Next Monday at 4:00 in suite 1200 of the Locust Building, Concordia Publishing House will present to the Preservation Board its plan to purchase and demolish a three story corner building at 3600 S. Jefferson and turn the vacant lot into a green space for it's employees. A quick look at an aerial photograph of Concordia's property however shows that they already have a green space for employees!
A closer shot shows the green space landscaped with a center planting bed with benches surrounding. The green space is conveniently located immediately adjacent to Concordia's building and employee parking lot.
The building in question was the victim of an ill fated remuddling several years ago which has left the third floor in need of some masonry wall repairs and the rear wall in need of extensive tuckpointing. The lower two floors however are in excellent condition, so the building is far from irreparable. The building anchors a completely intact block face.
It is located in the Benton Park National Register Historic District, which makes it eligible to receive Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, which would make a renovation financially feasible.
If Concordia Publishing is so desperate for addition outdoor space for it's employees, they should look to expanding their existing roof deck. Additional deck space surrounded by green roof vegetation would be an oasis compared to a vacant corner lot on busy Jefferson Avenue.
As always, concerned citizens may attend the meeting and state their opinions to the Preservation Board before they vote on the matter. The final agenda for the board meeting was posted yesterday and has an excellent review of the situation. If you cannot attend, please email your opinions to Betsy Bradley, Director of the Cultural Resources Office. Additional information can be found on Landmarks Association's website.
On Mondays agenda you will see that the proposal to demolish the Souther Funeral Home on South Grand has been withdrawn following the sudden withdraw of the same from Wednesdays Board of Adjustment hearing for a zoning variance for the property. With the call to withdraw from Mondays Preservation Board meeting though came an inquiry as to the date of Februarys meting, so General Dollar's plan to flatten the historic funeral home for a new store may come up again.
12 comments:
We all know the real reason they want to demolish it: the removal of an "eyesore" from their immediate surroundings. Can you think of all of the eyesores that are now beautifully rehabbed buildings in St. Louis and what would have happened if we had torn them all down?
This is complete baloney. The building is condemned and cannot be saved. Period.
citizen, if not for all the condemned buildings in the city that have been saved, you'd be correct. it's too bad reality disagrees with you. exclamation point.
It's the 21st century. I'm pretty sure we can figure out how to save even the most damaged of buildings. However, this one looks like it's doing just fine from the outside.
That building has been sitting vacant for more than 15 years. Part of it is collapsing. It would be great if someone would rehab that space but the days of real rehab in the neighborhood ended when the economy went south in 2008. There was plenty of opportunity for someone to fix that building up and no one did. It is beyond repair at this point. Concordia has been in the neighborhood since 1869 and only want to do right by the neighborhood.
^ anon, i'm getting really f*cking tired of reminding people like yourself about all the buildings throughout the city about which people said "it's been vacant for X years. it's beyond repair. it'll never be fixed up" AND THEN THE F*CKING BUILDING GOT FIXED UP.
and i know you don't have a leg to stand on or anything with your "it'll never be fixed up" argument but how about you stop blatantly lying about the condition of the building, ok? what were your credentials again? because people who have actually examined the building inside and out have stated that with the exception of the third-floor outer walls it's in stable condition. and shit, if the days of real rehab ended in 2008 we might as well tear down the whole damn neighborhood 'cause it's all down-hill from here!
Many families with young children visit the Concordia Publishing House Bookstore and have to navigate around this building. I pray no one gets hurt.
More building pictures here...
http://stlneighbor.blogspot.com/2012/01/another-point-of-view.html
Well now, the person who posted the latest pictures captured the real essence of the building. From the side where the brick has fallen, these pictures show there are barricades to protect the children who go by. The brick is bulging outward and the whole wall is ready to collapse. There is a load of fallen brick, mortar, and flue tiles ready to go at the next freeze. This is the real picture of the building, total disaster. Needs to be torn down for sure. But, it will sit there and the city will continue its slow decay in this area.
"Many families with young children visit the Concordia Publishing House Bookstore and have to navigate around this building. I pray no one gets hurt."
navigate around? you mean walk past it on the sidewalk? at WORST they might have to cross the street. OH MY GOD!
oh, my god! the melodrama here is making me sick. are you people adults or what? to citizen, what children are going to be "going by" the REAR of the building where the barricades are? those hypothetical children are more likely to get hit by a car crossing the street. moreover, none of those images show any "brick bulging outward" and there is no evidence anywhere in those pictures that "the whole wall is ready to collapse". and again the only "load of fallen brick" is at the rear of the building AWAY FROM THE SIDEWALK. yes there are bricks loose AT THE TOP OF THE SIDE AND REAR WALLS. those loose bricks can easily be removed and the walls reinforced without destroying the entire building. the only total disaster here is the ridiculous exaggeration of the state of this building.
I'll assume the two nay-sayers are related or work for Concordia. Maybe we should tear down Concordia Publishing, instead? OOoooh, you don't like the sound of that do you? Back to reality, this is not hard to save and after seeing how the MUCH WORSE Switzer building on the Landing was almost saved and how others in that 'far gone' condition have been saved EVERY YEAR, no one should doubt again. And the quote "real rehab in the neighborhood ended in 2008" is so patently false it is funny.
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