Preservation/Urbanism Updates

First and foremost is Saturday's Valentine's Day Love-In for the threatened San Luis Apartments/DeVille Motor Hotel. The event is very important for the future of St. Louis historic preservation, sound planning, general citizen activism, and for modern architecture. A prolonged clash between an institution that has had unchecked power to alter the built environment (see, St. Aloysius in the Hill) and doesn't contribute to the property tax rolls, one the one hand, and the empowered citizens of St. Louis, on the other, will work in favor of the latter group.

For more information, see the No Parking Lot on Lindell! blog, put together by the Friends of the San Luis.

Secondly, an Urban STL forumer has posted the link to yet another attempt to cap the country's most generous historic preservation tax credit--a development incentive that has simply smashed all expectations, spurred thousands development and restorations across the state, and that has created jobs and more money than was invested in the process.

Please, heed the advice at the bottom of the thread and contact every relevant public official, from your alderman and Missouri House rep on up to the Governor!

In the meantime, I am working on getting out of New Orleans for the weekend to come up to St. Louis for the Love-In! Hopefully, I will see you all there.