More on Pevely: False Choices, Media Coverage & a New Paradigm in Preservation

"Go behind the empty building and there’s a brand new spanking new ambulatory surgery center there. Is that where you want to take your son or daughter? I don’t think we can invest $80 million in that proposition," Smith said. That's the reaction quote by the St. Louis University project architect offered by St. Louis Public Radio.

From the Post-Dispatch: "Erecting a new surgical center next to the Pevely building is an unrealistic position, he added. 'You want to build a house behind a vacant house?" he said. "That effectively is what we're being asked to do.' "

Saint Louis University purchased the complex listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the intent to tear it down. They ignored that there is a process that must be followed to do so, or they simply assumed that they would win. They either received bad advice or received good advice that they ignored. SLU is now saying that their whole plan is "back to square one" because they aren't allowed to demolish the corner building.