Unnecessary Demo on South Jefferson

As reported by DeBaliviere on the Urban STL forums (better known as Brian over at Downtown St. Louis Business Blog), there is a demo possibly in process at 2001 S. Jefferson (at Allen, just south of the McDonalds).


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Geo St. Louis doesn't show any demolition permits, but it does say the building was condemned to be demolished in June of 2007. This Google Streetview shot was likely taken in October of 2007. Why was this building condemned? Why is it only being demolished now if it was such a threat to health/safety?

The big question here is: where the hell is the demolition review process in all of this? This building falls within the Fox Park certified local historic district; the City Assessor says it was built in 1891.

The Assessor also notes that this is an Auto Parts shop. Might the owner be demolishing the old building for something more autocentric? This building is located dangerously close to I-44 (easy advertising) and already has a context for auto-oriented, anti-urban use (see McDonalds to the north) to point to.

What a waste. We need to reform demolition review in the City of St. Louis.