Developers have approached his family at least three times about buying his three-story, 12,000-square-foot building. It was even under contract seven years ago, just before the Great Recession hit.

Still, his eyes glimmered a little at the prospect. “It would be great for us if it went through,” he admitted.

John Sweet, who runs a small foundation headquartered in a LEED platinum rehab with a roof garden, solar panels and a windmill, has waited years for something to happen. Now and then, someone comes up with a proposal. “And you get your hopes up,” he said. “But none of them ever really include me.”

Still, no one argues the area needs something.

Jennifer Chaffin, 41, of Creve Coeur, was out with a friend on the trail this summer. “This looks kind of desolate,” she said as she made her way around one bend. The seclusion made her nervous. “There’s not even parking.”

Benches would be nice, she suggested. Maybe some grass, food trucks, ice cream?

And certainly, she said, a better view of the river.

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