The Grim Reaper has been seen lurking around the 3200 block of Olive. Saint Louis University filed demolition permit applications with the city last week to raze 3221 and 3225 Olive. These buildings are not within a Preservation Review District nor a Historic District, so there is no review by the Cultural Resources Office.
The building on the right was once Faust’s Fulton Market. The Landmarks Association has more in an article, The Architectural Legacy of Restaurateur Tony Faust, on page 2 of its summer 2018 newsletter.
The Riverfront Times has more reportage-
RFT – Protest Targets SLU Plan to Tear Down Former Mill Creek Valley Buildings
SLU provided a statement to the RFT –
In a statement, Saint Louis University said, “SLU is committed to ensuring the long-term vitality and vibrancy of the campus and the surrounding community. In an effort to continue to improve the area around SLU’s campus, the University recently acquired these two structures, which had been vacant and boarded up for many years.
“It is in no one’s interest for the buildings to continue to deteriorate indefinitely. While SLU applied for a demolition permit, the University is also seeking to engage parties interested in acquiring and redeveloping the properties.”
At least they’re not trying to bullshit us with a fake plan like they did with the Pevely building at Grand and Chouteau a decade ago.
What they are trying to do is create fake urgency to shift the blame for the demolition onto others. If no one shows up to acquire, at a price they set, within their arbitrary time frame, and rehab them, then it’s the mythical white knight’s failure to appear that is the cause of the demo, not SLU’s. If SLU doesn’t want to see them deteriorate indefinitely, how about use some of the money it raised selling the land at Grand and Lafayette to QT to fix up these buildings?
There will be a rally this evening from 6:30 to 7:45 pm in front of the buildings. Please attend.
This brings up again the need for city-wide preservation review. In 2021, then mayoral candidate Jones said-
In St. Louis, our architecture is an incredibly valuable asset and must be protected from demolition to promote more parking. I believe we can make a concerted effort to rebuild our population without the removal of these buildings. We need a more comprehensive and citywide strategy for protecting our historic buildings and structures
