Now armed with a redevelopment plan passed by the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Board of Aldermen, developers proposing a 33-story, 265-unit apartment tower across Broadway from Busch Stadium are headed back to the city’s Preservation Board.
Again, they’ll be asking the board that reviews demolition requests of historic buildings to clear the way for them to tear down a brick warehouse designed by notable ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ architect Isaac Taylor with portions dating to the 1890s.
In December, to add conditions requiring the developers to maintain portions of the building’s facade. The developers are requesting a permit so the entire building, now ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Community College’s administrative offices, can be demolished.
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What’s different this time is the redevelopment plan, The plan is necessary to facilitate a property tax break on the property, a common ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ development incentive.
“Demolitions which would comply with a redevelopment plan previously approved by ordinance shall be approved except in unusual circumstances,†reads the city ordinance governing demolition permit reviews.
Pier Property Group and Bamboo Equity Partners plan to turn the brick building at 300 S. Broadway into 80 apartments. A 33-story apartment tower was proposed to replace this ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Community College building in late 2017. It was photographed on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
The Preservation Board still has the right to review the application, said the developers’ attorney, Jim Fredericks of Armstrong Teasdale. But what’s different now is “the Board of Aldermen have reviewed and debated on the floor the pros and cons of the matter.â€
Alderman Jack Coatar, who sponsored the redevelopment bill, has said the $100 million plan for the downtown tower justifies demolition. Still, he has said no demolition permit should be issued until the developers prove they have financing and building permits for the project in hand.
The developers, made up of Jack Holleran of local firm HDA Architects and two Chicago companies, White Oak Realty Partners and CA Ventures, .
The ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Cultural Resources Office, which staffs the Preservation Board, has recommended demolition of the brick warehouse next to the downtown Tums factory, citing the redevelopment board bill passed by aldermen.
But the bill is not yet an ordinance, without the mayor’s signature. A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said Friday she will wait until after the Preservation Board weighs in to take a position on the bill.
The project will require the demolition of the existing 120-year-old structure.
Whether the Preservation Board takes that into consideration will play out Monday at 4 p.m. at 1520 Market Street.
Preservationists have argued that downtown has lost too many historic buildings in recent years and there are surface parking lots that are better candidates for dense development other than the site of a century-old structure. But ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Community College, in the midst of tight budgets, has been looking to sell its building.
