Mark Vanden Akker is running unopposed on April 7 for the Ward 3 city council seat being vacated by Shawn Faulkingham, who served on the council for more than 20 years.
Vanden Akker is an architect with the firm Tao+Lee. He’s currently working on agriculture technology, and he’s worked on a synagogue, restaurants, the Missouri Botanical Gardens project, Ball Park Village and the MLS stadium, he recently said in an interview.
He said he was told late in the filing process that Faulkingham wasn’t running again, and a few people asked if he would consider running. “Everyone always makes general asks, but when people ask me something specific, and say, ‘I think you’d be good at this’, my ears always perk up,” Vanden Akker said.
His wife is also an architect, at Washington University. They were married at Crossroads Presbyterian in 2013; they’ve been members since 2012. They have two daughters, both at MRH. They wanted to live in Maplewood because of their involvement with the Crossroads church. They’ve owned a house here for almost six years.
“We love the closeness of Maplewood to downtown and the uniqueness. I’ve constantly advocated for that connection to the urban that Maplewood has always had. Everyone loves how walkable it is,” he said. “Legitly our kids play on the street with neighbors without making phone calls, which feels straight out of the ’60s.”
He said he has a particular interest in affordable housing. “Maplewood used to be a ‘transit oriented development’ town, not that they called it that,” he said. A ‘transit oriented development’ town is a compact, walkable, mixed-use community centered around high-quality public transit hubs.
Vanden Akker has been on the planning and zoning commission for four years and as part of the subcommittee he’s helped write ordinances and worked on the comprehensive plan; “Putting in a little extra work more than the average commissioner,” he said, “I’ve enjoyed my time in that, I love Maplewood.”
“I know this about myself now, is that I’m willing to find the right point to ask a question maybe look at something from an inverted position and just kind of make sure that we’re going in the right way. I experience that in my job as well,” he said. “I know I have served Maplewood like that in planning and zoning, and hope to provide that perspective on council.”
You will do a great job Mark!! All best!! PL