ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Real Estate Commission is suing STL CityWide, a major St. Louis landlord, for renting out properties without a real estate broker’s license.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in St. Louis, asks a judge to bar STL CityWide from continuing to lease apartments at its owners’ more than two dozen buildings until it obtains a broker’s license from the state agency.
It’s the latest sign of official scrutiny against STL CityWide and its manager, controversial developer and landlord Victor Alston. Alston, along with his brother, Sid Chakraverty, are behind Lux Living, a major apartment developer that has built more than 1,000 units in St. Louis in recent years. Their companies own hundreds more apartments in the area, but they have drawn persistent complaints from tenants who say some of the buildings are neglected and management is unresponsive.
People are also reading…
The Post-Dispatch last week reported federal authorities were seeking documents related to the brothers’ projects from the St. Louis Development Corp., the city’s development arm. A former employee said the FBI interviewed him and a lawyer involved in lawsuits against the brothers’ companies said he had heard a federal investigation is underway.
The Ely Walker building, seen here on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, has been the site of mayhem in downtown St. Louis, including a fatal shooting in the building’s lobby.
The Missouri Real Estate Commission’s lawsuit says it began looking into STL CityWide and its predecessor, Asprient Properties, after receiving a complaint in October 2020 alleging CityWide had leased the complainant a condo in the downtown Ely Walker Lofts at 1520 Washington Avenue without a real estate license.
The state agency then discovered that STL CityWide maintains where it lists apartments for rent in 24 buildings in St. Louis and three in St. Louis County.
“Upon information and belief, Respondent continues to conduct real estate brokerage activities within the State of Missouri without appropriate licensing from MREC,†the agency’s lawsuit says.
Alston, Chakraverty and their lawyer, Ira Berkowitz, did not immediately return requests for comment.
Katie Kull of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Photographs from ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ staff and freelancers for the week beginning Sept. 24, 2023. Video by Beth O'Malley
