Commission backs exterior changes and minor site plan for Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition’s new Lindbergh office

The Creve Coeur Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a minor site development plan and exterior alterations for the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition at 1220 North Lindbergh Boulevard.

Rosie Summers, chief operating officer for the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition, said the nonprofit has grown since 1989 to 93 employees and expects to scale to roughly 150 employees over five years. Summers said the proposed location will house administrative offices, training rooms and a small resale “Refresh” store to provide clothing allowances to youth in foster care. She emphasized the facility is primarily administrative and training space, not a residential or overnight care facility: "We offer trainings, and sometimes children will come while their parents are doing training... so in general, the children are here not more than an hour or so." (Rosie Summers).

Architect Allen Nearing reviewed exterior revisions: updating a 1950s-era building with high-pressure laminate panels as accent material, adding windows, and replacing an older Mansard element with a redesigned corner accent. Bethany Moore, city planner, said the brick facade will remain and that the new accent panels will appear on all four sides; she also recommended conditions including a code-approved trash enclosure at the rear dock, downcast and shielded lighting heads, resealing/restriping the parking lot, and updated elevations dated July 8 that reflect the color adjustments.

Commissioners questioned ADA accessibility and the number of accessible spaces; staff said final ADA parking and accessibility information will be verified in the permit review. Commissioners also asked about landscaping maintenance and irrigation; Nearing said the plan emphasizes native, prairie‑style plantings to reduce watering needs and that the organization intends to maintain the landscape as proposed. Staff added a condition that landscaping be maintained as approved.

After discussion, the chair moved to recommend approval of the minor site plan "subject to the conditions contained in the staff report for the meeting of July 8 and further subject to the changes from the staff report reflected in the July 8 submission of elevations," and the commission voted in favor.

What happens next: The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for review; required permit and construction approvals (including a site-approved trash enclosure and lighting fixtures angled down to meet standards) will be enforced during the building-permit and site plan phases.