May 15, 2005
Rehabs Dust Of A Bit Of History
The 11 Winning Buildings Share A Similar Profile; Historic Structures, Some Condemned After Years Of Neglect And Structural Damage.
By Tavia Evans
Of The Post-Dispatch
The Benton Park Community Housing Corporation had worked for seven years to
acquire the property at 2201 Arsenal Street, although the roof was caving in
and the floors were rotted from years of water damage.
"It was hard to tell if you were inside the home in some places because
of the vegetation and vines growing along the walls," said Tim Vogt, vice
president of Millennium Restoration & Development. Similarly, at 360 North
Boyle Avenue, built in 1896, much of the roof was missing and hardwood floors
in the building had rotted all the way to the basement. "I saw a hundred
pigeons when I first walked in, an upright piano where parts of the first floor
were left and a corner of the second floor where there was a kitchen at some
point," said William Roth, the building's current owner. And the 154-year-old
Campbell House, at 1851 Locust Street, had a bowed wall on the east side of
the building that looked ready to collapse. All of the buildings sh! are a similar
profile; historic structures, some condemned by the city after years of neglect
and structural damage. On Monday, Landmarks Association of Saint Louis Inc.
will single out developers and owners for their efforts to revive these and
other area properties—eleven in all—and make them habitable again. The program
will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Moolah Temple, which is among the buildings
redeveloped in the last year.
The recognition is part of Preservation Week, beginning today through May 22,
and includes lectures and tours of redeveloped properties.
"Some of these properties just jump out at you," said Carolyn Toft,
executive director of Landmarks. "You've passed them everyday and you can't
wait to see them come back to life and what developers will turn them into."
For example, area preservationists worried about the fate of the 'Magic Chef
Mansion' at 3500 Russell Boulevard, named after the company headed by the Stockstrom
family. "Everyone recognized the history of that building, so when the
last family member died, we wondered about what would happen to it," Toft
said.
Compton Heights residents Glynn and Shelley Donaho took on the project, paying
$400,000 in 1990 for the 12,000-square-foot home with thirty rooms. Since then,
they've spent nearly $1 million in renovations—replacing plumbing, electrical,
heating and cooling systems. They're still working to restore a one-lane bowling
alley in the home's basement.
At several of the projects, including the Donahos', developers and owners didn't
take advantage of state and federal tax credits—financing that, some developers
say, make these projects possible.
The Jubilee Christian Development Corp. uses donated materials and some volunteer
labor to rehab old storefronts and houses in north Saint Louis. The group is
an arm of the Jubilee Community Church.
Members have renovated their own offices at 3118 North Grand Boulevard and are
working on abandoned storefronts and the homes of church members in the surrounding
neighborhood.
"It's a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change in our community,"
said Andy Krumsieg, development director. "When people stay in a community
where not much has been done for a long time and neighbors chip in to do the
work...it becomes a neighborhood endeavor."
The Lafayette Park Presbyterian Church was "a home for pigeons," said
developer Chris Goodson. He and business partner Trace Shaughnessy put $4 million
into converting the church, built in 1881, into eight condominiums.
On the outside, they restored features like Rosetta-style windows and replaced
the stonework and masonry. Inside, the church's seventeen-foot-high cathedral
ceilings became part of the new units. Hand-painted organ pipes in one unit
divide the living room from the dining area. A rehab addition to the Saint Agnes
Catholic Grade School in the 1950s had disfigured the building—the Benton Park
neighborhood left it off its nomination to the National Register of Historic
Places.
Co-owners Neal Josehart and architect Paul Fendler spent $3 million to remove
the addition and painstakingly replace decorative brick detail to the entryway.
Inside, they salvaged an original maple floor and used vaulted attic space to
create two-level townhouses. The building has twelve loft condos in all.
"That's the key to what we do—to see the potential in these buildings and
bring them back to life," said Josehart. "Everyone has a stake in
bringing these back to what they were."
The winners
SAINT AGNES CATHOLIC GRADE SCHOOL 2216 Sidney
Street; Built: 1904; Redevelopers: Neal Josehart and Paul Fendler; Cost: $3
million; Use: Twelve loft condominiums.
THE ABBEY ON THE PARK: 1505 Missouri Avenue; Built: 1881; Redevelopers: The
Gilded Age; Cost: $4 million; Use: Former church now houses eight condominiums.
2201 ARSENAL STREET: Built: 1890s; Redevelopers: Millennium Restoration &
Development; Cost: $900,000; Use: Single-family house.
2020 WASHINGTON AVENUE: Built: 1920; Redevelopers: The Pyramid Construction
Company; Cost: $22 million; Use: 103 loft condominiums.
CAMPBELL HOUSE MUSEUM: 1851 Locust Street; Built: 1851; Redevelopers: Campbell
House Foundation; Cost: $3 million; Use: Historical museum.
360 NORTH BOYLE AVENUE: Built: 1896; Redeveloper: William Roth; Cost: $540,000;
Use: Office and commercial space.
SHENANDOAH PLACE: Built: About 1923; Redevelopers: Architect Jeff Clark and
Metropolitan Design & Building; Cost: $1.5 million; Use: Six condominiums.
MERCHANTS-LACLEDE BUILDING: 408 Olive Street; Built: 1889; Redeveloper: Drury
Development Corporation: Cost: $20 million; Use: Hotel.
THE MAGIC CHEF MANSION: 3400 Russell Boulevard; Built: 1907-08; Redeveloper:
Glynn and Shelley Donaho; Cost: $1.5 million; Use: Single-family house.
JUBILEE COMMUNITY CHURCH: 3118 North Grand Boulevard; Redeveloper: Jubilee Christian
Development Corporation; Cost: $75,000; Use: Church offices.
MOOLAH TEMPLE: 3821 Lindell Boulevard; Redeveloper: Restoration St. Louis; Cost:
$17.5 million; Use: Apartments, theater and bowling alley.