Grant's View Article

Here's the article from the PD about the development. While all of you pray for land, the First Family is praying for an end to the road construction. The following work was going on simultaneously:

1. Resurfacing of Mackenzie Rd. up to Watson.
2. Major repairs closing River Des Peres Blvd.
3. Resurfacing of Watson from City Limits west to City of Marlborough.

These three major arterials surround the Mayor's neighborhood making for many sleepless nights and traffic headaches at the Mayor's mansion! This was in addition to the Shrewsbury MetroLink station construction and the very popular resurfacing project on I-44 at the RDP bridge. I'm all for progress, but sheesh! Bring on winter to end this.

Pray for Land or God Will Smite You!

This was circulating on the email yesterday among some alumni of Cor Jesu. By way of disclaimer, this was NOT sent out by the school:

I am sending this to any person that I think has a connection to Cor Jesu and might be interested in the recent developments with the property at Grant's Farm.
I spoke with Sr. Sheila today and she says that the contract that existed between Andrew Busch and the developers has now expired. In other words, we are back to Square One with the property. There are no binding anythings on anyone. At this point, Cor Jesu again has the possibility of persuading Andrew Busch to sell them up to 15 acres of land directly. Previously, the school was going to have to pay $500,000 an acre for the 3+ acres the developers were going to sell them. The developers would have paid "only" $250,000 per acre and would thus make a handy profit. All that is gone now. Sister is trying to reach Mr. Busch to see if he is now willing to sell directly to Cor Jesu.
Sister asks that everyone pray for success in this area. I think Sister did an outstanding job of acting in a Christian manner with all the commotion that happened earlier. As a result, no bridges were burned. She is also very happy that they did not enter into any of the lawsuits that were brought forward. In other words, Cor Jesu is still free of binding agreements with other groups and can act freely. Please pass this message on to any and all CJ supporters so that we all pray for success for the school, its students and families. It's urgent that we pray NOW, so please put the word out. Thanks!

Now I find it truly ridiculous that, even if there is actually power in prayer, that people would think PRAYING FOR LAND was OK in God's eyes. It's been a while since I called myself Catholic, but I think there was something in the teachings about rejection of material goods and worldly posessions. While I think "Acting in a Christian manner" looks good on paper, let's not forget that acting this way also brought us things like The Inquisition and the Crusades.

God just may not see the need for parking cars and girls running on a track next to Cor Jesu as a prayer worth answering.

Fair and Biased Coverage

Yesterday the Journal landed on my lawn and in addition to the Mayor's favorite Town Talk, there was a story with high praise for the new Loughborough Commons development at Hwy. 55. While a few residents were impressed at the produce selection, the article largely touted the new development as a big achievement, primarily with the help of the government officials.

There was merely a footnote of Steve Patterson's Urban Review blog as a dissenting voice about the project due to it's near total lack of pedestrian and bike-friendly connections. The Journal made it seem as if only Patterson was in opposition. What was not covered were the dozens of like-minded comments posted on his site.

In addition, he posted just today about how the reasons for the use of blight to take properties have not been fufilled. It's an interesting story to follow and I think one that could easily happen in the Affton area due to it's lack of adequate and local representation by citizens and government.

The Deal

Upon further investigation, I have found out that the proposed Villages at Grant's View development plan appears to be scrapped.

At the end of announcements at Cor Jesu Academy, the new principal relayed that there would be no 4 acres for Cor Jesu as originally planned in the deal with the developers. This was followed by the shrill shreiking of hundreds of teenage girls.

It would now appear that the developers never actually closed on the land and, for one reason or another, the entire deal is off. The girls at Cor Jesu were instructed to pray that the school can now have the opportunity to buy all the land they need directly from Andy Busch.

This now begs the question of whether or not the land will be for resale for any desperately needed new housiong stock. While I think Cor Jesu SHOULD benefit from the sale of the land, I think that the demand for new housing far outweighs the needs for 20 acres of a sprawling Catholic High School.

BREAKING NEWS: Cor Jesu Land Deal Goes Sour

So much for the power of prayer!

I have not got much information to share just yet, but I'm hearing reports that the 99 year land-lease deal orchestrated by former principal of Cor Jesu, Sr. Shiela, has fallen apart. The deal would have given the school 4 acres for expansion from the developers of the controversial Villages At Grant's View development on Gravois.

As you heard here first, the deal hinged on the fact that the developers would provide a signal at the entrance to the school. MoDot is strongly opposed to this idea as it would impede traffic flow significantly as it is too close to the signal at McNary Rd. This fact did not prevent Sr. Shiela from making a deal with the developers. My guess is that they cannot uphold their end of the bargain if MoDot prohibits construction of the light.

More as I am made aware.....