Will The New Homes Be Built In 12 Months If St. Aloysius Is Razed?
Yes, another post on St. Aloysius. But this contains new information and a different take on why the Preservation Board should not authorize the demolition on Monday.
One aspect of the criteria used to evaluate demolition permits is that the new construction will be built within 12 months. How do they really determine this? Often they use a developer’s past history and financial means to make a judgement call. Here is where things, in this case, get murky.
The developer is Wohlert Company, LLC which, according to the Secretary of State, was founded earlier this year in July 2005. The builder, DiMartino Homes, LLC, was created in July 2003 (per the Secretary of State). Tax bills for DiMartino Homes are sent to the Wohlert home in Wildwood. From the DiMartino Homes website we learn a bit more about the connection between Wohlert & DiMartino:
DiMartino Homes was founded in 2004 by James and Marie (DiMartino) Wohlert and John and Julie DiMartino. Marie and John, children of the late Charles DiMartino, grew up on The Hill and appreciate the close knit community and the old world spirit that defines the neighborhood.
Okay, we have a brother and sister and their spouses. Before we get into St. Aloysius let’s look at what else they’ve got going on right now.
First is a new home at 2712 January on an adjacent site listed for $264,900 (MLS# 572232). This was built on the site of a smaller home that was razed so that two new homes could be built. The home at 2712 January is shown as being “tenant” occupied. The remainder of the site includes a sign indicating “Will Built to Suit.” This does not indicate to me a strong demand for new single family homes in this area.
At 5358 Southwest a multi-use building is being constructed. The site, which contained a single family house from 1900 and a very small 1950s commercial space, was purchased in August 2004. I do not know how long the building has been under construction. It includes a storefront space and living space above. It has a for sale sign on the front and no information on any future tenant for the storefront.
A few blocks away is an even more complicated development. At the NE corner of Reber Place and Sublette (5449 Reber for tax record search) is another two home development. In addition to DiMartio Homes LLC this development also lists AMR Homes LLC as a developer. The tax records show AMR Homes LLC as the owner of record. I happened to be at the Planning Commission meeting in the Spring when they approved replatting this single plot into what was then a proposal for three homes. LIke the house on January, a small and insignificant frame house was razed. But in the Spring it was not DiMartino that was involved. Digging through the records I found an interesting trail of property flipping. Starting in 9/7/04 Harry M. Fine Realty bought 5449 Reber from HFC Mortgage for $43,000. Two days later SJP Properties Inc bought the property. Western Continental Investments, LLC, the applicant to replat the land, acquired the property on 2/8/05 for $70,000. And finally on 5/12/05 AMR Homes LLC became the owner for a whopping $165,000. One house is under construction at this time, neither are pre-sold.
AMR Homes LLC includes James Wohlpert as an organizer but lists its address in Fenton. Follow all that?
The current ownership of the former St. Aloysius Church has been debated here and on other sites. I can now set the record straight: The City of St. Louis lists the entire city block under one Tax/Parcel Number (4054-11-0010-0) at the address 5608 North Magnolia (the postal address for the 1964 school building). Public tax records show the Archdiocese sold the property to Wohlert Company, LLC on 10/27/2005 with a recording date of 11/1/2005 (document number 51101000229). The sale price was not listed on the online tax records (not that uncommon). This information can be viewed on the Assessor’s Lookup Page (just put in 5608 Magnolia as the address).
So we know the Archdiocese no longer owns or controls the property. We also know the Wohlert/DiMartino/AMR team have built a number of homes in the area and perhaps many more over the years. What we don’t know is if they can pull off a project valued in excess of $4,600,000 (23 homes x $200,000 each = $4.6 million). This is not meant as a slight to them but it just seems to be a big leap. Unlike the Doering Mansion last month, I’ve seen nothing to indicate any attempt being made to pre-sell these homes. I think the Preservation Board should demand to see an irrevocable letter of credit from a lending institution to cover the development cost on the project or the equivalent of pre-sale contracts before giving any authorization to forever remove such wonderful structures.
This developer/builder is also clearly all about building single family homes. That is made clear on their website:
By purchasing homes and businesses in need of repair and transforming them into modern single-family dwellings, they are helping to assure that Southwest Gardens and The Hill are among the most desired areas in the city to live for generations to come.
Simply because a single family home builder purchased the property does not obligate the city to grand a demolition permit. I’ve yet to find anything to show this developer/builder has any experience with adaptive reuse projects in the city. On the surface it seems they proposed what they know — single family houses.
I strongly urge the Preservation Board not to approve the proposed demolition on Monday. I would hope they’d postpone a decision until such time the developer can document (from an engineering, architectural and financial viewpoint) why the properties cannot have some combination of adaptive reuse on the East and new construction on the Western portion, and document they have the financial means to see their project to completion either in the form of a lender commitment or pre-sales. This information should be present for a true public hearing.
The meeting will be held Monday at 4pm at 1015 Locust, 12th Floor. If you wish to speak you will need to sign up prior to the meeting. This item is second on the agenda.
– Steve
Steve,
In the writeup by staff, it says that a redevelopment plan ordinance has not been approved by the Board of Aldermen.
Do you know if such a plan is being reviewed under a separate track?
If not, maybe the developer is proposing to sell the new homes without tax abatement.
One need only look at the ill-fated Keystone project at Grand & Chippewa to see what happens when a developer doesn’t have the wherewithall to complete a project. The wonderful art-deco Sears store was sacrificed for the promise of a couple dozen single-family homes over six years ago and much of that land lies vacant today. At this point only a handful have been built. I know that the Dutchtown neighborhood feels a bit hoodwinked. Given market forces it isn’t entirely the developers fault, but many believe had they the financial backing to build more houses on spec. they would have been able to assure future buyers they would not be siting amongst an unfinished project indefinitely, therefore selling the remaing lots MUCH sooner.
As with the St. Aloysius site, the sad thing is development could have taken place on part of the Sears site while retaining the historic structures. As it stands, that site at Grand & Winnebago is a mighty hole in the urban landscape left to lye fallow lo these many years to collect McDonald’s cups, White Castle hamburger boxes, and urban tumbleweeds (plastic grocery bags)– hardly a fitting scenario for complex that engendered so much hope, community, and life for almost a century.