It was an evening in March 1930, and a crowd had gathered at a prestigious gallery in the United States. On one wall were works by Paul Cezanne and on another works by Seurat, Segonzac and Derain. On that evening, this was the center of the art trade in a world thrust into economic depression. And the world’s modern masterpieces were on display.

And they were for sale. All of them.

The location was at the northeast corner of Locust and Tenth Streets in downtown St. Louis. Art dealer Arthur A. Kocian stood watch as collectors and gawkers eyed the paintings that hung at the Noonan-Kocian Art Company, 923 Locust Street.[1]


{923 Locust in 1955 - even though the gallery had moved across the street and a modern storefront added, framed paintings can still be seen in the second story window}

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{13 homes on the 4400 block of Gibson Avenue in St. Louis have been renovated using historic tax credits}

A group of Missouri legislators working to dramatically reduce the historic tax credit are asking if we really want to spend this much money on old buildings. Considering that other primary goals include creating jobs, attracting businesses, and garnering a competitive edge on surrounding states, the answer is yes, we do want to keep an incentive that revitalizes historic buildings in Missouri. At its heart, the program is less about preserving iconic historic buildings and more about leveraging investment in the older, unique neighborhoods and core downtowns that define and anchor our communities statewide.

The historic tax credit is an economic development incentive that has created 43,000 jobs, nearly $7 billion in direct private investment, and effectively returns vacant and underutilized buildings, usually in depressed areas, back to re-use and property tax rolls. The Senate’s hell-bent desire to reduce the historic tax credit by over 50% is therefore quite incongruous with its stated effort to harbor a statewide environment of strong economy-boosting opportunity. Their argument is that all tax credit programs need to be cut. But not all tax credit programs are equal, and the historic tax credit has been well-documented as our best economic development and job creation incentive.

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In the previous section of this three-part article, I began exploring some of the affordable housing initiatives of St. Louis that have helped it, to some extent, stem its precipitous decline, particularly in comparison to Detroit, its peer city in terms of population loss. If this survey (you could almost call it “home tour”) seemed a bit facile, well, it is. To some extent, that’s the point: St. Louis—in contrast with Detroit—has transcended much of its dire population freefall over the years by repopulating its vacant land with sensitively designed affordable and mixed-income housing. The city is still losing population, but its 8.3% loss from 2000 to 2010 is a pittance compared to the staggering 25% that rocked Detroit during the same time frame.

My home show takes on an even more subjective angle because it has exclusively focused on the portfolio of the St. Louis-based developer, McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc (MBS). I confess that I received an information packet guiding through different developments within the city limits through MBS’s public relations coordinator. But this analysis should rise above the level of a promotional campaign for one of the nation’s largest affordable housing developers. Looking at a particularly successful developer serves as a bellwether for what might prevent other attempts to restore the city’s housing stock from yielding transformative results.

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In the wake of Saint Louis University President Father Lawrence Biondi's announcement that he will step down, it will undoubtedly be remarked as a matter of faith he helped transform Midtown and the SLU campus, and while much has been built over the course of his 25 years at the helm, much has been needlessly demolished. It's worth accounting for what has been lost, and each building below was replacd with an empty lot. Biondi Before an After:

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