Disfunctional Ward Development Exploited by CVS to Demolish Landmark Building in St. Louis

The recent rezoning of 3930 McPherson Ave from C (Multiple Family Residential) to H (Area Commercial) by the St. Louis City Planning Commission likely means the demolition of the landmark ovular Mid-Century Modern American Automobile Association headquarters at 3915 Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End for a CVS Pharmacy location.

If this story seems familiar, it is. CVS attempted to demolish several buildings at 4100-4120 Lindell two years ago for a drive-through pharmacy. The plan for their standalone cookie-cutter building, just 700 feet from an existing Walgreens, was met with requests from the neighbors to place the drive through at the rear of the building and to design the facade to more closely match the existing urban context. These basic requests proved too onerous for CVS and the developer pulled out.