The beginning of progress?

Ecology of Absence reports on a meeting between concerned residents in Blairmont's targeted areas and the Mayor's staff. It's a first positive step in resolving the Paul McKeep problem, but it's only the very beginning.

Daily Dose of Blairmont 95

• 2733 Dodier Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $60,000)
  
• 2731 Dodier Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006 - vacant lot)
  
• 2729 Dodier Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006 - vacant lot)
  
• 2725 Dodier Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006, $78,000 - brick rustled)
  
• 2723 Dodier Street (Noble Development LLC, February 2006, $50,000 - demolished)
  
• 2721 Dodier Street (MLK 3000 LLC, September 2006, $72,000 - demolished)
  
• 2719 Dodier Street (Noble Development Co LLC, March 2006, $37,500 - demolished)
  
• 2715 Dodier Street (Noble Development Co LLC, March 2006, $6,000 - vacant lot)
  
• 2713 Dodier Street (privately owned)
  
• 2711 Dodier Street (VHS Partners LLC, January 2006, $35,000)
  
• 2709 Dodier Street (Noble Development Co LLC, February 2006, $60,000 - demolished)
  

Today's Daily Dose started out as an entry about one brick rustled property. But when I looked it up, I got a bit of a shock.

May 2008

Between tracking down the address of the houses I photograph, the city's records, and the aerial views at Live.com, I've gotten a pretty good system down to prevent accidentally listing an incorrect address as a Blairmont property. I was surprised, then, to look 2725 Dodier up at Geo St. Louis and see four houses all in a row, when there's clearly nothing around it but empty lots. I obviously had the wrong address written down. So I double checked, examined the photographs I took only seconds before and after these two, panned across the aerial view several times, flipped back and forth. In the end, I realized that there was no mistake... just an unfathomable amount of demolition.



And as you can see from the list above, they are all Paul McKee properties.

I encourage readers to click the aerial view linked below. It shows how recently there were buildings on these lots; the image is no more than three years old. Of the seven houses standing when Blairmont came through, 4 are completely gone, and a fifth one has been reduced to rubble by brick rustlers. It's simply too much to discount as coincidence.


2733 Dodier - May 2008


2713 Dodier (left, privately owned) and 2711 Dodier (right, VHS Partners) - May 2008

At the end of the block stands a house that's had quite a bit of expansion, and is still occupied. I'm sure the owners are grateful for all the "improvements" to their block; isn't 8 vacant lots much better than 3?


Price bounce: 2721 sold for $60,000 in July 2006, then again for $72,000 in September 2006. That's one heck of a finder's fee, innit?

Links:

• 2725 Dodier at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 94

Left to right:
• 1815 Elliott Street (Larmer LLC, January 2008, $36,000)
• 1817 Elliott Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2005, $27,900)
• 1819 Elliott Street (LRA)

May 2008

The left-hand unit had some stairs replaced in 2005, indicating occupancy. It privately owned from outside the neighborhood.

The center unit was owner-occupied until Blairmont bought it.

The LRA has owned the right-hand unit for over a decade.



It's nothing short of amazing that the windows are all there, though also baffling that absolutely no attempt at board-up has been made, either.

For comparison purposes, here's the same row back in 2002. The LRA owns the separate house on the left.

Links:

• 1817 Elliott at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 93

Left to right:
• 2719 Howard Street (privately owned)
• 2717 Howard Street (privately owned)
• 2715 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $20,000)

May 2008

I'm not sure if the middle house is occupied or not. But the green Blairmont house is definitely empty, and definitely not secured properly.

Links:

• 2715 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 92

• 2808 Dayton Street (N & G Ventures LLC, November 2005, $55,000)

May 2008

It only takes a small chink to bring down a dam. One break, one foot in the door, can unleash a flood of devastation. It's a tactic that Paul McKee knows only too well.



Blairmont bought this building from an owner-occupant in 2005 (said owner turned a tidy profit compared to his purchase price of $4,000.) What happens, then, to the occupied buildings next door? One is owned by a non-resident; the other is a JVL Renaissance property. Have they benefited from having a vacant building next door for three years?

Links:

• 2808 Dayton at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 91

• 2714 North Market Street (VHS Partners LLC, May 2005, $19,450)

May 2008

This fairly plain red brick house was bought from an owner-occupant in 2004, by a Portland, OR mortgage company. Blairmont purchased it shortly afterwards in 2005. The changing of the year allows the owners to be listed in the city's database, giving some credence to a suspicion I've had, that some of Blairmont's smaller-scale price bouncing is straightforward transfers from an acquiring real estate company. It explains the $1,900 increase from the first sale price of $17,550.

It does not explain a lot of other far more massive increases, however. It also raises questions of how many speculatory companies are operating in the area, how many contact Blairmont has made with them.




Oh, and of course, the 2nd floor windows are gone. And the front door's hanging open.

Links:

• 2714 North Market at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 90

• 2725 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, April 2005, $5,000)

May 2008

Bad board-up job, empty upper-floor windows, house left unsecured, yard not mowed, beautiful red brick architecture with an ornate cornice... yep, it's a Blairmont house!

• 2729 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $25,000 for "multiple locations")

Okay okay, to be fair - not all Blairmont houses have a bad board-up job. Sometimes there's no boards at all.

Paul McKee also owns the vacant lot between them, which seems to be at least part of the "multiple locations" listed in the sales history. An LRA lot is next door.

Links:

• 2725 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 89

• 1814 Leffingwell Street (Dodier Investors LLC, January 2007, $65,000)

May 2008

The house itself is nothing special, insofar as any of St. Louis's remarkable red brick vernacular can be regarded as "nothing special". But it's part of a lengthy intact row, a rare surviving fragment of north city's urban past. Unfortunately, much of the row is vacant. The houses are a mix of private owners and LRA properties.


There was a time when the whole city was thick with such architecture, all inhabited and thriving. With proper redevelopment, it could be so again.

Links:

• 1814 Leffingwell at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 88

Left to right:
• 2624 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2004, $12,450)
• 2626 Howard Street (privately owned)
  
• 2628-2634 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, November 2005, $50,000)

May 2008



For the double house at 2628, the city's records show two sales on the exact same day, one for $22,500, the other for $27,500. It may look like a price bounce at first, but more likely it's just two transactions for two separate addresses.



There's a definite price jump on the small house at 2624, originally sold in September 2004 for $3,500, then sold in November 2004 for $12,450.

The small house was occupied as recently as 2000. After its purchase by Blairmont, it was boarded up in March 2005 by the city, and was slapped with three code violations. A followup inspection in 2007 found TWENTY code violations. Way to take care of your property there, Mr. McKee.

Links:

• 2628 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 87

• 2953 Sheridan Avenue (N & G Ventures LLC, August 2004)

May 2008

2953 Sheridan is a 1916 four-family apartment building, vacant since being condemned in 2005. A search through Geo St. Louis's parcel history has Blairmont owning it as early as 2004. Permit records show it occupied through the 1990s.


Take note -- all the upper floor windows are gone.

Surrounding this building: a public school to the east. A church to the north. A half dozen or more occupied houses to the south. A small industrial building to the west.

Links:

• 2953 Sheridan at the city's Geo St Louis database, including images from March 2007.
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 86

"We will create the space where business and community take place. The innate, human purpose of the villages as a gathering for all people will be re-discovered. Whether newly created or in response to the needs of existing urban areas, we will pursue these Integrated Developments to the betterment of our customers and the community."

                - "LifeWorks" statement from WingHaven.net

That's the stated philosophy of Paul McKee's McEagle development company. Let's go to Old North St. Louis and see it in action, shall we?

• 1311 St. Louis Avenue (Blairmont Associates Ltd. LLC, August 2005, $65,000)

May 2008

Here's 1311 St. Louis Avenue, just up the street from thriving Crown Candy Kitchen. A beautifully renovated, owner-occupied house stands right next door. The 14th Street Mall is undergoing total reconstruction across the street. Every house on the block of 14th Street to the west is either renovated, or undergoing reconstruction. Sounds like a whole lot of "re-discovering" is going on. McEagle ought to be all over it.

So, what's happening at 1311 St. Louis? This is a very urban building, built to the sidewalk, with storefronts at the street and room for apartments above; it's ripe to be "integrated" into the surrounding urban fabric. Or if McEagle wants "integrated" developments in the racial sense of the word, well, you're not going to beat Old North for that, either.

But despite all this, somehow Blairmont's property just doesn't seem to be working for "the betterment of the community". No, instead it's just sitting there, vacant. And it has done so, in Blairmont's hands, for three years now.

Well, okay, maybe it's kind of remote; after all, it's almost half a block away from the new construction -- that's like a thirty second walk, maybe more! Surely a Blairmont house that's right next door to the renovation will be part of the reconstruction, right?

• 1416 Montgomery Street (Noble Development Co. LLC, September 2006, no price data available)

No?! Man, Paul McKee, where's the love here? What happened to your deep and abiding interest in "a lifestyle built on engagement" where "Neighbor meets neighbor. Lives connect. Families thrive."?





No families thriving at this address.

Old North doesn't need abstract statements about "the urban village" and "all people connecting" -- it's already got all that, organically grown rather than developer-imposed. If the statements above are what Paul McKee truly believes in, then shouldn't he stop obstructing a neighborhood where all of it is actually happening? Isn't it past time for him to step up to the plate and renovate his Old North holdings -- or else sell them off to someone who will actually do something productive with them?

Or does all that talk about connecting and families and values and urban spaces only count for rich exurbanites?

Links:

• 1416 Montgomery at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• 1311 St. Louis at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• The 14th Street Mall aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 85

Left to right:
• 2731 James "Cool Papa" Bell Ave. (N & G Ventures LLC, Nov. 2005, $20,000)
• 2729 James "Cool Papa" Bell Ave. (N & G Ventures LLC, Oct. 2003, $?)
• 2727 James "Cool Papa" Bell Ave. (Larmer LLC, March 2008, $?)
• 2723 James "Cool Papa" Bell Ave. (N & G Ventures LLC, Sep. 2003, $739)
• 2721 James "Cool Papa" Bell Ave. (privately owned)

May 2008

This batch is a ragged looking group, and show no signs of improvement under Paul McKee's ownership (unless removing the upper-floor windows is somehow an "improvement".)




Vacant since 2002, 2723 is the worse of the bunch. Its exterior layer of brick is spalling off, creating a hazard to anyone nearby. Have pity on the owner-occupant next door!



A second owner-occupant lives just west of the Blairmont cluster, and three more to the east.

Possible price bounce: 2727 sold in October 2007 for $17,000. It seems to have sold again in March 2008 to Larmer, for an undisclosed amount. Given the lack of a second sales record and price, this may simply be a database error.

Links:

• James Cool at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 84

Left to right:
• 1715-1717 Leffingwell Street (Sheridan Place LLC, December 2006, $140,000)
• 1719 Leffingwell Street (MLK 3000 LLC, October 2006, $65,000)

May 2008

This block's got three Blairmont units in a row. The remainder includes a JVL Renaissance building, an absentee landlord, and an owner-occupant.

1715 is not your run-of-the-mill St. Louis house. Built in 1903, it's a four-family building marked by light brown brick and white terra cotta ornament.



Amazingly, it has none of the usual hallmarks of Blairmont abuse; the windows are intact and present, and there's been no fires or brick theft. Still, the grass looks like it hasn't been mowed in months, and since the place is presumably vacant, shouldn't it be boarded up?

Links:

• 1715 Leffingwell at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 83

• 2615 Howard Street (VHS Partners LLC, August 2005, $25,000)

A lovely little house, with tidy window awnings and decorative scribing around the windows.

May 2008

This is the "wasteland" that Paul McKee wants to "save". This is the "uninhabited urban ruin" that "needs" to be emptied out.


This is the architecture that's not worth fighting for.




Yeah, I don't buy it either.

For the record, the last photo contains three owner-occupant houses and a small church. So who is it exactly that needs to be run out of the neighborhood -- the neighbors, or Blairmont?

Links:

• 2615 Howard at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 82

Left to right:

• 2823 University Street (privately owned)
  
• 2821 University Street (Union Martin LLC, May 2008, $62,500?)
  
• 2819 University Street (N & G Ventures)
  
• 2815 University Street (privately owned)

May 2008
Blairmont already had the little frame house. Now they've got the dull red brick house next door.



When I first documented this block, this building was still listed as owner-occupied. Now it's been snapped up by "Union Martin", widely suspected to be the latest incarnation of Blairmont (the evidence includes: Incorporated only days after the last of the shell companies' purchases. The same kind of nondescript name. The same pattern of buying up JVL and St. Louis Place properties.)

Paul McKee is not resting, not stopping, not altering his assault on this neighborhood in any way. The threat is real and ongoing.



Oh, but remember! Nobody lives here! Wiping out this empty, uninhabited place (where flowers magically plant themselves) is doing a great public service!

Links:

• 2821 University at the city's Geo St Louis database
  
• 2821 University at the City Assessor's database
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?