Consider Restoring Old Windows Rather Than Replace

Windows and doors are very important to the front facade of our many old St. Louis homes. Attend a meeting of the Preservation Board and you will likely hear a situation where a homeowner replaced original windows with completely different windows, often jarringly different.  Back in July the New York Times had a great article (recommended) on windows, starting with an example of Barbara Jones who decided to restore her windows:

Old windows have acquired a bad reputation over the last few decades as drafty, inefficient and ecologically suspect: fixtures that should be replaced rather than refurbished.

But over the last decade or so, homeowners like Ms. Jones are becoming more common. Many people are keeping their old windows, fixing what they have in the name of appearance, history and, for some, cost savings, according to architects, preservationists and window restorers.

Your typical window replacement company would have tossed out the 125+ year old windows of my friends house shown above and put in bright white vinyl with a flat top and fake divisions.  There was a time when large panes of glass meant wealth, the poor couldn’t afford large pieces of glass.

The process of window restoration isn’t for everyone but if you are handy in the shop doing so might save the appearance of your home as well as save you some money over a high quality replacement. Cheap windows won’t last 10 years much less more than 125 years.

Storm windows can be added on the exterior or interior to increase efficiency. Interior storm units are great for front facades where aesthetics are important.

Odds are you don’t have windows that are 8 feet tall, but no matter the height considering retaining at least the front windows is a good idea. Here are a few resources for further reading:

• How To Restore Sash Windows, Old-House Online
• How to Repair Sash Windows, This Old House
• Hard Decisions to Make When Old Windows Need Lots of Help, This Old House
• Repair, Don’t Replace Old Windows, Old House Authority
• The Truth about Windows - Historic Wood Windows & Storm Windows vs Replacement Windows, The Old House Guy
• What Replacement Windows Can’t Replace: The Real Cost of Removing Historic Windows, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
• Preserving Historic Windows: Shattering the Myths of Replacement Windows, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation

Thanks to Bill Hannegan for staying on me to do this post and thanks to Susan & Tom T. for allowing me to photograph your windows.

– Steve Patterson

Readers Don’t Think the 2011 World Series Win Will Help Get Ballpark Village Built Sooner

Before I get to the poll results from last week I want to ask local TV stations to stop saying they are broadcasting “live from Ballpark Village.” BPV doesn’t exist yet! The vacant site where BPV is proposed to be built certainly exists — but at this point no village exists. Cut it out, I got tired yelling at my television recently. Okay, not that I have that off my chest I can share the poll results from last  week.

1. No 78 [56.12%]
2. Hopefully 38 [27.34%]
3. Maybe 12 [8.63%]
4. Yes 7 [5.04%]
5. Unsure/No Opinion 2 [1.44%]
6. Other: 2 [1.44%]

The two other answers were:

1. Yes, but at a much reduced scale
2. It’s a nice spot for a park/gathering place. Do we need more buildings?

We need buildings because they define urban space in a downtown, we have an excess of open space.

– Steve Patterson

Ties to Vashon/JeffVanderLou Initiative, Inc.

Yesterday I posted about the bankruptcy last  year of Ald Marlene Davis. Today I take a look at a non-profit she co-founded that annually receives hundreds of thousands of dollars through city contracts.

The Vashon/JeffVanderLou Initiative was formed on April 14, 2000. The three founders were Columbus Edwards, Marlene Davis and Norman Seay. The original board of directors consisted of Mike McMillan, Marlene Davis and Norman Seay. (source) When founded the non-profit was located in the basement of the True Light Missionary Baptist Church at 2838 James “Cool Papa” Bell in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood. A source told me the organization paid no rent.

A 2005 fiscal review by the Comptroller’s office (PDF) concluded “The Vashon-JeffVanderLou Initiative, Inc. did not fully comply with federal, state and local CDBG requirements.” The Comptroller’s office reached the same conclusion in 2007 (PDF)

In July 2007 a change of address was filed with the secretary of state’s office, the new address: 3026 Locust in Midtown. The 2007 IRS Form 990 shows occupancy (rent) of nearly $36,000.  The owner? SAG Properties LLC. Who is SAG Properties? One SAG partner is Barry Adelstein, one of two former partners of Marlene Davis in the failed Gene Lynn’s club I mentioned yesterday. The 2008 & 2009 Form 990 show similar amounts.

License Collector Mike McMillan remains on the board serving as president.  Barry Adelstein is also McMillan’s landord at a building a couple of blocks east. The bulk of the revenue is from city contracts to provide services to several wards.  Most of the expenses are salaries. I plan to continue reviewing these documents to try to map out how all the parties are connected.

– Steve Patterson.

Alderman Filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy While Serving on Ways & Means Committee

The Ways & Means Committee at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is probably the most important of their standing committees:

[The] Ways and Means Committee is concerned with questions of finance, assessments, budget, public debt; appropriations and other bills not properly referable to other committees except monies administered by the Community Development Agency or the St. Louis Development Corporation.

The City of St. Louis needs competent leadership to address the financial problems  facing our city. Thankfully the committee chair is now Lyda Krewson (D-28). Her full-time job is as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the firm PGAV. The qualifications of the other ten current members of the committee pale compared to those of Krewson. In fact, one member of the committee shouldn’t be serving on the committee at all.

Marlene E. Davis (D-19) was elected to the Board of Aldermen in March 2007 (unchallenged) to finish the term of Michael McMillan, who became License Collector. After getting elected, this former President of the St. Louis School Board and two partners bought the legendary jazz nightclub Gene Lynn’s in July 2007, presumably from Mr. Gene Lynn himself. The partners were Kim Kyunah of O’Fallon, IL and Barry Adelstein of St. Louis.

On August 27, 2008 The Lindell Marketplace LP filed a lawsuit against the three for rent and possession totaling $100,171.92 In December 2008 the once-popular club was closed.

On March 3 2009 Davis defeated challenger Michelle Lawrence (73.44% vs 26.56%) in the democratic primary for a full 4-year term. On March 19,2009, a consent judgement for $24,000 was filed by Judge Peebles with payments of $300/month starting in April 2009.

In March 2010 Davis filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Davis listed assets of $10,500 and liabilities of $119,718.47. Nearly $17,000 was back taxes to the Missouri Department of Revenue ($5,000) and the Internal Revenue Service ($11,953.37).

A few of the “creditors holding unsecured non priority claims” were:

• Barry Adelstein $30,000
• Kim Kyunah $28,000
• Lindell Marketplace $25,506

Davis’ income was listed as $3108.28/month but after taxes and a tax garnishment of $1083.33 her take home pay was just $1,114.10/month. In a separate line for other monthly income Davis listed $350/month for “adjustment for expenses paid by city” bringing the total to $1,464.10/month. What’s interesting is the monthly expenses schedule — $3,003.00/month. The 2nd biggest item was an install payment of $384/month under auto. The largest was $425/month detailed on a separate sheet as:

• Mailings for ward: $175.00
• Stamps: $150.00
• Parking: $100.00

I’ve had my share of regrettable financial decisions over the years but I doubt Davis’ ability to make sound finical decisions for the City of St. Louis as a member of the Ways & Means Committee.

Tomorrow I will look at

Poll: Should Saint Louis University be Allowed to Raze the Former Pevely Dairy Building at Grand & Chouteau?

Father Biondi, President of Saint Louis University, must get a rush razing buildings, putting up fences and killing off potentially interesting areas. Word broke last week SLU wants to clear away the remainder of the Pevely Dairy at the SW corner of Grand & Chouteau:

The complex, at Chouteau Avenue and South Grand Boulevard, is made up of large brick buildings erected between 1915 and 1945. SLU has sought demolition permits for the buildings, which are on the National Register of Historic Places. The university argues the buildings can’t accommodate a modern medical practice. (STLtoday.com)

The Preservation Board will consider allowing demolition at their November 28th meeting (4pm). The poll this week asks simply if you think permission should be granted. Many will answer no but some may say maybe if SLU can show the building can’t be rehabbed. Others will say yes because you think since they own the building it is within their right to remove it from the landscape. The poll is in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson