Proposed Road Would Run Through Deer Creek Center

Some early options for the South County Connector would run a road through the and appear to border

Officials from the St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic presented five proposed routes during two public hearings last week. Four of those proposals drop roads on top of Deer Creek Center. David Wrone, a spokesman for the county traffic department, said the project is still in an early phase.

“We're not suggesting that any one of these five will ultimately be selected,” he said in a previous Patch article. “At this point, we want to get the public involved, get their feedback, and by the end of this year we will narrow this list of five down to two or three.”

The five routes take different paths through a study area that includes parts of Maplewood, Webster Groves, Shrewsbury and the southern and southwestern portions of St. Louis.

The Maplewood business community has been quiet about the project because the county lacks funding and no official plans have been drawn, said Jeannine Beck, executive director of the .

"I think people are a little hesitant," Beck said. "If it happens, it won't happen for a very long time."

Developer John Ross took a similar tack. He is one of the owners of Summit Deer Creek Investors LLC, which owns the Deer Creek Center property that formerly housed a .

"They've talked about it on and off for what, twenty years," he said. "They don't have the money for it."

Ross said the property is being redeveloped and that his company is trying to obtain a tenant, but he wouldn't elaborate on his plans.

The company owns about $6.6 million of property in this area, according to preliminary appraisal figures listed on the county revenue website.

An idea to improve connection from the south of St. Louis County to its center has existed since the late 1950s, according to the connector project's website. looks at the environmental and social impacts of the connector and should be finished by 2013.

Wrone said people should think of the connector as more of a boulevard, similar Forest Park Parkway, than a highway. Construction could begin five to 10 years after funding is secured.