ST. LOUIS — City officials this week issued a nuisance notice and condemned four units in a condo building that has been the subject of scrutiny for downtown-area crime, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in the building’s lobby.
A sign taped Thursday on the Ely Walker Lofts at 1520 Washington Avenue said the building’s board hadn’t adequately responded to “disturbances, shootings and other unruly behavior” cited in a previous nuisance warning in May. A hearing in September could determine if the lofts should be boarded up for a year.
The notices are the city’s latest attempt to crack down on illegal activity downtown in recent years. Previous efforts included increasing police, narrowing streets, closing bridges on the weekend, and banning scooters. The lofts are the second downtown-area venue along Washington Avenue to face a nuisance hearing because of shootings and large parties; last year, Reign Restaurant at 1122 Washington was ordered boarded up and later closed.
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Meanwhile, downtown leaders on Thursday urged City Hall to spend more money to make downtown safer, including using federal aid to put up more surveillance cameras, upgrade street lights and take steps to slow down traffic on major roads.
Ely Walker resident Madelyn Munsell said she and others were surprised to see the nuisance and condemnation notices this week, but they were grateful city leaders were paying attention.
“It’s letting us know that the city does have their eyes on us right now,” Munsell said, “and that does feel hopeful.”
Scrutiny of the building began in the summer of 2021, when a party that started on the top floor spilled outside and into the street. A group was videotaped twerking and jumping on a police car with the officer still inside.
Then, on March 12, 16-year-old Terrion Smith was letting people into the lofts for a party when he was shot dead. City officials also vowed to investigate a large rooftop party hosted at the building the following month.
Tenants and nearby property owners continued to complain about parties — some of which they say were hosted at apartments rented out through short-term rental websites — that got out of control and damaged property.
The spotlight quickly turned to Aconcagua One LLC, which owns nearly half the units in the building, its manager Victor Alston, who is behind controversial developer Lux Living, and his business partner and brother Sid Chakraverty.
Ira Berkowitz, a lawyer for many of the brothers’ companies, denied in May that his clients had any short-term rentals at Ely Walker and blamed the problems at the building on the proliferation of guns and crime.
“Look at Washington Avenue altogether,” he said. “It’s not this building, it’s what’s happening in the city.”
Berkowitz did not respond to multiple requests for comment about this week’s notices. An apartment manager for the Ely Walker Lofts declined to comment.
Ely Walker’s hearing is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 7 before the city condominium board. The city’s public safety director will then ask a judge to grant an “order of abatement,” which could result in the building being closed for up to a year.
All five members of Ely Walker Lofts board, including Chakraverty, list the address for the condo’s leasing agent STL Citywide, managed by Alston, as their contact information, according to business registration documents. Residents in a lawsuit accused the company of installing the majority of board members to control the building. The company denied the allegations.
The condemnation notices apply to individual unit owners, including Aconcagua One. City officials said they were related to inspection issues. Owners have 10 days to correct the violations or vacate the units.
Munsell, the building resident, said she hoped the problems could be fixed without forcing people to leave.
“There are 168 families that live here, and to displace us would not be beneficial to anyone,” she said.