Daily Dose of Blairmont 195

• 2811 Parnell Avenue (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006)

October 2008

Blairmont may be a little optimistic on this one; finding a productive, neighborhood-friendly use for such a building may be a challenge. It could, obviously, serve as a gas station and convenience store; however, it seems unlikely that Blairmont would want to put such an anti-pedestrian use in the neighborhood, even here on the fringes.

But the diminutive building is hardly up the challenge of holding and defining the massively overscaled intersection of Parnell and St. Louis Avenue. I wonder if perhaps they've actually considered tearing this one down. Combining this corner lot with all the empty, under-utilized land behind it would create a truly spectacular opportunity -- the chance to rebuild an urban corner from the ground up. A three- or four-story apartment building, or an entire series of them, would not be inappropriate. Hundreds of income-generating dwelling units could occupy this land!

Links:

• 2811 Parnell at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?