A Midtown St. Louis landmark may soon be coming down.

Developer Rick Yackey plans to demolish the distinctive flying-saucer-shaped Del Taco at N. Grand and Forest Park Parkway, near St. Louis University, and replace it with new retail buildings, a city development official said Tuesday.

The St. Louis Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority approved a blighting and redevelopment plan for the building, which was built to be a Phillips 66 gas station. The plan, said LCRA staffer Dale Ruthsatz, is to knock down the Del Taco replace it with a more pedestrian-oriented retail building of 3,500 to 7,000 square feet.

"This is sort of a pivotal piece of property between the two campuses of SLU," Ruthsatz said.

Yackey and partners own the site and has been redeveloping several other buildings on that corner, including the 27-story Council Tower apartment building. He did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday afternoon.

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