City Officials: Delmar Gardens Proposal For Ladue Road Is Coming

For more than a year, representatives with Delmar Gardens have dropped suggestions in local media that the skilled nursing firm would submit a proposal for the 28 acres it owns just west of Interstate 270 on Ladue Road.

Thursday night, Creve Coeur Ward 3 City Councilmembers Bob Hoffman and Charlotte D'Alfonso told approximately 22 residents gathered for a previously scheduled Ward Town Hall meeting at the that city staff had been contacted about a proposal. D'Alfonso told the audience that the firm would turn in a plan next week. City Administrator Mark Perkins, seated nearby, said it would be "soon. I don't know it would be next week."

, which would complete the now-defunct residential project once planned for the site years ago by a former property owner, adding a residential care component.

The first mention of submitting a new proposal came in the spring of 2011, but nothing was ever brought before city planners.

It came up again earlier this spring, in another report which suggested the company would submit a plan in April after municipal elections. Just a few weeks ago, Grossberg told Patch it was a week or two away. Grossberg has not returned several messages seeking updates on the project, including one late Thursday night following the revelation from city officials.

Thursday night, residents peppered the council members, City Administrator Perkins and Creve Coeur Mayor Barry Glantz with questions about how the process would work. It would begin with analysis from, before going in front of the the Planning and Zoning commission for a public hearing before possibly going to city council.

Some in the audience Thursday had fought a previous Delmar Gardens proposal. which ultimately failed to get past the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The council members repeated their previously stated promise not to meet with developers without city staff present.  Mayor Glantz repeated his stated position in favor of current zoning for the area (1 acre for 1 home).

Also at play is a review of the city's comprehensive plan. Delmar Gardens late last year asked city staff to consider a potential for development as planners reconsidered an update to the plan, which as the name suggests, helps guide zoning decisions around the city. Perkins said Thursday that this review could be started by late August and would take a few months to complete.

All of the discussion is still elementary speculation, until a proposal is submitted.

"We can't evaluate anything until we actually have it our hands, and we don't," Perkins said. "So when we have it, we'll know we have an application. But, until then, its just hard to say."

One sign to watch out for: a literal PUBLIC NOTICE sign, which would be placed on the property once a request for action is put before the city, like any other project.

What do you think should happen to this property? Tell us in the comment section.