I’ve lived in the Fox Park Neighborhood for 14 years. Fox Park shares South Jefferson as a border along with the Gate District, Lafayette Square, and McKinley Heights neighborhoods between Chouteau and Gravois.
I’ve watched and observed with highs and lows. I feel the lows are building up in the past year or so and want to publicly share my take to try and right-size my concerns or at least advocate for a higher use and future for this important North - South artery.
This is a very relevant part of St. Louis. There is talk of a North - South light rail line that would traverse this stretch of road. There are many variables and grants to be ironed out, but work is said to potentially start in 2025. That said, I’m a bit skeptical of anything that involves the City of St. Louis and Missouri when it comes to advocating for strong public benefits.
So why am I concerned? Well, we’ve lost several properties in the last couple months. Others remain undeveloped, abandoned or simply falling down. The suburban land uses are fading into businesses that do not benefit the neighborhoods at large.
We’ve lost churches, homes, business buildings, all brick beauties in my time here. Fire, squatter destruction and the vast problem: slumlords and “investors” who sit and do nothing for decades.
The tagging and trap house thing has grown. The look is not a friendly, hopeful one.
Before I get started, let me say there are some fantastic rehabs and businesses along this stretch. Some of the best restaurants, bars and amazing retail spaces exist along here. This is why those who care and put in the work and sweat equity deserve more than slumlords as neighbors.
My source of info on ownership, taxes and condemnations are from Geo St. Louis. This data should be taken with a grain of salt, as should any info from the City of St. Louis. It is not a professionally curated data set or website, but it’s the best we’ve got. So I’ll stick with the official source of info for my research.
Let’s take a tour of this part of town to show you what I mean.
The former trucking operation at Jefferson and Chouteau has plans to be demolished and developed into dense housing and retail. I first read about this potential development in 2018 on NextSTL, but today, it still sits undeveloped and attracting taggers. Nobody likes to see this kind of property ownership. This is one of the most visible corners of one of our most swanky examples of St. Louis renovation and architecture, Lafayette Square.
Heading south toward Gravois, you will find a recently collapsed brick beauty built in 1888. This one was owned by a Brentwood, MO man. At least he was paying taxes as the building sat empty and underutilized for many, many years. It is now gone, but the pile of bricks is still there weeks, maybe months after the collapse. Blocking the sidewalk and alley is of no concern to the suburban owner.
Just up the road, a roofing company has installed curb cuts and laid down chat rock for truck parking/shed storage on a vacant lot. Of course, I want to see businesses thrive here, but this is yet another unsightly addition to a major thoroughfare. Would this be accepted in a small suburban town just west of St. Louis like Brentwood, Richmond Heights or the like? Me thinks not. Here? No problem, that’ll do.
Just down the street at Lafayette is a massive undeveloped architectural treasure, the Das Deutsche Haus or German House, or St. Louis House at the onset of WWII. This former performance space is owned by the Church of Scientology who have done absolutely nothing to the property. It is a massive opportunity to build along Jefferson and renovate the gorgeous building. But no, it sits vacant for decades. The unsightly surface parking lots bakes in the sun adding nothing to the neighborhood or the surrounding city. The building has been broken into and tagged on numerous occasions. The saving grace is they are paying significant taxes (>$50K/year) that go toward our schools and services.
Continuing south, you go under I-44 and come to a McDonalds restaurant. Likely one of the top tax revenue generators in Fox Park, you would think we’d want a good experience for the hundreds of daily drive-thru patrons. Instead, this is what you see when you exit the drive through.
Guess who owns it? An Arnold, MO slumlord who has left the property in shambles for years, paying a mere ~$400 per year toward our schools. Do you think they care? The property has been condemned four times since 2007. The recent set of squatters are slamming what I can only imagine as a combination of meth and fetty. The needles are all over and the look and behavior exhibited by the most recent squatters says it all. Dangerous street drugs that make people sadly unpredictable and dangerous to themselves and others is another byproduct of abandonment.
Notice the dumpster? There is a $50K exterior permit on record, clearly not enough for a proper rehab.
Just south of this property is yet another start/stop “renovation” that has gone on for years. The former Jefferson Camera building with it’s cool metal sign was pilfered years ago by a suburban antique shop in Crestwood. Since then, it has fallen further into decay with semi trailers parked on the property. To be fair, the vacant lot and the building are two separate entities with unique ownership. The taxes are paid up on the building, but no permits on record since 2019. Meanwhile, they treat the hard working neighbors with this view.
The camera sign is visible in the Google Streetview image below from 2011.
Right across the street are boarded up gorgeous buildings.
Also on display is the Qooba Foundation’s set of properties where no work has been done in nearly a decade. This religious entity had big plans for a mosque here. I wrote about it back in 2017, but literally nothing has happened except dumping, trespassing and devaluation of our community.
Taxes? $28/year or $0 per year, depending on the year.
At the crucial intersection of Russell and Jefferson is a former auto repair shop that has been vacant since we’ve lived here and likely long before. The cross on the property led folks in the neighborhood to believe it was a dude calling it a church, hence making it a non-profit and paying no taxes. It is used merely for storage. No care, no upkeep, just a suburban eye sore.
No permits issued since 1998. The address of the owner is actually in McKinley Heights and they started paying taxes in 2008, so the non-profit lore falls a bit short. They are paying ~$1,800/year toward our schools and services. There are 93 CSB complaints on record.
Just south of this property is yet another building that has recently collapsed.
Ownership? Westport Plaza, MO…another suburban slumlord/owner. Taxes paid? ~$9/year. Think they care about St. Louis, our schools or our services? Nope.
There are many empty lots along Jefferson too, mainly due to collapses and fires over the years. There used to be a beautiful little church at Jefferson and Accomac that burned. It was demo’d and has remained vacant ever since. Another missed opportunity for community, tax base and most importantly…people.
The owner is in St. John or Woodson Terrace, MO, both suburbs of St. Louis. Taxes? $350/year. Pretty cheap price to pay to do nothing, eh? The church burned in ~2019 and was demo’d around 2020.
Then there are the suburban land use properties including a former Vickers gas station that long ago remove the gas pumps; now it is what you could call a “convenience” store. Also on this stretch is a car wash owned by the same guy who owns the Phillips 66 on Lindell. In their defense, they are paying their taxes, but are they giving back to the neighborhood quality services, or handsome business properties? Are they keeping their properties clean? My answer is no.
When you come to Gravois, you are faced with a shuttered 7-11 and a couple predatory lenders. These suburban buildings need to be leveled and replaced with housing that hugs the street and complements the massive investments in warehouse rehabs just behind these mid-Century mistakes.
One lender is owned by a Clayton, MO entity, the other tracks back to a law firm on Hampton in St. Louis.
So a walk or drive down Jefferson these days is not a pleasant one. But, it has shining examples of progress and stability. The coming years will be crucial for this part of the city.
Am I over reacting? Is this just a normal evolution that is required in a city like St. Louis? Must we hit rock bottom to rise toward a functional street?
I’ll be here to watch and support the good businesses that set up shop here.
Hope springs eternal.
