity: if the district wants a consistent look, it may need to coordinate purchases so all buildings use the same fixtures and bulbs. Staff said the vendor will provide inventories and that completing an inventory will shorten implementation time.

The group also discussed aesthetic and jurisdictional issues tied to previous redevelopment projects (including a historical tax-increment financing agreement on a different corridor) that allowed buried utilities and other amenities. Commissioners said the difference in ownership and agreements has been a key reason Crossroads has been unable to execute the same features historically. Staff reiterated that public meetings and design renderings will follow selection of conceptual architects and county coordination.

Commissioners agreed to press staff for an update from Sanon and to invite the project contact to a future meeting. Several business owners volunteered to be contacted directly by the lighting contractor for estimates and to help assemble an inventory of fixtures.

Ending: The commission asked staff to report back at the next meeting on Sanon’s timeline and to facilitate a vendor contact so business owners can obtain quotes for rooftop and string lighting while waiting for the formal streetscape process to move forward.