Mixed-use Redevelopment Project Proposals for Alton
The following proposals were produced by teams of students in the Fall 2020 Metropolitan Development seminar at the Sam Fox School. Teams were asked to choose between a selection of preselected sites in Alton, Illinois and create an early-stage development proposal for a mixed-use project on the site. In addition to mixing two uses, the teams were given guidelines for the content that must be covered, assumptions and a simplified approach to the complex possibilities of potential subsidies.
Alton has provided an especially rich opportunity for this exercise. The city has fascinating urban fabric replete with rich history, culture, community, and underrecognized potential. It is also a challenging development environment still reeling from deindustrialization and population decline. The student teams were not expected to fully solve all the problems faced by development for their sites, but instead apply what they have learned in class to propose creative solutions they believe to be most suited for their sites while grappling as best they could with the realistic constraints of the local market and real estate finance as it stands.
As a class we hope all these proposals will inspire and inform the ongoing discussions about redevelopment and revitalization in Alton. These proposals are just scratching the surface of the potential for each site and should be understood as early-stage analysis – this was not a studio class and the projects are only a part of a class that covers a wide range of material around urban development. Please feel free to contact us via itrivers@wustl.edu if you would like to discuss any of the proposals. We look forward to your feedback!
We also want to thank all the community members and leaders who have helped inform these projects. A special thanks in goes out to Penelope Schmidt, who’s insights and help in bringing Alton to the class during a remote semester has been invaluable.
Group 1
Group 3
Group 2
