Category: North St. Louis

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JeffVanderLou North St. Louis Northside Regeneration Old North St. Louis Place

Facts About Paul McKee’s North Side Properties

State Representatives Jeanette Oxford and Jamilah Nasheed and Alderwomen April Ford-Griffin and Marlene Davis distributed a version of this document at a press conference on August 16, 2007.

What we know about the Blairmont companies

Paul J. McKee, Jr., is a developer who is chairman of McEagle Properties LLC (636-561-9300), a company specializing in large-scale planned mix-use developments, including Winghaven in St. Charles County. McEagle has never undertaken a project in the city of St. Louis. McKee is also vice chairman of BJC Healthcare, board member of Enterprise Bank & Trust Company and a board member of the National Privatization Council.[1]

The first of McKee’s north side holding companies was incorporated in June 2002. Ten separate companies acquiring property in the Near North Side have been traced to McKee: Blairmont Associates LC, VHS Partners LLC, Sheridan Place LC, N&G Ventures LC, Noble Development Company LLC, MLK 3000 LLC, Allston Alliance LC, Dodier Investors LLC, Babcock Resources LC and Path Enterprise Company LLC.[2] McKee’s companies are represented by Eagle Realty Company (314-421-1111).

An unprecedented scale of acquisitions

Purchases began in June 2003 and continue to this day.[3] The total number of parcels in north St. Louis owned by these companies was 662 at the end of June 2007.[4] The companies own property on over 150 different blocks.

The holding companies has purchased land from private individuals and churches as well as the Board of Education. His companies have not purchased land from the city government. Early purchases consisted largely of vacant properties, but most purchases since 2006 have involved occupied houses. In February 2007 McKee stated he was only interested in acquiring “abandoned buildings in the unpopulated areas of north St. Louis.”[5] Since that statement, he has continued to purchase occupied buildings.

Neighborhoods affected include all of Old North St. Louis, all of St. Louis Place and most of JeffVanderLou. The project includes most of the 5th Ward, a significant section of the 19th Ward and a small number of scattered parcels in the 3rd and 6th wards of the city of St. Louis. The project lies within the 58th and 60th Missouri Legislative Districts as well as in the 5th Missouri Senatorial District.

The properties are located within the boundaries of three national historic districts (Murphy-Blair, Mullanphy, Clemens House-Columbia Brewery) and include properties that contribute to at least two potential historic districts.

A record of neglect

The holding companies only purchase vacant properties, insisting that tenants in occupied buildings be evicted prior to sales.

The holding companies have failed to maintain his properties, causing city government to spend over $260,000 since 2004 to maintain their properties (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the companies still owe $37,000 of this figure to the city).[6] These properties have been cited for hundreds of healthy and safety code violations, and one of his companies was even sued by the Building Division.[7] Many are located adjacent to rehabilitated or newly-constructed homes, and homeowners have repeatedly complained about adverse affects. In some cases, Blairmont owns one or two vacant properties on blocks that are full of occupied buildings or near elementary schools (Ames and Columbia).

A record of secrecy

McKee’s companies have yet to release plans, concepts or ideas about any planned development to the public, or to the aldermen who represent the affected area. While surrounding his plans with secrecy, he is asking for one of the largest tax credits in Missouri history to subsidize continued purchases. After residents of north St. Louis uncovered McKee’s identity, he issued a public statement saying that he was “surprised that citizens wanted to broadcast who was behind the acquisitions” that have damaged their communities.[8] Despite recent attention, Paul McKee still refuses to directly answer questions from the press and elected officials about his plans.

Impediment to development

The holding companies tie up an inventory of neglected historic buildings that they are unwilling to sell to interested potential homeowners. Holdings are often located adjacent to properties that are being renovated. Significant rehabilitation work is underway in Old North St. Louis and St. Louis Place in particular, where remaining buildings are difficult to find for future home and business owners. Properties owned by McKee are preventing people from investing in the future of these areas. Vacant properties generate minimal tax revenue and economic activity, while rehabbed buildings create immediate economic impact.

References

1. McEagle Properties website, http://www.mc-eagle.com/experience/people.asp

2. List of Blairmont Companies, http://www.eco-absence.org/blairmont/companies.htm

3. Land Record, Office of the Recorder of Deeds, City of St. Louis.

4. Michael Allen, “McKee’s Holdings Ready for Development,” http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2007/07/mckees-holdings-ready-for-development.html

5. Lisa Brown, “Evolution of the ‘CAVE man’,” St. Louis Business Journal, February 16, 2007.
6. Jake Wagman, “Developer pays city to ‘treat’ eyesores,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 2007.

7. Jake Wagman, “Manor with murky ties to Twain is a mess,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 24, 2005.

8. Lisa Brown, “Evolution of the ‘CAVE man’,” St. Louis Business Journal, February 16, 2007.

Categories
Events JeffVanderLou Missouri Legislature North St. Louis Northside Regeneration Old North St. Louis Place

Legislators Host Press Conference and Tour of Near North Side Neighborhoods

State Representatives Jeanette Mott-Oxford (D-59th) and Jamilah Nasheed (D-60th) are hosting a press conference and tour tomorrow, Thursday August 16, to showcase the how properties owned by developer Paul J. McKee, Jr. on the north side have created detrimental conditions within and served as an impediment to the ongoing development of the JeffVanderLou, St. Louis Place and Old North St. Louis neighborhoods.

This is your opportunity to hear from the persons who know this issue best, elected officials and residents of the 5th and 19th wards. Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin and Alderwoman Marlene Davis will be on hand to share information about the McKee properties and redevelopment efforts underway in their wards. The event starts at a tent at 2950 Montgomery at 10 a.m., where elected officials and residents will make statements. A bus tour of the wards begins at 10:30 a.m..

Here are directions to the meeting site: From I-44 or Highway 40, take the Grand exit and go north. From I-70, take the Grand exit and go south. Montgomery is one block south of St. Louis Avenue. Go east on Montgomery to the tent and bus at 2950. Call 314-775-8940 if you need further directions.

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Mullanphy Emigrant Home North St. Louis Old North People South St. Louis

Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden, Mullanphy Emigrant Home Efforts Moving Forward

by Michael R. Allen

Christian Herman announces a new blog covering fundraisers for the Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden, including the fun event held at Tin Can Tavern this past Saturday.

Meanwhile, some work has begun on the effort to rebuild the Mullanphy Emigrant Home. E.M. Harris Construction Company has performed stabilization and debris removal needed to prepare for reconstruction of the south foundation wall. The New Old North blog posted photos of work back on July 17. More work has taken place since then, and foundation work could start any day now. Look for further updates there and here.

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North St. Louis Northside Regeneration

How Useful is the Distressed Areas Tax Credit for the Rest of North St. Louis?

by Michael R. Allen

The western half of St. Louis Place suffered some of the most severe building loss of any city neighborhood within the last 50 years. While many houses and businesses survive, there are a few blocks there that provoke comments akin to Camilo Jose Vergara’s chilling statement in The New American Ghetto: “There is so much empty land that in some places the city seems to have ceased to exist.”

The extreme appearance of parts of St. Louis Place is jarring to people not accustomed to seeing urban decay in their daily lives. The preponderance of vacant land is frightening even to optimists. However, most struggling north side neighborhoods don’t look like that. From Hyde Park to the Ville, the more common pattern of north side decay comes in rampant abandonment of buildings, substandard conditions of many occupied units, gradual and scattered building loss and flimsy, quick-to-decay new construction. Even more important to consider is that most of north St. Louis has a population density greater than St. Louis Place.

How practical is the proposed Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit to most of north St. Louis? Not very much, it seems. The latest version of that tax credit act that will be considered in the state legislature’s upcoming veto session mandates developments of at least fifty acres. Fifty acres has proven difficult to assemble in even St. Louis Place. In areas with greater population density, use of the tax credit would be almost impossible and even less desirable than it is on the near north side. Take the Blairmont approach to a densely-populated distressed neighborhood in north St. Louis and the acquisition phase would be cultural annihilation.

North St. Louis is a large place with many different types of neighborhoods. There is no denying north city faces unique challenges, and that it’s high time that state government aid in the rebuilding of half of the state’s oldest big city. However, the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act is really only practical for the near north side where developer Paul J. McKee, Jr. wants to use it. In areas where vacant buildings and substandard housing are more common than frontier-like expanses of vacant land, land assemblage isn’t the most pressing development concern or the most appropriate strategy for renewal. We still have the chance to prevent the Ville or Wells-Goodfellow from looking like the southwest corner of St. Louis Place. We have the chance to use incentives to improve neighborhoods for current residents, not for potential developers. Surely a better incentive for renewal for north St. Louis could be devised.

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North St. Louis Northside Regeneration

Adding Up

by Michael R. Allen

In a recent post to his St. Louis Real Estate Law blog, attorney Greg Kelly offers an interesting idea for ensuring that Paul J. McKee, Jr. stops abusing city government’s ability to provide maintenance for his north side holdings. Writes Kelly:

Right now, the city adds a 10% premium to the final bill before sending it to the property owner. Simply increase that premium by 10% for each subsequent bill. At some point not too far down the line it will be come cost prohibitive to have the city maintain the property.

Categories
Media North St. Louis Northside Regeneration

Wagman Strikes at Paul McKee Again

Developer pays city to ‘treat’ eyesores – Jake Wagman (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30)

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

McKee to Rehab Clemens House?

by Michael R. Allen

A recent post on Urban St. Louis about the James Clemens House caught my attention:

A co-worker and I were out on the north side this morning and since he had his camera with him we decided to get some pics of the place. When we got there a man was walking around the property looking it over and talking on a cell phone. He asked who we were and said he was talking to the property owner who wanted to know who we were and why we were there. I took the phone and explained that we were just taking pictures. I asked if he really was the owner and he said that he was. I asked what he was planning to do with the place. He said he was going to rehab it. That he was accepting bids and that the work will begin in September.

Read more here.

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North St. Louis Preservation Board The Ville

Talking Past Each Other?

by Michael R. Allen

Here is the written part of my testimony to the Preservation Board concerning the “Doctor’s Building” at 4635 Martin Luther King Drive in The Ville, a contributing resources to the pending Wagoner Place Historic District. (Read more here.) The board denied a demolition permit for the building on appeal at its meeting on Monday. The pastor of the church that owns the building had earlier involved Elliot Davis’ brash “You Paid For It” show to broadcast his claim that by doing its job, the Cultural Resources Office is a waste of tax dollars. Davis’ report did not matter that the church’s wrecking contractor had started demolition without a permit.

Thankfully, with the offer of Alderman Sam Moore (D-4th) to swap land for the parking the pastor seeks, the demolition denial should cause no ruffled feathers. However, forging such a compromise at the very last minute seems like a difficult way to deal with situations like this. There must be a better way to make sure that city preservation laws are recognized by all citizens. The laws are not designed to be punitive, but to ensure that our shared architectural heritage is handled responsibly by present owners. Ignorance of the laws breeds polarization, not understanding. I can make testimony like this forever, but without the foundation of education on preservation as a cultural good, there will be a gap between me and property owners like the pastor. Rear-guard preservation activism is only designed to spare specific buildings. Hearts and minds should be swayed some other way, and I hope to work with others — including many aldermen and pastors — to make that happen.

My words from Monday:

Staff is correct; the so-called Doctors Building does not meet the criteria for demolition established under ordinance.

Under city law, thankfully, demolition is not an entitlement. This Board is enabled to uphold the physical integrity of this city’s buildings and historic districts at its discretion. We have a process that mostly works. Key to that process is respect for the actual laws at hand.

The applicant illegally began demolition of this building, causing damage that he has broadcast on television as reason why the building is unsound and fit for demolition. However, the Building Commissioner quickly stopped the work and further damage has been avoided. The Building Commissioner notably did not issue an emergency demolition order, meaning that the building’s condition even after demolition began was not so unsound as to require immediate demolition.

The best evidence presented so far by the applicant is damage inflicted through illegal demolition. Surely the Board will take that evidence with one thousand grains of salt.

In the current state, the building retains architectural integrity as well as physically sound condition defined in the Preservation ordinance and interpreted by the Building Division. Once it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Wagoner Place Historic District, rehabilitation tax credits are available to address the building’s actual problems (none of which threaten it structurally).

That makes sense to most readers of this blog. However, the testimony was made in a specific context in which understanding is a scarcity. Somehow, with this issue and the broader Ville issue, we found that understanding at the Preservation Board on Monday. Usually, we aren’t that fortunate.

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Demolition Fox Park North St. Louis Preservation Board South St. Louis The Ville

Summary of Monday’s Preservation Board Meeting

by Michael R. Allen

On Monday, the Preservation Board met. Commissioners John Burse, Mike Killeen, David Richardson, Mary Johnson, Anthony Robinson, Alderman Terry Kennedy and Richard Callow were present. Follow along with the agenda published here; that includes detailed reports on all items.

Here is a summary of the proceedings:

PRELIMINARY REVIEW – DEMOLITION

The Ville: In the end, the Board voted 4-3 to accept staff recommendation to demolish eleven homes in the The Ville Historic District. Commissioners Kennedy, Richardson and Johnson voted “yea” while Commissioners Robinson, Killeen and Burse voted “nay.” Chairman Callow broke the tie by voting “yea.” During testimony, Alderman Sam Moore stated he would just as gladly mothball the buildings as tear them down, as long as something was done. He actually consented to staff recommendation after back-and-forth with Cultural Resources Director Kate Shea.

3911 & 3961 Blair: After rejecting a motion by Kennedy to approve demolition of both houses, the Board voted 4-1 (Killeen dissenting) to approve demolition of 3911 and deny demolition of 3961 Blair. Alderman Freeman Bosley, Sr. already broke his earlier promise to support no further demolition in the Hyde Park Historic District and urged approval of both, especially 3911 which — if the city sells the lot to a homeowner — will become the site of a gazebo, circle drive and swimming pool for a house next door.

PRELIMINARY REVIEW – NEW CONSTRUCTION

Both items approved with staff stipulations. The number of permits this month was atypically low.

APPEALS OF STAFF DENIALS

5286-98 Page Boulevard: Owners obtained a continuance; matter not considered.

4635 Martin Luther King Drive: This controversial issue, subject of a recent “You Paid for It” segment on Fox 2, died down after Alderman Moore promised a land swap with the church seeking demolition. Moore is in favor of preserving the so-called Doctor’s Building. The Board unanimously denied the appeal, and the pastor stated he would pursue the swap to get parking space elsewhere.

7416 Vermont Avenue: The Board unanimously denied the appeal of a church seeking to demolish a historic parsonage in Carondelet.

NATIONAL REGISTER NOMINATIONS

The Board approved all nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.

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National Register North St. Louis Preservation Board The Ville

Trick Question Regarding the Ville Demolitions

by Michael R. Allen

What kind of careful decisions about historic preservation can the city’s Preservation Board make when faced with an application to demolish 39 different buildings in one neighborhood?

That’s the case tomorrow, when the Board will consider Alderman Sam Moore’s (D-4th) aggressive push to wreck 39 buildings scattered throughout the Ville neighborhood. The city’s Cultural Resources Office staff has approved some permits for demolition on buildings that barely exist. That’s fine. But the remaining 39 buildings deserve more than even one hour’s hearing by the Board.

Much of the Ville lies within a city historic district, but very little is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The staff of CRO have worked on several successful National Register nomination in the last two years, but more are possible. Not enough is know yet about future nominations to know what buildings on Alderman Moore’s list are potentially contributing resources to future districts. Caution is needed, but unfortunately the Preservation Board is bound to decide the fate of these buildings in a rather uncautious manner.