ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Preservation Board on Monday approved Lux Living’s proposal to redevelop a historic building but denied its request to demolish a row of vacant buildings on South Kingshighway near Forest Park.
The board unanimously approved the developer’s plan to redevelop the Engineers’ Club building, at 4339-4359 Lindell Boulevard. Lux Living plans to keep the entire structure and build a six-story apartment development on the east and north that will be connected by a one-story building.
The company has the building under contract to buy from the Engineers’ Club, whose president, Melissa Carver, said the building has over $750,000 in deferred maintenance and does not have the money to maintain the building.
Lux Living went before the board last year with a proposal to demolish part of the building but was denied.
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Lux Living is one of the most prolific developers in the St. Louis region, but it also has faced controversy over tenant complaints of property mismanagement and efforts to stall a competing development.
That controversy spilled over into public comment with Lux Living’s request to overturn the Cultural Resources Office’s decision to deny its request to demolish seven vacant buildings along Kingshighway Boulevard, near Forest Park, to build a 144-apartment development.
Lux Living had submitted revised plans late Friday that moved the entrance and exit to the development from Kingshighway to Arco and Oakland Avenues. It also revised how far back the third level of the project would be from the street.
But many from the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood, including Alderman Tina Pihl, criticized the last-minute changes and accused the developer of eschewing neighborhood input after it faced pushback. The Forest Park Southeast Neighborhood Association this summer declined to endorse the proposal after a former Lux employee shared allegations that the company had talked about going around the city’s building division to take down the properties. Lux has denied those allegations.
“Residents in our community deserve respect at all times from developers,†Pihl said.
The Cultural Resources Office, which staffs the board, denied the demolition request because six of the seven buildings are considered historically “merit†and are considered “contributing resources†to the Forest Park Southeast National Register District and therefore eligible for historic tax credits.
The board agreed and unanimously voted against the company’s request. Alderman Jack Coater, who sits on the board, was not present for the vote. He had been criticized for accepting donations from Lux Living and later returned the donations, citing concern about mayhem at a downtown St. Louis apartment building they control.
During the four-hour meeting, the board also approved developers Green Street Real Estate Ventures and Midas’ plans to demolish a former Wells Fargo office in Midtown for two hotels, pending the city issuing a building permit for the projects.
