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Gateway Arch design team to refine plan

The design team selected to reconfigure the 91 acres surrounding the Gateway Arch is refining their concept. The team is expected to present a more detailed plan next month.

A design jury selected the concept created by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates in late September.

Now the MVVA team has 90 days to refine that vision and create a more detailed plan to present to the public early next year.

Tom Bradley is the Superintendent of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which includes the Arch and its grounds.

He said while the public may already be familiar with a general plan proposed by the MVVA team, a final plan will be unveiled in January.

"Bear in mind this was a concept for a jury, as best they could come up with one. So of course there's been some things that were added and subtracted in big terms,” said Bradley. “There's a lot of flux going on. I think what you'll see going down the road will be somewhat different then what they proposed in September."

Walter Metcalf is a member of the City Arch River Foundation. He said the initial concept was a starting point but the team still has a lot of issues to resolve. For example, “all the connections on the edges of the Arch and the east bank," said Metcalf.

Metcalf said the team has been getting input from a wide range of interested parties. "They've met with the other cultural institutions as a group, they've met with land owners, they're meeting with the city heads."

Features of the MVVA plan include removing the parking garage, placing a cap over I-70 and developing green space on the east bank of the Mississippi River.

Neither Bradley nor Metcalf would speculate on the cost of the project. The Arch redesign is scheduled to be complete in 2015.