South Grand Projects

South Grand is added to Native Gardens of Excellence Program!

Grand-Rain-Gardens South Grand has been added to the Grow Native! Native Gardens of Excellence program, which features native landscaping styles in the lower Midwest.

It was added along with Main Street Garden in St. Charles, and three other new sites in Kansas and Arkansas, These join the 15 sites in Missouri and Illinois that were inducted into the program when it launched in 2021.

South Grand Business District native gardens includes plantings along 6.5 city blocks between Arsenal and Utah Street. Located in a busy and dense metropolitan area, the site demonstrates how native plants can be utilized effectively in an urban environment, helping to filter pollutants and capture stormwater while also providing habitat for wildlife.

“The Grow Native! Native Gardens of Excellence program features plantings of native plants in designed, well-maintained gardens and in other native landscape plantings in the lower Midwest,” said Carol Davit, executive director of the Missouri Prairie Foundation and its Grow Native! program. “We are pleased to showcase these outstanding native gardens to inspire greater use of native plants, which provide many benefits to wildlife and people.”

Ritz Park

The South Grand Pocket Park named the Ritz Park (located at 3147-3151 South Grand Blvd.) after the former Ritz Theatre which stood in the location, was constructed in the Spring of 2014 as a part of the South Grand Community Improvement District to create placemaking. The Pocket Park is a place for visitors, residents, and employees along the South Grand corridor to relax with friends and/or attend events that will be hosted by the business district such as movie, concerts, markets, and festivals. The pocket park adds value to the business district as well to the neighborhood. If you are interested to rent out the Ritz Park please fill out this form and return to rachel@southgrand.org.

South Grand: The City of St. Louis’ First Green Dining District

South Grand’s Green Dining District offers a stunning array of plant-based foods, encouraging diners to choose delicious plant-based alternatives to resource-intensive meat products.

South Grand’s commitment to sustainability goes beyond restaurant greening, especially when it comes to protecting our watershed. The district has permeable pavement, 14 rain gardens, 32 rainscaping locations, and educational signage about watersheds throughout the strip. Learn more about South Grand’s Green Dining District here. Click here to learn more.

South Grand Parking Lot

South-Grand-Parking_2_300x300 The South Grand Parking lot is located at 3500 Hartford. It is FREE and 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Offering 95 extra spaces for South Grand visitors, the lot is also equipped with electric and water hookups for use as an event space. The lot is accessible directly from Grand thru Hartford.

Rain Gardens

Grand-Rain-Gardens_300x225 A rain garden is a depressed basin that captures and soaks up stormwater that runs off a roof, driveway, or other hard surfaces. The 14 rain gardens on South Grand may look like typical flower gardens but they are natural systems designed to treat stormwater.

The plants in these rain gardens are native to Missouri and evolved with its climate over a long period of time. They adapted to living in wet and dry conditions.

There are six walking tour signs throughout the district explaining how the 14 rain gardens are helping with capturing stormwater. Please take the time to explore our six blocks or click below to view the six walking tour signs. You can view the six signs by clicking on the links below:

Sign 1: Cleaner and Greener Streets
Sign 2: Everyone Lives in a Watershed
Sign 3: Drains to Streams
Sign 4: Stormwater Deserves a Treat
Sign 5: Grand Rain Gardens: Beautiful and Beneficial
Sign 6: Keep Streams Clean

Partners whose Financial and in-kind support has made the project possible: