The Case for the San Luis Apartments

Last April I did a post about the now shuttered San Luis Apartments on Lindell, just West of the New Cathedral (map). My position was, and is, that the 1960s modern former hotel is not a good urban building – that it doesn’t relate well to the adjacent sidewalks. The St. Louis Archdiocese wants to raze the structure for a surface parking lot.  I visited the site last June, ariving via wheelchair.

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So while I’m not fond of the building, it is way better than a surface parking lot. Razing it to build a good mixed use structure would have my full support. Razing it for a parking lot gets my full opposition.

Here are some additional resources and viewpoints on this structure and the plans for its demise:

• Built St. Louis
• Ecology of Absence
• Urban St. Louis forum
• Riverfront Times
• Vanishing STL
• STL Dotage
• No Parking Lot on Lindell

This building is intact & sound. We should not be so wasteful a society where we can toss aside a structurally sound building for a surface parking lot.

I’d like to see the relationship with the public sidewalk improved upon.  “Preservation” of the existing relationship is not good enough.  Despite the shortcoming on how it doesn’t relate to the sidewalk, the overall massing of the building is pleasant and would be sorely missed.

Mayor Slay, Geisman, & Rainford To Be Deposed in Century Case

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, Deputy Mayor Barb Geisman and chief of staff (now campaign manager) Jeff Rainford have all been served subpoenas to be deposed in Century case against my friends Roger Plackemier & Marcia Behrendt.

Plackemeier & Behrendt have been accused of “malicious prosecution” over their previous legal challenges to the Old Post Office redevelopment project, which included preventing the historic Century Building from being razed and replaced by a parking garage.  The deposition date is February 27th.  The lawsuit,  first filed on April 19, 2005, will begin over four years later on Monday April 27, 2009.

I personally believe the case to be a SLAPP suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation, see Wikepidia).  Slay, Geisman & Rainford will be questioned about the withdrawal of an alternative plan for the redevelopment of the Syndicate Trust/Century Building by a development team that included Craig Heller and Kevin McGowan.  Heller was later able to obtain and renovate the Syndicate Trust.

Both sides will be presenting motions before the court this morning at 9am.  See all my Century Building related posts dating back to 2004 here.

Century SLAPP Suit Pushed to April 2009

The trial against downtown residents Roger Plackemeier & Marcia Behrendt, both friends of mine, over past efforts to save the historic Century Building had been scheduled to start today.  However, according to MO Casenet, the trial has been pushed to April 27, 2009 – over four years after the suit was first filed on April 19, 2005.

I believe the case to be a classic SLAPP suit – a strategic lawsuit against public participation (see wiki entry).  In the case Plackemeier & Behrendt are charged with “malicious prosecution.” Presumably the city & state, through agencies, have unlimited funds to pursue these two individuals for years.

Century Case Set for Trial Next Month

Even though the historic Century Building has been razed for a few years (replaced by yet another downtown parking garage), the legal issues continue. Downtown residents (and friends of mine) Marcia Behrendt & Roger Plackemeier had filed cases questioning the project’s procedures back around 2002. They had sought to save the Century from the wrecking ball. After the building was razed the entities responsible turned around and sued Behrendt & Plackemeier in April 2005 for “malicious prosecution”. Myself and others consider this to be nothing more than a SLAPP suit.

In December 2007 I updated you on the status of this case. At the time the plaintiff’s (The Missouri Development Finance Board, The Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St Louis, NSG Developers LLC, and St Louis Custom House and Post Office Bldg and Associates) filed motions to add another count and to add Behrendt’s & Plackemeirer’s lawyer, Matt Ghio, as a third defendant. Ghio filed a motion for summary judgment to have the whole case thrown out. I was there in the court room as the lawyers presented their arguments before the judge.

According to Missouri’s Case.net judge McCullin denied these motions on March 26th. The case is now set for a 4-day jury trial starting on September 22nd before Judge Thomas C. Grady. I’ve got work and class at SLU but you can be sure I’ll find some time to stick my head in the courtroom that week

Update 8/16/08 @ 8:15pm:

After the above post I received the following from a reliable source:

Just to clarify, Judge Grady is the judge in Division 1. Div. 1 is where civil cases get assigned to a trial division, so the case will not be tried there.

The Century Bldg. case has been what’s called “peremptorily set,” which means Judge Grady will assign it to one of our trial divisions in a couple of weeks.

Check Casenet again in a couple of weeks to see what division it’s going to (or shoot me an email to remind me and I’ll look it up)

We Are Still A Beer Town

InBev upped the offer and A-B’s board said yes, that we know. For the moment at least this change of control of A-B won’t affect most of us in our daily lives.

I’ll admit that my heart sank a bit after reading the news this weekend.  I still miss names like Boatman’s Bank, Mercantile Bank and so on.  Times change.  Big & little guys get bought out every day.    The fact is the Busch family sold the brewery in 1980 when they took it public.

We will continue to produce beer just as they have for generations.  The big changes, if any, will be in the corporate tower.  The middle management types probably need to polish up their resumes.

In terms of the urban landscape around the brewery I don’t anticipate many changes in the short term.  In the long term I’d like to see some new 2-4 story structures line the outside edges of some of the surface parking lots.  Filled with restaurants at the sidewalk level the could serve employees during the week and become a walking destination for nearby residents in the evening.

Before I moved downtown I would use Broadway as my scooter route from my southside home to downtown.  I would enjoy passing the brewery — the aroma, the gargoyles, and the knowledge that a long standing tradition was continuing at that location.  Hopefully it will continue for many more generations.

I didn’t like the aroma at first.  I was 23 when I came to St Louis with a friend on our way to Washington DC.  That Saturday in August 1990 we arrived at her mother’s home on Lemp just North of Arsenal. The hops were strong that day.  A Sunday tour of St Louis convinced me to make this my new home despite that strong odor from the brewery.  In the nearly two decades since I’ve come to appreciate, and at times crave, that wonderful smell of hops.
We are a beer town.  Besides A-B we have some other great micro brewers.  I even know several people in town that home brew.   Beer is in our blood, its a part of who we are.  That can never be sold.