Thrift Shop To Occupy Former Walgreens Site

New tenant comes roughly a year after a controversial proposal that would have led to a Chick-fil-A franchise failed.

After sitting vacant for more than a year, the former Walgreens pharmacy, which closed when a new one opened next door last spring, will be getting a new tenant before the end of the year. According to Peter Sheahan with Nai Desco, the commercial realtor for the property, a deal for a Red Racks Thrift Store came together within the last month. Red Racks proceeds benefit Disabled American Veterans. Sheahan said some work needs to be done on the building but that the store could open by the end of 2012. The Creve Coeur location is already being highlighted on Red Racks' website. In St. Louis, Creve Coeur would join a new location in Ballwin on Manchester Road and a store already open in Affton. The property was the subject of residential …

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Chick-Fil-A and Gay Marriage: Do You Support the Chain's Stance?

Even if you disagree, do you agree the company has a right to take a stand? Will you still "eat mor chikin"?

The nationwide media storm over the anti-gay-marriage stance by the president of Chick-fil-A came home to roost in the St. Louis area last week as local stores saw record traffic and huge crowds. Most of the visitors said they supported the stance taken by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy in the Biblical Recorder on gay marriage. Later, in an interview on the topic, Cathy said: "As it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than You as to what constitutes a marriage.'" On Wednesday, a day conservative commentators dedicated toward showing support for Chick-fil-A, crowds gathered at the restaurant in the Chesterfield Valley and in Arnold. The …

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Developer Pulls Request For Drive Thru Zoning Amendment

A text amendment would have been required for a proposed Chick-fil-A development to move forward.

For now, the debate over a Chick-fil-A in Creve Coeur is a moot point. Hours before a text amendment to city statutes which received a negative recommendation by Planning and Zoning Commission members last week was to be considered by Creve Coeur City Council Monday night, the developer who requested the change asked that it be withdrawn. The developer, Bill Biermann, did not return an email seeking comment late Monday afternoon. Biermann had proposed a commercial development on the site of the former Walgreens on Olive Boulevard that would have included a drive thru Chick-fil-A and a bank. Residents opposed the plan because of traffic concerns and because it called for the development on less than three acres as described by current city …

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The Week Ahead In Creve Coeur

The Week Ahead: Fast Food Restaurants, Deer and School Boundaries

A look at some of what will be covered this week on Creve Coeur Patch.

It will be another busy week in Creve Coeur and we'll be here to chronicle it all. There's a lot to tell you about events going on just on Monday night alone: And this is all just on Monday. Keep on coming back to see what's in store for the rest of the week.

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Planning and Zoning Members Recommend Against Drive Thru Rule Change

Residents and attorneys turn out in Creve Coeur Monday to speak against the proposed text amendment.

Developers of a proposed Chick-fil-A restaurant in Creve Coeur were dealt a setback Monday night, as the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 against language which would allow drive thru restaurants on smaller parcels of land in the city. The vote came after more than a dozen members of the public spoke in opposition of the text amendment to city code. The developer, Bill Biermann, requested the change, which would lower the acreage threshold for drive thru restaurants from 3 to 1. It also would mandate that a drive thru could not be located less than a half mile from existing drive thru restaurant. In his testimony Monday, Biermann acknowledged that the change may not be an "ideal standard", but he said existing rules make it "…

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Drive Thru Restaurants Will Be Subject Of Monday Night Creve Coeur Public Hearing

A text amendment to city zoning regulations related to a proposed Chick-fil-A is the subject of a petition campaign.

Creve Coeur's Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing Monday night to consider feedback as part of a developer's request to change city codes to lower the acreage threshold for fast food restaurants in the city. The change, in the form of a text amendment, would allow drive thru restaurants on not less than one acre of land, and a distance of not less than a half mile. Current code calls for three acres of property, with no mention of a restaurant's distance from other restaurants. The developer requesting the change has a proposal for a Chick-fil-A restaurant and a bank to be located on 1.9 acres at the former Walgreens property on Olive Boulevard at Graeser and Dautel. Debbie Cole has lived nearby on Graeser Acres for …

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Creve Coeur Public Hearing Called Over Possible Drive-Thru Restaurant

A developer has proposed changing city code to allow for drive-thru restaurants under different conditions.

Almost two months after backers of a new Chick-fil-A restaurant said it was possible that they could approach the city lawmakers with a proposed amendment for rules regarding drive-thru restaurants in Creve Coeur, a public hearing on the matter has been scheduled for September 19. Current codes do not allow for restaurants to provide drive-thru service on less than three acres of property. Under an informal site plan shared with area residents in June, a developer would locate a restaurant with drive thru service and a bank on just under 3 acres of land at the intersection of Olive and Graeser. The property has been vacant since May, when Walgreens relocated to a new store across the street. In a public notice first posted Monday afternoon…

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TransducerX

3:34 pm on Wednesday, September 14, 2011

While the current code is slightly ridiculous (typical Creve Coeur 'not in my back yard'-ism), I do have to agree that this parcel of land is undersized if indeed there is to be (another?!) bank on premises as well as the Chik-fil-a. But Chik-fil-a needs to be assessable from the east without customers having to deal with the gauntlet that Olive traffic west of Schulte during mealtimes. Ditch the…   more ›

Attorney Speaks Out Against Possible Restaurant Proposal

Chick-Fil-A is exploring a plan to add a location on the former Walgreens property.

In the main hallway at the Creve Coeur government center, there are pictures highlighting the city's past. Photos show how parts of the area looked as early as the 1800s. One of those photos depicts the Wehmueller home as it appeared during those times, near what is still Olive Boulevard.  Today, the home remains there, in unincorporated St. Louis County, within shouting distance of the former Walgreens drugstore, which moved down the street earlier this year. Monday night, an attorney representing Bob and Pam Wehmueller left Creve Coeur Planning and Zoning Commission members with another vision. James Heffner painted a picture of concern over how a proposed Chick-fil-A restaurant would impact their family's property and the safety of the …

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Council Mulls Smoking Shelters

Proposed amendment to smoking ban prompted a mixed reaction from the Creve Coeur City Council.

Members of the Creve Coeur City Council broached the idea of "smoking shelters" on Monday, facilities that could provide a haven for smokers in a city with a strict public smoking ban. An ordinance earlier this year went into effect that extends a public smoking ban beyond regulations enacted throughout St. Louis County. That includes a smoking ban in bars and nursing homes. City Administrator Mark Perkins asked the council members whether they would be open to the idea of amending that ordinance to allow for "smoking shelters," structures placed outside of buildings that could protect smokers from the elements. “We have an existing office building that has a smoking hut, and we have not taken any enforcement,” Perkins said. “We would like…

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Stop! Go! Creve Coeur Pedestrian Lights Are Up On Olive Project

Construction work on the Olive Blvd./Graeser Transportation Development District could wrap up next week.

Construction on the intersection on Olive Boulevard at Graeser Road and Dautel Lane is inching closer to completion. Thursday morning, the pedestrian traffic lights at the intersection were functional, all as part of a project which realigned the intersection and installed a traffic light in the area as part of Walgreens' move to a new location in Creve Coeur. Creve Coeur City Administrator Mark Perkins told city council members Monday that the pedestrian lights were going to be on by the end of this week, with the goal of finishing remaining work on a traffic median and other items by the end of next week, according to Pace Properties. While the traffic light has been functional since earlier this spring and the Walgreens opened last …

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