National Trust for Historic Preservation Subsidiary Among Entities Suing Two Preservationists
In the many twists and turns over the last six years over the now demolished Century Building is the fact that a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is among the plaintiffs in what I believe to be a SLAAP suit against two downtown St Louis residents that tried, and ultimately failed, to save the Century Building from being razed and replaced with another parking garage (prior post).
The National Trust once had an ad campaign touting preservation over parking garages. However when they stood to gain $438,000 in fees they tossed aside their principals and agreed to the razing of the 1901 marble-clad Century Building that was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
And when the developers, City of St Louis and the State of Missouri decided to sue the two individuals that had sought to save the building, there was the richer National Trust joining in the case as a minority stakeholder in one of the complex web of entities used to get tax credits. It’s nice to know that the Nation’s leading preservation organization can be bought off for under half a million. From the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (aka NTCIC):
NTCIC created a subsidiary Community Development Entity, NTCIC/Old Post Office, LLC, with US Bank to facilitate the transaction. US Bank is the federal and state HTC investor and the NMTC investor and will own 99.99% of NTCIC/Old Post Office, LLC. That entity in turn owns 99.99% of the St. Louis’ U.S. Custom House and Post Office Building Associates, LP, which owns the Old Post Office. (source)
I’ve got a challenge for you. Find me an intersection downtown (East of Tucker) where all four corners are intact historic buildings. While you are thinking on that one try to get a picture of downtown without a parking garage in the image.
The intersection of 9th & Olive was the very last corner with historic buildings remaining on all four corners – The Old Post Office, The Paul Brown, The Frisco and the Century. No other intersection in the CBD still had such a historic grouping of buildings. When the Century was smashed into bits we lost that last historic corner. All other intersections have a modern building, a surface parking lot or a parking garage on one or more of the corners. Which brings us to the challenge of taking a picture of downtown without a parking garage in the image.
If you get close enough to a building you can do it. But step back and try to get a street view and it becomes more difficult to avoid garages. Sometimes taking a picture from within a parking garage helps but even then you are likely to see another.
Former Mayor Schoemehl’s legacy is the razing of historic structures such as Eames & Young’s Title Guaranty Building and the construction of Gateway One in its place. Mayor Slay’s legacy in this city will be the taking of the Century on that one last remaining historic intersection and the tactics employed to get there. Remember that the Washington Ave rebirth was started during the Harmon administration, not Slay’s.
Of course people will say it was necessary to raze the Century in order to save the Old Post Office across the street. It was argued that a garage had to be built immediately adjacent to the Old Post Office. Its location a block from the 8th & Pine MetroLink line and within a few blocks of other garages wasn’t good enough. The Downtown Now plan from a decade ago called for saving the context around the Post Office and for there to be no parking garages facing the building. But ignoring the plan’s call for no garages facing the building, where to place a garage? Three sides have historic structures while the North side has already lost it’s historic buildings and is surface parking. Three historic blockfaces and one missing. So the plan was to raze a second blockface rather than utilize the existing missing tooth. Brilliant! Nice job Francis.
This actually connects back to Schoemehl’s legacy a few blocks away. The state of Missouri has offices at the Wainright Building and had parking where the May Amphitheater is now. Once Schoemehl had finished razing what was known as “real estate row” parking was supposed to be built underground for the state. The last two blocks got done in the 90s without any underground parking for the state. These are the two blocks being redone again as a sculpture garden. So when it came to locating state courts and offices in the Old Post Office the state didn’t want to get screwed over again.
We almost need to keep reelecting Mayor Slay. Each Mayor for decades has a legacy of destruction in our city. If we keep Slay around hopefully he is done with the Century and thus the balance of our historic structures are safe. Mayor Slay’s 2nd term ends next Spring. If we elect someone new then we must worry about how they are going to put their mark on the city.
No matter who we have as Mayor the National Trust for Historic Preservation Demolition will be there ready to sign off on the demolition of a historic structure in exchange for a hefty fee. It’s reassuring to know some things don’t change.
I still don’t understand why they didn’t build the Ninth Street Garage north of the old Post Office. That plaza is not needed with the Gateway Mall four blocks to the south. This might some over-dramatic, but I will never be again be a member of the National Trust. I don’t care how sorry they may be now about supporting the demolition of the Century; I saw the remains of that venerable building this weekend and it makes me sick that they could have supported its demolition.
funny thing with the century building. they say they needed the garage to be functional. but when the old post office was done, and 100% leased, the garage was still at least a year, i believe more, away from being done. i think this is a good case study in saying that parking garages are not need anymore. but, we have the transit tax looming in the county. i’ve never been a religious man, but i will ask for one favor from who ever that may be. interesting thing also was today on marketplace morning report, they cited st. louis as having the cheapest gas in the country.
You’re a spaz.
Have you ever actually worked on a large project to develope a project? From your ignorance I think I know the answer.
Spaz.
Awesome argument, Stan. So much substance.
Also, based on your grammar i know you’re illiterate.
Illiterate.
Well, in Stan’s defense, I’ve known illiterate people, and since Stan can put “words to paper”, he is not at all an illiterate. Not even a functional illiterate. He’s definately an apologist for developers and the incompetent pols who have occupied Room 200 and the aldermanic chambers over the last 60 yrs, but illiterate he is not.
^ I know. I just wanted to post something childish and unsubstantiated too.
You forgot to mention the Heller/McGowan proposal to rehab the Century and build a garage within. Stogel stopped that!
If you can tear down the Century Building, you can tear down any building. That’s not a good precedent.
I share your distress over the Century Building but feel sad that you are only able to see the failures. Some who care about historic preservation would say that Schoemehl’s legacy was his refusal to allow demolition of the Cupples Station Warehouse complex in spite of the fact that he earned the permanent hatred of sports fans everywhere and August Busch III.
A relavent article from the NYTimes about Schoemehl and Cupples Station.
Busch Drops Arena Plans http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE4D8163CF93BA25754C0A96F948260&n=Top/News/Business/Companies/Anheuser-Busch%20Companies
Per the Post-Dispatch on Nov 1, 1992, Schoemehl was “roundly mocked” for his decision to save the warehouses instead of razing them for parking alongside a new $70 million hockey arena.
If you’re looking for a mayor in the past 50 years with a perfect record on historic preservation, you’re going to be looking for a long time.
Sometimes it seems all the irreplaceable historic architecture in this city would be bulldozed if certain powers could pull it off while no one was looking. I’m wondering if St. Louis hates historic architecture, but instead loves cheap, contemporary replicas that are blasphemic at best. Some things are just intolerably stupid.
The system is rigged for the wealthy and the insiders. The National Trust has risen to the level of insiders and no doubt their executives receive healthy salaries. The corruption of the system is widespread, but it is legal because they make the laws.
A more serious issue is the attack on free speech. Corporations spend millions of dollars to buy politicians of every stripe, but if someone speaks up and makes a reasonable challenge as happened in this case, they are harassed.
What is important here is the final decision by the courts. A decision supporting the corporations will seal the fact the whole government is owned, bought and corrupt. (The examples are countless, Paul McKee comes to mind).
Of course there are parts of government that support the American people. But St. Louis has an extremely closed system of favoritism and insider movements. It may be time to devise radical solutions, including forming an alternative government parallel to the existing government. Third political parties don’t seem to work (mostly due to the slanted press coverage of the major media) but it is possible in the age of the internet to possibly use third parties again.
It is clear there is already a grass roots movement that has formed with numerous leaders including you Steve, (whether you see that role or not).
In any case I view it as extremely serious that a social, moneyed class has taken over democratic society so they can make decisions they think benefit them financially, no matter what the impact is the welfare of the citizens or the future of America.
As disgusting as the entire Century building situation continues to be, compared to prior administrations, Slay is marginally better on the issue of historic preservation. That actually means very little, because the whole concept is a relatively recent one, popularly speaking, and mayors from 50 to 80 years ago were not only NOT preservationists, they were avid “demolitionists” solidly behind the “progressive” idea of bulldozing anything old to build suburban housing and highways. Obviously, the Arch is not suburban housing or a highway, but as a symbol of “the new St. Louis”, it was done at the expense of hundreds of demolitions in the name of progress. Nowadays, if an individual alderman supports constituents who wish to preserve a historic structure, most any mayoral administration will back the alderperson and even mouth platitudes about “irreplaceable historic architecture”. The point though, is that it is politics, not deep passion over dilapidated bricks. In the same fashion, local mayors understand the fiscal importance of Missouri state historic tax credits to the local development climate, even if they are not excited about historic preservation itself. When Slay became mayor in 2001, he and his staff stood solidly behind preserving not only the South Side Bank building, but the other historic structures adjacent to it. Again, I don’t believe they were personally motivated by abiding passion for things like “historic streetscape”, “Art Deco gem”, or “whimsical terra cotta”. They recognized it as a POLITICAL issue with enough steam to warrant their support, just as the citizens who originally sought to save SSNB understood that in order for that to happen, it had to become a hard political matter, not one aimed at paltry local dedication to historic preservation as valuable in and of itself.
I have been a member of the National Trust for many years now. I will continue to be. In fact, I will probably increase my donation.
On preservation matters, Slay is infinitely better than Clarence Harmon, whose main preservation accomplishment was signing into law the removal of city-wide demolition review jurisdiction from the Cultural Resources Office. Harmon’s act cut against twenty years of policy that helped cut through the aldermanic system, putting the power to preserve right back in the hands of the aldermen. Nothing Slay has done is as comparably bad for the city’s future. In fact, Slay has appointed mostly preservation-minded people to the city’s Preservation Board, reversing a lean against preservation left over from (again) Clarence Harmon. Ironically, a few of the same preservationists who bash Slay to no end were among Harmon’s most ardent backers.