M Property Services

M Property Services, NorthSide Regeneration Challenging St. Louis City High School Students to Design Interactive Urban Park

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Deadline for team registration is Jan. 18, 2019

For the fifth straight year, St. Louis area developer Paul McKee, Jr. of M Property Services, LLC (MPS), along with NorthSide Regeneration, is challenging St. Louis City high school students to an urban design challenge.

For the 2019 challenge, students will explore the conceptual design of an interactive urban park within NorthSide Regeneration – an urban, mixed-use community being developed by McKee that encompasses over 1,500 acres in North St. Louis City. Utilizing the existing city street network and the designated park area within the development’s proposed Innovation District and HealthWorks Village, students will be challenged to design a park that incorporates landscape features, amenities, attractions and structures suitable for creating a branded experience and regional attraction. The main element of the design must include a passive solar concession building, park elements and several varieties of sundials.

“We believe it is important to expose more youth to the fields of architecture, engineering and construction through involvement in our city-wide, high school Project Design Challenge,” said McKee. “Year after year, the students surpass our expectations, coming up with innovative ideas and uses for new products and technology in their plans. We would love to see more teams participate.”

The design challenge is open to any student attending high school within St. Louis City, including public, charter, private and parochial schools. Teams, which can include up to six students, are required to register for the challenge by Jan. 18, 2019. MPS will try to assign a mentor to each team/teacher – a professional in the field of architecture or engineering who will help guide them through the creative and design process.

Participating teams will be required to submit a project description between 300-500 words explaining their design theory and solution by the April 5, 2019 submission deadline. Each team must also submit no more than three poster boards showing an aerial location for the park, a site plan, enlarged details/and or elevations and an optional perspective drawing. A 3-D model of each team’s design will also be required.

On April 13, 2019, each team will orally present their project, then answer questions to a jury which will be comprised of individuals in the architecture and engineering fields, plus neighborhood liaisons and representatives of NorthSide Regeneration.

The jury will choose Gold, Silver and Bronze winners, with all other teams earning an Honorable Mention. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on April 29, 2019 at the Engineers’ Club of St. Louis.

The challenge is coordinated each year by Karen Bahr, Executive Assistant at M Property Services. Over the past five years, approximately 285 students from 55 teams representing nine schools (including CCC, Roosevelt, St. Mary’s, Metro, Gateway, McKinley, Vashon, Cleveland and Carnahan) and 34 mentors have participated in the Project Design Challenge. Past challenges have included, “Planning for the Autonomous Vehicle”, “Neighborhood Entry Marker”, “Urban Park”, “Neighborhood Streetscape” and “Parking Lot of the 21st Century”.

For more information about the design challenge, contact Karen Bahr at 636-561-9337 or email KBahr@mps-stl.com.

Founded in 1990, M Property Services, LLC (MPS) is a full-service real estate development, property management and brokerage firm based in O’Fallon, MO. At the core of every MPS development is the concept of LifeWorks® – the creation of master-planned environments that are attuned to the needs and aspirations of the total person, providing opportunities for individuals to live, learn, work, play and pray. For more information about M Property Services, visit www.mps-stl.com or call 636-561-9300.

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M Property Services, NorthSide Regeneration Provide Land to North St. Louis City Food Pantry for Community Garden

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St. John Missionary Baptist Church’s (MBC) House of Hope food pantry, located in one of North St. Louis City’s most impoverished zip codes, provides much-needed food to approximately 517 families, plus a local daycare, high school and men’s shelter. Through the generosity of M Property Services Chairman Paul McKee and his wife Midge, the food pantry provides fresh vegetables grown on three vacant lots that McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration development is leasing to the church for just $1 per year.

“Mr. McKee has been an advocate of our food pantry since its founding in 2016 when he first leased us land, then last week when he offered us another lot to further expand our community garden,” said House of Hope Operations Manager Andrea Carson. “He realizes that the people in this community are very impoverished and he wants to help. His efforts to improve their quality of life by letting us use that ground next to our church for our garden is greatly appreciated, and we are looking forward to future projects with Mr. McKee and NorthSide Regeneration.”

Vegetables grown on the land include tomatoes, lettuce, turnip greens, squash, kale, okra, cabbage, peppers, melons, collard greens and asparagus. The garden is managed by Deacon Willie Boykin and his crew of volunteers. Residents also participate in the community garden by purchasing garden beds from the church. Gardeners pay $15 for a patch of land, seeds and plants for a garden, which they must maintain, and in return they give the food pantry 10 percent of whatever they produce, and they get to keep the rest.

The church also teaches participating youth about the different vegetables, how to garden, cook recipes and eat a healthy diet. On Wednesdays, residents are invited to “shop” for free at the food pantry for homegrown vegetables from the garden and canned goods, meats, dry goods and toiletries donated by Whole Foods, St. Louis Area Foodbank, Operation Food Search and others.

“Community gardens are a sign of hope for a neighborhood, plus they are the perfect place for folks to gather and work together to grow healthy food that they need,” said McKee. “The church and its food pantry should be commended for their efforts and resourcefulness. NorthSide Regeneration is proud to be a part of their efforts.”

Since its founding, the food pantry has provided enough food to prepare more than 600,000 meals. For more information about the House of Hope food pantry, contact Andrea Carson atcdrea55@gmail.com or 314-616-4717.

About M Property Services

Founded in 1990, M Property Services, LLC (MPS) is a full-service real estate development, property management and brokerage firm based in O’Fallon, MO. At the core of every MPS development is the concept of LifeWorks® – the creation of master-planned environments that are attuned to the needs and aspirations of the total person, providing opportunities for individuals to live, learn, work, play and pray. For more information about M Property Services, visit www.mps-stl.com or call 636-561-9300.

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M Property Services, NorthSide Regeneration Challenge

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St. Louis City High School Students to Design for Autonomous Vehicle

For the past five years, M Property Services, LLC, along with NorthSide Regeneration, has sponsored a Project Design Challenge to expose St. Louis area youth to the fields of architecture, engineering, urban planning and construction. In 2018, high school students from public, private and charter schools throughout St. Louis City were challenged with “Planning for the Autonomous Vehicle in NorthSide Regeneration.”

NorthSide Regeneration is an urban, mixed-use community being developed by M Property Services that encompasses over 1,500 acres in North St. Louis City.

The challenge began in January with each team assigned a mentor – a professional in the field of architecture or engineering who would help guide them through the creative and design process. The deadline for project submissions was April 13.

On April 21, all teams were given 25 minutes to orally present their project, then answer questions to a six-person jury, which included Don Koster, Senior Lecturer at Washington University and Design Practice Leader at Arcturis; Paul Whitson, Regional Leader of Healthcare at HOK; St. Louis City Alderwoman Marlene Davis, Ward 19; Darryl Piggee, attorney at Stone, Leyton & Gershman, P.C.; William Laskowsky, Chief Development Officer at M Property Services; and Paul McKee, Chairman at M Property Services and owner of NorthSide Regeneration.

“We are so proud of the efforts that all of the students put forth in this year’s challenge. Many times, students surpass our expectations, even introducing the professionals to products that they were not aware of and designs that are innovative and unexpected. This year was no exception,” said Laskowsky.

The jury deliberated and chose Gold, Silver and Bronze winners, with all other teams earning an Honorable Mention. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony on April 30 at the Engineers’ Club of St. Louis.Six-time Olympic medalist and East St. Louis native Jackie Joyner-Kersee presented the awards. Dr. Elizabeth Bender, Associate Superintendent of College and Career Readiness at St. Louis Public Schools, was the speaker for the evening.

2018 Project Design Award Winners and Honorable Mentions:

  • Gold – McKinley Classical Leadership Academy (teacher: Matthew Rosado, mentors: Amy Phillips and Decorda McGee)
  • Silver – St. Mary’s High School
  • Bronze – Gateway STEM High School
  • Honorable Mentions – Vashon High School and four teams from St. Mary’s High School

The challenge is coordinated each year by Karen Bahr, Executive Assistant at M Property Services. Over the past five years, approximately 285 students from 55 teams representing nine schools (CCC, Roosevelt, St. Mary’s, Metro, Gateway, McKinley, Vashon, Cleveland and Carnahan) and 34 mentors have participated in the Project Design Challenge. Past challenges include, “Neighborhood Entry Marker”, “Urban Park”, “Neighborhood Streetscape” and “Parking Lot of the 21st Century”.

Founded in 1990, M Property Services, LLC (MPS) is a full-service real estate development, property management and brokerage firm based in O’Fallon, MO. At the core of every MPS development is the concept of LifeWorks® – the creation of master-planned environments that are attuned to the needs and aspirations of the total person, providing opportunities for individuals to live, learn, work, play and pray. For more information about M Property Services, visit www.mps-stl.com. 

Photo by M Property Services. Six-time Olympic medalist and East St. Louis native Jackie Joyner-Kersee (far right) poses with the Gold Medal team from McKinley Classical Leadership Academy.

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