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ST. LOUIS — The stone arches and brick hallways of Fanning Middle School weren’t vacant long before a developer pitched a plan to transform the Tower Grove property into affordable housing.

It also didn’t take long before some neighbors voiced concerns. And then they sued the city to stop the project.

“We stand for quality affordable housing,� said neighbor Greg Michaud, who sued the city last year. “This is not going to be a quality project.�

Now the developer, Screaming Eagle Development, is back in front of the city with its $17.5 million plan to redevelop Fanning, northwest of Gravois Avenue and Grand Boulevard in Tower Grove South. The plan turns the school into 62 apartments, roughly a third affordable. It has the support of other residents, the alderwoman and the president of the Board of Aldermen, who have said that the project would add much needed affordable housing to the city.

Fanning closed in 2021. It was a neighborhood anchor, with a brick tower, wide courtyards and a grand entrance. And unlike many other shuttered schools, it seemed like Fanning wasn’t going to stay vacant for years when Screaming Eagle Development presented its housing plan.

Investment in the city is often seen block by block. In Tower Grove South, it’s often house by house. Fanning sits on tree-lined Grace Avenue, a block with charming brick paving and two-family and single-family homes. Some houses have been recently renovated; others show lagging upkeep. It’s a five-minute walk to the South City Schnucks, a store that made headlines last year when the company detailed vagrancy and security issues and asked City Hall for help.

Last year, Screaming Eagle presented its plan for Fanning and sought special approvals called variances to build the apartments — the neighborhood’s zoning only allows one- and two-family homes. The developer argued that denying the zoning change would cause “undue hardship� to it and the city, according to court documents. The Board of Adjustment agreed.

But Michaud, the neighbor — and a former employee of housing nonprofit Beyond Housing — said the plan allows for too many apartments, tipping the neighborhood toward more renters than homeowners, and that there isn’t enough parking to accommodate residents. The project would create a low-quality environment for the Fanning renters and others. More so, he said, City Hall and the neighborhood association steamrolled his and others’ concerns.

“This is a fringe neighborhood,� he said. “It’s a neighborhood at risk to start with.�

So Michaud and fellow neighbor Deborah Dombar, a current Beyond Housing employee, sued the city over those variances to get the city to listen. They said in court documents that neither the city nor the developer, which was not named in the suit, provided evidence of the hardship. A ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Circuit Court judge agreed and overturned the variances this past June.

But Screaming Eagle has continued to move forward. In July, a city development board agreed to recommend tax abatement for the project to the Board of Aldermen. The court order was not mentioned during the meeting.

The project maintains aldermanic support from both the current alderwoman, Daniela Velazquez, and its former alderwoman, Megan Green, now president of the Board of Aldermen. Velazquez said the neighborhood association supports the project. The project also falls in line with other similar school redevelopments that have all become apartments, she said.

Last month, she filed a to create a parking district that seems to address some of Michaud and Dombar’s concerns. Michaud said instead the bill is proof of the city’s haphazard way of development, bucking best practices seen in other cities, that leaves neighborhoods like his at risk.

Green did not respond to a request for comment. But last week she said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that Screaming Eagle will go back before the Board of Adjustment to provide better documentation needed to obtain the variances.

Screaming Eagle owner Matthew Masiel told the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday that his company is committed to working with Velazquez and the neighborhood association to create a plan the neighborhood supports. He declined to comment further.

On Wednesday, the city’s Planning Commission ruled that the Fanning project follows the city’s strategic land use plan and agreed to recommend approval to the Board of Aldermen.

There was, again, no mention of the court ruling.

Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify Schnucks' concerns at its South City location.