Category: Historic Preservation

Categories
Historic Preservation North St. Louis Northside Regeneration Urban Assets LLC

North Side Aldermen Should Be Wary of Urban Assets

by Michael R. Allen

This magnificent house at 4200 Cook Avenue in the Vandeventer neighborhood attracts the awe of architectural enthusiast and neighborhood resident alike. Standing in the street and taking its photograph, several people commented to me that the house was a great one and hoped that I was there to buy it and repair it.

No dice, even if I wanted to. The house is owned by Urban Assets LLC, the new Harvey Noble-fronted holding company that is buying out north St. Louis. This is one of about 180 historic buildings that they have purchased since September 2008. Their purchase of the property is particularly disappointing because there once was a great plan to bring this house back to its former glory. All things pass, especially plans. Yet when the long-lived resources of a neighborhood pass, the chance for a sustainable future often goes with them.

The house dates to 1892, when Richardsonian Romanesque had architects under its sway. This house employs many Richardsonian tendencies, like the Roman arch window facing Cook Avenue, the bow-front facing Whittier Avenue and the snug fit into the urban lot. This is a splendid house that may very well disappear. Critics can retort that the house was already well on the way to disappearing, which is true, but they would miss the real problem: no one else will have the chance to pull the house back from the ravages of fate. No human presence will be found at this corner for an indefinite time — no eyes or ears directed at the street, no kindness directed at adjacent residents.

Th acquisition pattern of Urban Assets LLC is highly troubling from a preservation perspective, but the bigger threat is spreading the neighborhood social disintegration that the McEagle acquisitions accelerated into more densely populated parts of north St. Louis. If the problems that land banking entailed in JeffVanderLou and St. Louis Place are cause for alarm, the effect west of Grand Avenue could be much worse.

Aldermen whose wards are infected with Urban Assets’ property (1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 26th) need to find out who is behind the purchasing and take the steps needed to safeguard their neighborhoods. This city doesn’t need another Blairmont — and I don’t mean in terms of political hoopla, but actual deleterious effect on the city’s people. Aldermanic leadership now can head off a potential development problem.

Categories
Historic Preservation Missouri Missouri Legislature Public Policy

Historic Tax Credit Compromise Celebrated

by Michael R. Allen

Yesterday the Missouri Coalition for Historic Preservation and Economic Development sent a press release celebrating the legislative compromise reached in the Missouri Senate at the end of the session. The compromise language is included in an economic development omnibus bill awaiting signature by Governor Jay Nixon.

Here’s a summary of the compromise:

* A per-project residential cap of $1,000,000 in qualified rehabilitation expenditures (QREs) for owner occupied single family homes.

* A small project exemption for projects with $1.1 million in qualified rehabilitation expenditures (QREs) (these do not count toward a cap).

* $140 million cap on historic tax credits (existing projects do not fall under the cap).

* An effective date of January 1, 2010.

Categories
Historic Preservation North St. Louis Northside Regeneration O'Fallon Public Policy The Ville Urban Assets LLC Wells-Goodfellow

Private LRA in the Works Across North St. Louis?

by Michael R. Allen


The house shown here, located at 4448 Athlone Avenue in the O’Fallon neighborhood, is just one of the 225 vacant properties purchased by a holding company named Urban Assets LLC in the last six months. The spending spree has attracted the notice of neighborhood leaders and elected officials across north St. Louis. Urban Assets has purchased across a wide swath of north St. Louis, mostly between Delmar Boulevard on the south and Natural Bridge Avenue on the north — all of the way from Grand Avenue on the east to the city limits on the west.

Here is a crude map of the holdings made by this writer using Geo St. Louis:

The holdings are spread across nine wards and include 120 vacant lots and 85 buildings, mostly historic. The wards and number of properties are as follows: Ward 1 (7), Ward 3 (4), Ward 4 (64), Ward 5 (5), Ward 18 (39), Ward 19 (11), Ward 21 (4), Ward 22 (64) and Ward 26 (27).

There are distinct concentrations in the Ville and Greater Ville neighborhoods as well as the Wells-Goodfellow and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods. There are a handful, like 4448 Athlone, standing alone far from other holdings. Urban Assets began aggressively purchasing properties at Sheriff’s tax sales in September 2008. Most of the holdings come from tax sale purchasing, with prices often less than $2,000 at auctions with no other bidders.

This purchase pattern is reminiscent of the start of purchasing by McEagle holding companies like the infamous Blairmont Associates LC — and the same real estate broker is making the purchases for the parties behind the holding company.

On June 6, 2008, real estate broker Harvey Noble of Eagle Realty incorporated Urban Assets LLC online. The incorporation filing and the registered agent listing on the Secretary of State’s website misspell Noble’s name as “Nobel” and incorrectly state that the zip code for Noble’s office is 63102.

On the record with KWMU and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Paul J. McKee, Jr. denies any involvement with Urban Assets. Examining the acquisition patterns of Urban Assets, one sees that there is no overlap with the McEagle project and a few intense concentrations that suggest efforts to buy out other areas. Whoever is behind Urban Assets could very well soon be in competition with McEagle for the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act.

While Urban Assets seems to be buying whatever it can acquire in certain small areas, generally the company seems interested in vacant property in as much of north St. Louis as possible. The acquisitions almost seem like a private land bank like the city’s Land Reutilization Authority.

The only apparent incentive to this type of far-flung land banking, however, is the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit. In order to receive that credit, a developer must be appointed redeveloper by the Board of Aldermen. Redevelopment rights don’t necessarily mean that a developer will clear-cut a redevelopment area. Those rights fundamentally mean that a developer acts as gatekeeper for all investment within a redevelopment area — allowing some in and keeping others out.

Is Urban Assets seeking to become a gatekeeper for north St. Louis, or is their acquisition simply a land-banking scheme?

Categories
Historic Preservation JeffVanderLou North St. Louis Northside Regeneration Pruitt Igoe

The Urban Character of Eastern JeffVanderLou

by Michael R. Allen

Looking east toward the Pruitt-Igoe site on James Cool Papa Bell Avenue.

One of the characterizations often raised about the area of north St. Louis included in the McEagle project is that it is “urban prairie” where few houses remain. The area is marked by only a handful of historic buildings, vacant land, and people who are unseemly and whose eviction will only benefit the area. There are many vacant lots and houses (too many) and a few bad apples, but by and large the persistence of these neighborhoods is contrary to the word on the street. The worst parts happen to be very photogenic examples of disinvestment, but the best parts show resilience and an urban character impossible to recreate.

St. Louis Place and JeffVanderLou are amazingly rich with fine architecture, caring residents and many efforts at neighborhood improvement. These neighborhoods could use a boost — the bigger the better. However, that boost must complement what is already there.

Here are photographs of the rich architectural character of the part of JeffVanderLou just west of an admitted urban forest, the site of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project. These photographs show that historic preservation and sensitivity to existing residents must be part of the McEagle plan — there is critical mass here.

2713 and 2715 Mills Street

2834-42 Gamble Street


2820-34 Thomas Street

2700 Block of James Cool Papa Bell Avenue

2623 James Cool Papa Bell Avenue

2627-31 Madison Street

2626-28 Howard Street

2946 & 2950 Thomas Street

2703 and 2707 Stoddard Street

These houses date from 1870 through 1910, and span a wide stylistic range. There has not yet been a comprehensive architectural survey of the area, but a cursory examination shows much remaining building stock with strong significance. The building density in JeffVanderLou is higher than that of Old North St. Louis — there is tremendous opportunity for preservation-oriented development. Many individuals and the St. Louis Equity Fund have invested in historic buildings, but a lot of work remains. Listing as much of the neighborhood as possible on the National Register of Historic Places would help bring economic development incentives and recognition of the unique architecture that remains.

Of course, photographs only tell part of the story. In JeffVanderLou, one also can find the photographs that would prove an “urban prairie” theory. The truth is complex, and best experienced in person away from the manipulations of photographs and aerial plans. One will find a neighborhood — flawed, deprived, lively and urban. New investment must face this reality and work with it.

Categories
Historic Preservation Industrial Buildings North St. Louis

Old Chair Factory Stands in Path of New Bridge

by Michael R. Allen

The old Heller & Hoffman Chair Companies factory at the northeast corner of Howard and 8th streets will be demolished for the new Mississippi River Bridge. The bridge will claim these buildings and a few others, as well as the site of the “big mound.” Believe it or not, the bridge path has been significantly changed to make the path less invasive to the built environment. The Missouri and Illinois Departments of Transportation made these changes to keep costs down, not to save buildings, but the result is a net benefit to the North Broadway industrial corridor. Still, we will be losing a few solid historic buildings.

The city issued a building permit to Heller & Hoffmann Chair Company on September 14, 1881 for the purpose of building a four-story factory at 715 Howard Street. The company estimated the cost as $10,000. At the time, the neighborhood was a patchwork of tenements, corner saloons and growing industrial operations. One of the largest companies in the vicinity was the Luedinghaus wagon company located to the immediate north. The chair factory fit in well. Its mill method construction, plain brick walls and bays of wooden windows set in segmental arch openings were traits of many contemporary industrial buildings in the North Broadway area.

Heller & Hoffmann manufactured everything from stock dining room chairs to fancy upholstered parlor chairs, and their ware enjoyed some popularity at north side furniture stores. On October 3, 1894, the city issued another permit for “repair of a four story brick factory” with a cost estimate of $3,000. This permit apparently accounts for the interconnected northern building that is now two stories tall. The 1909 Sanborn fire insurance map indicates that both sections were four stories tall and in use by the Mound City Chair Company. The original corner building is labeled “putting together” and the northern building is labeled “varnishing and polishing.”

When the buildings lost their upper floors is uncertain. However, such alterations are very common in St. Louis industrial architecture, especially with mill method buildings. Many extant 19th century warehouses and factories along North Broadway has lost upper floors to fires in the days before our modern fire code.

Intact or not, the factory buildings stand right where the overhead ramps connecting the bridge to I-70 will be built. The neighbor to the north, M & L Frozen Foods, is already scouting sites for relocation. The old Heller & Hoffmann buildings are still in use, doing just fine with their current users, but their survival seems improbable. Could the bridge coexist with these buildings? Probably, but that takes a level of preservation planning (and small business promotion) that we don’t have in St. Louis.

Categories
Historic Preservation Missouri Missouri Legislature Public Policy

Missouri Senate Passes Economic Development Bill That Includes Historic Tax Credit Cap

by Michael R. Allen

Last night, after a long impasse, the Missouri Senate passed a Senate substitute to economic development bill HB 191. The bill reflects a legislative compromise reached on historic tax credits: the state’s first cap on the program.

HB 191 places a $140 million cap on the annual issuance of historic tax credits, but exempts projects with qualified rehabilitation costs of $1.1 million or less — the majority of projects — from counting toward the cap. The figures will not be indexed to rise with inflation. The new rules won’t go into effect until January 1, 2010. Honestly, I don’t think that these changes will make much of an impact on the program.

The compromise was made possible when Senator Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau), a staunch opponent of the program in the past, switched his position and began speaking in favor of the program on the Senate floor. Crowell and Senator Jeff Smith (D-St. Louis) worked with leadership and erstwhile historic tax credit foe Senator Brad Lager (R-Savannah) to forge an acceptable compromise. Without Crowell’s switch, a compromise may have been impossible.

The bill now heads to the House for final approval.

Categories
Historic Preservation Housing North St. Louis Northside Regeneration St. Louis Place

Front-Addition Houses Part of the St. Louis Place Legacy

by Michael R. Allen

Planner Mark Johnson from Civitas has had a major hand in developing McEagle’s plan for north St. Louis and western downtown. On Monday night at Central Baptist Church, Johnson used the phrase “legacy properties” to describe the historic buildings that McEagle is contemplating including in the project. I have no idea what criteria Johnson or McEagle has use to define “legacy property,” but when I heard that phrase I started thinking about houses like the one showed above at right, located at 2552 North Market Street in St. Louis Place. (The house at left, at 2548 North Market, is quite a looker itself — check out that entrance arch!)

Readers might recall last week’s post “Brick Thieves Return to St. Louis Place” that showed how a house at 2543 Maiden Lane was damaged by criminals earlier this month. That house is just east and south of the ones shown above. All are highly visible from Jefferson Avenue.

Why do I think that the modest house at 2552 North Market is so interesting? Well, the house is one of a few remaining frame houses that have brick front additions. If that doesn’t make sense, take a look at the rear of the house.

The rear is a one-story gabled frame home, with one room in front and a small addition at the back. This house dates to the 19th century. The front brick section, with one room on each of two floors, dates to a building permit issued on May 22, 1915. The cost of the addition was $500 to owner William Duerdick and his builder J. Scaumel. The result of the addition was a handsome, two-story brick front to match those of neighboring houses.

As St. Louis Place developed into a high-density, middle-class enclave, many early frame houses were absorbed into the emerging urban (brick) fabric through front additions. Simple frame houses could be concealed behind fronts as refined as those of any neighbors’ houses. A new look and more space arrived, while the usable original house was retained instead of being wrecked. What great architectural economy for growing families on a budget!

The 1909 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the footprint of the little frame house before expansion. That house is numbered 1, while the brick two-story house at 2548 North Market is numbered 2 and the flounder house at 2543 Maiden Lane is numbered 3. Frame is colored yellow, and brick is pink.

One can see that this area was not typified by any one form of house or method of construction. There are even a few vacant lots. Architectural diversity like this as historically common as the more regular patterns found in other parts of the city.

Lest I throw out my appreciation without offering any idea for how a developer like McEagle could reuse a quirky “legacy property,” I have a great example from another block in St. Louis Place. Here is the house at 1871 Madison Avenue, built first in the mid-19th century and given the brick front treatment in 1890. The style is different, but the form is the same.

The owners purchased this house from the Land Reutilization Authority, spent their own time and money on rehabilitation and ended up with a cozy homestead. The frame addition was in shambles, so they rebuilt it and finished it in earthen stucco. The roof on the frame section is a long-lasting metal roof, while the windows and doors are mostly recycled elements purchased at the ReStore and other places. A solar collector is on top of the flat roof of the brick front. Inside, the house makes great use of its small size with an open layout and a sleeping loft. The house uses stove heat in the winter, made possible by the small size.

While not historically accurate, the rehab of the house on Madison is inventive and green. The front-addition form is versatile and adds small-house options to the neighborhood for those who want to own a house but keep costs and house size down. the home on North Market Street is ripe for rehabilitation. The mansions of St. Louis Avenue tell one part of the St. Louis Place story, but that story is incomplete without the other parts. We can’t preserve everything that is left, but we should ensure that we preserve an architectural cross-section of a living, economically diverse neighborhood — so that we encourage that diversity to be part of the future as well as the past.

Categories
DALATC Historic Preservation Missouri Legislature Northside Regeneration Public Policy

Tax Credit Action in the State Legislature

by Michael R. Allen

Yesterday the Missouri House of Representatives passed the House Committee Substitute (HCS) to Senate Bill 377. Now included in the bill is a $150 million cap on the historic tax credit with a $250,000 (in credits issued) exemption and a $250,000 (in credits issued) per-project cap on residential rehabs. The $150 million cap might not have much impact with healthy “micro” exemptions like these. The question: Is this a good enough micro exemption to keep present level of tax credit activity going?

Meanwhile, Representative Tim Flook (R-Liberty) offered an amendment to the HCS for SB 377 that, among other things, changed the language of the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit (DALATC) to allow issuance of up to $20 million per year instead of the current $10 million. On the House floor, Rep. Flook stated that a group of representatives had met with developer Paul J. McKee, Jr. to see his plans for north St. Louis, and that those plans needed an extra boost during this session. Of course, McKee still has to be designated redeveloper by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen in order to apply for the DALATC. Since the DALATC credits must be spent on development within the project area, the higher issuance could mean more immediate development activity after McKee receives the credits.

Flook’s amendment passed.

Categories
Events Historic Preservation James Clemens House North St. Louis Northside Regeneration St. Louis Place

Lecture: The James Clemens House: Past, Present, Future

Volunteers for the Landmarks Association of St. Louis standing on the porch of the James Clemens, Jr. House in 1960.

“The James Clemens House, Past, Present and Future”
When: Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.
Where: Architecture St. Louis, 911 Washington Avenue #170

Join Michael Allen, Assistant Director of Landmarks Association, as he offers a look at one of the most significant endangered houses in St. Louis. Built in 1858 for James Clemens, Jr., the house at 1849 Cass Avenue is one of the few remaining antebellum mansions in the city. Later life included expansion of the house and use as a convent and several ministries. For the last decade, the fate of the vacant complex has been uncertain. Collapse of a chapel wall last year sent shock waves throughout the preservation community. Explore the fascinating history of this St. Louis landmark and discover what hope remains.

Lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested, please call 421-6474.

The lecture is part of Preservation Week, a week-long series of events centered on historic preservation. The full schedule is online here.

Categories
Chicago Historic Preservation Illinois Southern Illinois

Illinois’ Ten Most Endangered — And the Chicago Landmark Ordinance

by Michael R. Allen

Landmarks Illinois has released its ten most endangered places list for 2009; the list and information about each site is online here. There are no sites in southwestern Illinois near St. Louis, although a few southern Illinois sites are included.

Here’s the full list:

1. Arcade Building (Riverside)
2. Archer House (Marshall)
3. Aurora Masonic Temple (Aurora)
4. Chautauqua Auditorium (Shelbyville)
5. Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern Depot (Moline)
6. Lewis Pharmacy Interior (Canton)
7. Michael Reese Hospital Campus (Chicago)
8. Porthole Barns of Greene County
9. Prentice Women’s Hospital (Chicago)
10. Shawneetown Bank (Old Shawneetown)

A special eleventh spot is included for the Chicago Landmark Ordinance. On January 31, an appellate court ruled that the criteria for landmark designation under the ordinance was vague and sent the ordinance to trial court for review. The outcome of that review could nullify the ordinance, removing legal protection for 277 landmark sites and 51 historic districts designated under the powers of that ordinance.