Mayor Confirms Meeting With Potential Orchard Lakes Developer

With reportedly just under two weeks left for residents in the Orchard Lakes subdivision to make a decision on a buyout offer from a pair of commercial developers, Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz has confirmed that he met with one of the developers to talk about his concerns in July.

Glantz acknowledged the meeting in response to an email response to resident Robert Kent, who often writes about city issues via email to neighborhood trustees around Creve Coeur as well as in Patch blogs from time to time.

Glantz told Patch that he didn't get any specific information about the project, "except for the developer's desire to make it a premier retail destination," Glantz wrote in an email.
  
"I thought it quite important to listen and learn, and communicate clearly (and early in the process) that any proposed development in St. Louis County (but touching our northern border) will have a significant impact on Creve Coeur - and we respectfully request / expect to be involved in the process," Glantz said.  

The Devereux Company and NAI/Desco have put two offers on the table for approximately 250 homeowners in the subdivision, with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporting that the latest one is 60 percent above appraised value of each home and $20,000 per homeowner to buy up common ground properties in the subdivision. The paper said there is a September 25 deadline for residents to accept.

Dan Devereux declined comment when reached Thursday morning.

The city of Creve Coeur has in the past identified the area of unincorporated St. Louis County north of the city's borders as a possible target for annexation, but no discussions have taken place, Glantz reiterated Wednesday.