Why Can't We Do It 8.22.2007 | 6 Comment(s)

This is a Home Depot store in Chicago. What the fuck? It's built up to the street, has a nice relationship with the buildings next to it and, as far as I can tell, has no parking lot facing the street. If you look closely you can see the garden shop is located on the roof of the building, what a concept!

This is how a big box development in a city should be done...so why aren't city leaders pushing for this kind of design? What's the incentive not to build like this? Is it cost? Lack of urban design knowledge? What? I just don't understand.

By  Bill Streeter, at 1:45 PM

No one is requiring this, and land here isn't as expensive as it is in Chicago so there is no incentive on that front either. I still get mad everytime I go to the Shop and Save on Gravois. Not just because of the parking lot, but because there are NO SIDEWALKS in or out of the place. What kind of thinking builds a big thing like that in the middle of a very walkable residential neighborhood WITH NO SIDEWALKS! Sorry it just makes me mad.

By  Brick City, at 5:44 PM

I completely agree with you. I drove by this development yesterday and couldn't get over how it totally turns its back to the neighborhood that surrounds it.

I guess another question would be why is no one requiring this type of development in our burg?

By  stlmark, at 8:56 AM

Many of these businesses end up being in the real estate business as well. HD is not just making money selling dry wall and Chinese crap, they are investing in real estate. In STL there is plenty of cheap land to acquire. In Chicago, they want to get in the market at any cost. They will settle for whatever space is available. Just a guess. I would love to see this in STL. Let's get rid of these staid, old, conservative, suburban, baby boomer aldermen and do it ourselves!

By  Anonymous, at 8:47 AM

You don't have to be a big, dense city like Chicago either. Even low-density, suburban-looking Charlotte conditionally approved a Lowe's two years ago with roof-top parking and wrapped with townhomes. Here's a link to the site plan:
http://ww.charmeck.org/Planning/Rezoning/2005/2005-089%20approved%20site%20plan.pdf

By  Urban Review, at 8:56 AM

Yeah, that Home Depot it quite a sight! I recall the first time I saw it --- I was so excited by a Home Depot.

Land prices are a good point however those are partly determined by zoning and development patterns. We could do so much more with our land --- and once the pattern is in motion developers build dense in order to recoup their land costs. In the end you get a good density to support both local mom & pops as well as big box chains --- all in the same area.

By  Anonymous, at 9:14 PM

I just wish there were more like that here. That's the only Home Depot, out of maybe a half dozen, that's built that way in Chicago. There's one other that's similar, but still not quite as integrated.

Chicago has it's bone-headed moves, too. For example, the near south side has a development called "Central Station" that has (as near as I can tell) zero commercial space in it, despite the fact that it's a 20-year project with 10-15,000 (you read that right) units being planned for about 80 acres of land. Where do these people shop? About a mile west of there, where a big-box development was authorized by the city. Of course to get there, they have to walk a mile or more along a not-very-pedestrian-friendly road (but it does have sidewalks at least) or (what most of the residents do) drive there. It's such a stupid urban planning design it makes me ill just thinking about it.