by Michael R. Allen
My latest commentary for St. Louis Public Radio of the same title aired today; read and listen to it here.
Category: Old North
by Michael R. Allen
On September 25, the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds recorded the purchase of 17 parcels at Sheriff’s land tax auction by McEagle Properties shell holding company Union Martin LLC. McEagle’s companies had been dormant for several months.
Among the purchase are seven residential buildings, of which six are historic. Here they are, with purchase price in parentheses if reported:
2823 University Street, brick house at left
2625 Palm Street in St. Louis Place
2212 Howard Street in St. Louis Place ($1,103.00)
2718 Stoddard Avenue in JeffVanderLou ($1,666.00)
2834 Thomas Street in JeffVanderLou, shown at right
2571 Hebert Street ($1,561.00)Why do I mention the purchase prices? I want to impress upon readers how easy it would be for other buyers to compete at the Sheriff’s auctions for these properties. Community development corporations, neighborhood associations and other that want to keep out large-scale acquisition would do well to get some money together and head to the Sheriff’s auction. Every month, dozens of north side parcels — and historic buildings — sell to speculators for low, low prices.
These acquisitions illustrate the thorniness of preservation planning in the NorthSide project. A week ago, preservationists thought they knew the pool from which the list of buildings to be rehabilitated would be drawn. In one day, that pool expanded. However, these buildings are in good shape and will be around for awhile. McEagle need not fear that preservationists have immediate demands beyond simply keeping these buildings from falling until there is a solid plan.
The remaining parcels recently purchased by Union Martin are located at 2516, 2518-20 and 2526 Slattery Avenue, 2930 James Cool Papa Bell (nee Dickson) Avenue, 2524 Coleman Street and 2832 Cass Avenue in JeffVanderLou; 3244 Knapp Street in Old North St. Louis; 2561 Hebert Street, 2231 and 2236 Benton Street and 1947-51 Wright Street in St. Louis Place.
by Michael R. Allen
Despite removing over half of the Old North St. Louis neighborhood from the NorthSide project boundary, McEagle Properties retains a strong presence in the neighborhood. In a future article, I will write about McEagle’s plans for the portion of the neighborhood that is included in the project. For now, here is a catalog of the 27 historic buildings owned by McEagle’s holding companies in that part of Old North for which the developer has no plans.
McEagle and elected officials repeat the line that “Old North is no longer a part of the project.” That’s not true. Over one-third of the neighborhood remains within the project boundary and the developer has yet to commit to a definite plan to either developing or selling properties that it owns in Old North. Maintenance is abysmal, and many buildings in need of structural repairs.
All of the twenty-seven buildings shown here are contributing resources to the Murphy-Blair Historic District, the National Register of Historic Places listing for most of Old North. All qualify for use of the historic rehabilitation tax credits at the state and federal level. Some are adjacent to rehabilitation projects ranging from owner-occupant work to the $35 million Crown Square redevelopment project.
The efforts of good people in Old North will rise the property values of McEagle’s holdings. However, long-term speculation is not fair to Old North. If old North is “out,” then McEagle needs to sell. The NorthSide redevelopment agreement must include binding language to compel McEagle to sell its holdings in Old North outside of the project boundary.
Publicly and privately, Paul J. McKee, Jr. complains about his reception in Old North (exemplified by the feisty meeting there last Monday). There is good reason for that reception, as the condition of these buildings and McEagle’s vague plans for the future show. Old North is hardly different from any neighborhood in resenting the presence and impact of a large-scale nuisance owner. I’m sure that WingHaven residents would be up in arms if a speculator started buying up residential foreclosures and left the houses vacant and untended for five years.
Last November, I offered free advice to McKee: “In preservation-minded Old North, there is a clear way to gain respect and built support: save buildings.” Not interested? Then it’s time to sell.
2900 N. 14th Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
3115 N. 14th Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
3236 and 3238 N. 20th Street
Owner: Sheridan Place LC
3237 N. 20th Street
Owner: Sheridan Place LC
Had been largely rehabbed by owner who sold to McEagle.
1415 Benton Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
2701 Blair Avenue
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
Located at the intersection of Blair and Montgomery — Blairmont!
2710 Blair Avenue
Owner: VHS Partners LLC
Located adjacent to Crown square redevelopment. Photo shows a fence now removed and replaced by tenant parking for a rehabilitated building.
1500 Branch Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
The entire two-part commercial row is included.
1449 Clinton Street
Owner: Noble Development Company LLC
Shown at right above.
1913 Dodier Street
Owner: MLK 3000 LLC
3211 Blair Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
At left next door to owner-occupied home.
1420 and 1424 Hebert Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
Two cool small houses. The house at 1422 Hebert (left) is a flounder house.
1420 Hebert Street, Rear
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
Two-and-a-half story alley house next door to fully-rehabilitated alley house.
3240 and 3242 Knapp Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
3248 Knapp Street
Owner: N & G Ventures LC
3261 Knapp Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
Alley house. Adjacent neighbor demolished.
1445 Monroe Street
Owner: Noble Development Company LC
Permastone covers brick. Great vergeboard!
1119 Montgomery Street
Owner: Union Martin LC
Just the left side of the first building in the row of houses. Purchased by agent Harvey Noble at a tax sale in 2008 apparently “by mistake.”
1416 Montgomery Street
Owner: Noble Development Company LLC
Located between occupied business and the Crown Square redevelopment project, in which it could have been included.
1501 Palm Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
More coverage here and here.
1523 Palm Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
Just the left side of the left building is owned by McEagle. Building at right being fully rehabilitated.
1311 St. Louis Avenue
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC
Photograph taken before McEagle purchase; second floor now boarded most of the time. Directly across the street from the Crown Square redevelopment.
1437 Warren Street
Owner: Dodier Investors LLC
Building adjacent to a church.
1215 Wright Street
Owner: Blairmont Associates LC.
At right. Shown here before McEagle boarded the second floor windows.
by Michael R. Allen
While people are debating larger projects, the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group started a small but very important one: stabilization of several vacant historic buildings in the neighborhood formerly owned by the city’s Land Reutilization Authority (LRA). This comes after the group issued a request for proposals that led to two vacant houses finding owners who plan full rehabs.
Above is the house at 1300 Monroe Street, a very stunning corner house that has seen some rough days. The Restoration Group has already secured all of the openings with boards. The next steps are major masonry repairs and new roofing, on the flat roof as well as the projecting bay. When work concludes, what started as a hard-to-handle city-owned vacant building will be a rehab-ready, structurally-sound shell. The Restoration Group will place the home on the market.
No matter how long the buildings take to sell, they will stand safe and secure. Meanwhile, the Restoration Group will have demonstrated how a community development corporation can act to safeguard vacant historic buildings and get those buildings out of the LRA inventory and into a more sale-ready situation.
Support these remarkable efforts this Friday evening at a silent auction from 7 – 9:30 p.m. at 1331 North Market. The auction benefits the Restoration Group’s plans to fully rehab one of the vacant buildings. A mere $5 is the suggested cover, but of course you can be more generous! Details are here.
by Michael R. Allen
At a public meeting at Ames Elementary School last night in Old North St. Louis, Paul J. McKee, Jr. again discussed historic preservation for the NorthSide project.
Notable was a new figure for the number of legacy properties McEagle plans to rehabilitate. In a YouTube video on the developer’s website, McKee stated that 60 historic buildings would be preserved. Last night, he said that number could be as high as 85. He also stated that the Landmarks Association of St. Louis (my former employer) would receive a copy of that list. Will Landmarks, city preservation officials and neighborhood leaders also be able to shape that list?
McKee had told the St. Post-Dispatch that he planned to rehabilitate the Mullanphy Emigrant Home, which is owned by the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and targeted to be converted into a hostel by the Gateway Chapter of Hosteling International. Last night, he said simply that he would help the Restoration Group with the project if possible.
Another major concern for Old North was addressed: the fate of over 60 properties in that neighborhood owned by McKee’s companies but excluded from the boundaries of the NorthSide project. Board members of the Restoration Group asked what plans the developer has to sell those properties and prevent further deterioration to buildings.
McKee’s answer was vague: “Once we get through the development process with the city we get the [Distressed Areas Land Assemblage tax] credits approved by the state…I’ll be happy in the first quarter to sit down and dialogue about that with you.”
What if McKee does not get the credits? “You’ll be dealing with somebody other than me,” he said.
Demolition will move rapidly after city approval of a redevelopment agreement, if McKee’s plans hold true. McKee told the crowd that “within 18 months, anything that’s going to be wrecked is going to be wrecked.” According to the developer, half-destroyed houses like those this blog frequently covers cannot be demolished now due to state brownfield laws.
(I was unable to attend Monday’s meeting, so this report is derived from videos posted by Doug Duckworth on Random Talk.)
The former Leidner Chapel, 2223 St. Louis Avenue.Rehabbers Club Tour of Old North and St. Louis Place
Saturday, September 19, 2009
9:30 a.m.
Meet at 3001 Rauschenbach
ReVitalize St. Louis’ September Rehabbers Club will feature north St. Louis neighborhoods. There is a rich history and continued strength in these neighborhoods. We’ll explore St. Louis Place and Old North.
We will gather at 3001 Rauschenbach Ave. This 3-story home was built in the late 1800’s by a tobacco merchant. Over the years it was used for institutional purposes
(halfway house for boys, pregnant single women, etc). Its current owner has been restoring the home back to its original grandeur. There are 4 marble fireplaces on the first floor along and near all of the original woodwork and pocket doors are intact.
Next we’ll head over to 2223 St. Louis Ave. This for-sale-property is a rehab opportunity. While the main house was built in 1879, the building was expanded in 1921 by the Henry Leidner Undertaking Company. Over the years it has been the Victory Baptist Church and then the Bible Way Church. Bible Way moved out in 2006 and is looking for a rehabber to purchase the building. Reverend Harsley will lead a tour of the structure and provide additional historical information as well as spec’s on the sale of the building.
One stop is a historical review of the James Clemens Mansion located at 1849 Cass Ave.
Michael Allen, an architectural historian and blogger for Ecology of Absence will share the history of the mansion and discuss its current state.
Just added to the tour is a full-rehabbed house at 1411 Hebert Street in Old North, currently up for sale.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday morning. Call Scott McIntosh, ReVitalize St. Louis Programming Chair at 314-719-6507 with questions.
Categories
Progress on 14th Street
by Michael R. Allen
The mall is dead! Crews finally have removed all of the raised pedestrian mall on 14th Street in Old North. Work is underway on reconstructing the streets and sidewalks that will connect the neighborhood to the rehabbed buildings in the two-block stretch between St. Louis and Warren avenues.
One block north of the former mall, the Urban Studio Cafe opened last week at 2815 N. 14th Street next door to Crown Candy Kitchen. The cafe offers coffee, pastries and (starting tomorrow) lunch items.
The Urban Studio Cafe is open from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily. What a huge difference it makes for Old North to have a spot for residents to gather and hang out away from home! This is the type of “commercial development” that the north side needs most — development that builds up the social capital of neighborhoods.
by Michael R. Allen
Old North’s North Market Place development, started in 2005, focused on constructing new houses like the ones shown here alongside historic buildings rehabilitated for apartments. The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and its development partner, the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance, reserved some historic homes in the project area for private investment. Some of those houses and others are now offered for sale to qualified buyers. Those that don’t sell immediately as-is will be stabilized and then offered for sale. From Karen Heet, Real Estate Coordinator for the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group:
The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group is a not-for-profit community development corporation whose mission is to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of the Old North St. Louis neighborhood in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character.
ONSLRG is in possession of six buildings available for purchase and renovation. All six buildings will be offered in a first round of RFPs in their current condition, with a deadline of August 14, 2009 for proposal submissions. If there is no suitable offer for a building, ONSLRG will pay for the stabilization of the building and then offer the building in a second round of RFPs at a purchase price that reflects ONSLRG’s additional costs for stabilization.
ONSLRG is seeking to increase home-ownership in the neighborhood, so preference will be given to proposals from:
* a developer who will rehab the building and sell to an owner-occupant( s), OR
* an owner-occupant who purchases a building and completes the renovations.
Of special interest will be the applicant’s residential rehab experience, the proposed timeframe for the completion of the project, and the applicant’s understanding of and commitment to compliance with standards for historic restoration.
All buildings are in the Murphy-Blair National Historic District and therefore may qualify for Historic Tax Credits. All buildings are in the N Florissant/N Market/Hadley/ Warren Redevelopment Area and are therefore eligible for property tax abatement. Selected buyers will be encouraged to apply for historic tax credits, property tax abatement, and Neighborhood Preservation Tax Credits.
All proposed construction is expected to be consistent with applicable neighborhood plans and city building codes.
Upon selection, the applicant will have a 3-month option period in which time all construction documents and financing must be finalized prior to the scheduling of a closing date. Construction documents must be sealed by a licensed architect.
ONSLRG will retain an 18-month Right of Re-entry on the property after closing, meaning that if substantial completion has not taken place in 18 months from the date of closing, ONSLRG has the right to take back the property, paying the buyer for any materials and labor for which invoices can be produced.
Please see the attached document for the proposal format and information on the buildings.
by Michael R. Allen
On June 3, the Planning Commission unanimously adopted a resolution to grant demolition of the corner commercial building at 5286-98 Page Boulevard if owner Berean Seventh Day Adventist Church met several conditions. Those conditions are completion of permit-appropriate construction drawings for the proposed surface parking lot within 30 days and securing of construction financing within 90 days. If those dates are not met, the permit stands denied and the church will have to appeal the denial to the St. Louis Circuit Court.
How did the demolition permit end up at the Planning Commission, and why would that body approve demolition for a parking lot? In January 2008, the Preservation Board upheld Cultural Resources Office staff denial of the demolition permit by a vote of 5-2. Per city preservation law, Berean appealed this decision to the Planning Commission. The next step in the appeals process would be court. The Planning Commission has authority to review and “modify” decisions of the Preservation Board, which is what the June 3 decision is considered. (Note that the Planning Commission does not typically solicit or accept citizen testimony, although the public may attend its meetings.)
At the behest of the Planning Commission, the Berean church worked with Dale Ruthsatz at the St. Louis Development Corporation to improve the original plan for a parking lot. The new plan calls for “green” features such as permeable paving and landscaping. Parking entrances have been moved off of Page and Union and onto the alley, so that pedestrians on these streets won’t be bothered by traffic. Eventually, the church wants to build a community center on the site. Planning Commission members expressed the sentiment that they wanted to exercise leverage over the parking lot design rather than let the matter go to court where the city might lose its case and its design review.
Back in April, the Planning Commission also overturned — or, rather, modified — the Preservation Board decision on a certain house at 2619-21 Hadley Street. The back story is slightly complicated. Suffice to say that the Haven of Grace, a shelter for homeless pregnant women, wanted the old house gone — after it had resolved to rehabilitate it in order to secure a demolition permit for another historic building.
The Haven of Grace pursued demolition relentlessly. After the Preservation Board in August 2008 reaffirmed its original decision, the organization appealed to the Planning Commission. The legal strategy of the Haven of Grace was effective enough to lead to the Planning Commission’s vote to overturn the Preservation Board decision, but not enough to do so without penalty. The Planning Commission stipulated that the Haven of Grace must pay $25,000 to city that will be used for building stabilization by the Cultural Resources Office.
While there are few chances for the city to secure $25,000 for stabilization, the Planning Commission action may be a dangerous precedent. My hope is that it is an isolated instance of such a questionable outcome. It’s certainly better than a victory for demolition with no trade-off.
The house on Hadley Street is now gone. Watching the demolition, it was clear to me that the house was in much better condition that I had assumed. The floors looked sturdy, original millwork abounded and even the plaster walls looked to be in fair condition. An expenditure of $25,000 could have mothballed this house for better days.
The Planning Commission’s compromises demonstrate the flaws in our current system or preservation review and planning. In fairness to the Planning Commission, the city lacks progressive ordinances here. I understand the inclination toward meting out compromise rather than take matter into lengthy circuit court battles. However, if the Preservation Board’s decisions on these matters were made fairly and by wide margins of voting members, they should be upheld on appeal.
The Planning Commission should not feel trapped. The Preservation Board should not be rendered powerless because an applicant (or elected official) has the money and time to make things difficult for the city. We need better design ordinances and city agencies empowered to do more than just say “no.” Ultimately, we need a better framework in which to make planning decisions.
Pay careful attention to these two slides. The first slide shows existing buildings in gray:
The second shows buildings proposed for preservation in black. Planner Mark Johnson at Civitas calls these buildings “legacy properties.” The three buildings at left (a house on St. Louis Avenue, Greater Bible Way Church and Crown Candy Kitchen), strangely, are not owned by McEagle. Crown Candy Kitchen is not even included in the project area. There was no discussion of preservation strategy beyond the promise that every building that could be saved would be saved.
McKee and Johnson both talked about how the warehouses between Delmar and Martin Luther King, including the GPX building, should be demolished because they wall downtown off from north St. Louis.
More slides available online here.