Daily Dose of Blairmont 179

• 3249 N. 19th Street (Blairmont Associates LLC, November 2005, $10,000)

August 2008

All that's left on this lot is a sad little back house, a concrete block structure built in the 1940s.

This stretch of 19th Street is really notable for two things: large amounts of empty land, and a squadron of hard-working do-it-yourself rehabbers bringing back buildings that seemed like lost causes five years ago.

Links:

• 3249 19th 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 178

• 2500 Sullivan Avenue (MLK 3000 LLC, May 2007, $150,000)

August 2008

A pretty ragged looking four-flat for $150K! You'd think Blairmont could board up those ground floor windows... or at least hang some curtains! The senior citizens living in the huge retirement complex right across the street might appreciate that. Still, the building overall looks to be in good condition... it's just the ground floor that's taken a beating under Paul McKee's ownership.



That's the brick rustled ruins of 2510 Sullivan next door.


February 2008

Well, it was probably those people who made it look this way, right? You know, those people, wink wink, nudge nudge. We all know those people don't take care of anything. Everybody knows that those people trash their neighborhoods and destroy everything good that whit--- uh -- normal hard working folks have built up, and just sit around waiting for a handout from the gub'ment. We all know you just can't do anything about those people, yuh huh!

Since everybody knows these things, let's see how this raggedy house looked while in the hands of those people, before a hard working businessman from the suburbs purchased it.


August 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Boy, just look at it! Those people haven't done anything except plant beautiful flowers and keep the lawn mowed and the windows intact and generally maintain the place in perfect repair. Boy howdy, it sure is a good thing the neighborhood is finally being saved from those people!

Links:

• 2500 Sullivan 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?

Old North Rehabber's Fair

Site visitors occasionally wonder how they can go about purchasing a house in the city, so some may find this of interest. Copied from an email posting:

The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group will hold a Rehabber’s Fair for LRA property in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood on Saturday, September 20th, from 9am-12noon, at 1400 North Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63106.

Come find out:
▪ How to purchase property from LRA;
▪ What loan products are available for gut renovations;
▪ The financial incentives to renovating LRA properties in Old North;
▪ The lessons learned from people who have gone through – or are in the midst of - the process;
▪ Which LRA property is available in Old North.

A tour of some available LRA properties will conclude the Fair. All attendees will receive a packet including a map of the neighborhood, a list of available LRA properties, the forms necessary for submitting an offer for LRA properties, and more.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Karen Heet, Real Estate Development Coordinator, at 314-241-5031 or karen@onsl.org by Wednesday, September 17th.

We hope to see you in Old North soon!

Daily Dose of Blairmont 177

• 2237 Sullivan Avenue (Blairmont Associates LLC, August 2005)

August 2008

There is a house under there! It's well hidden... I might have to come back after the leaves come down, assuming it survives that long.

It's a fine looking building, with a beautiful flat-arched window as the primary facade feature. Unfortunately, it's become a dumping ground in the absence of occupancy.

Links:

• 2237 Sullivan 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 176

• 2240 University Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $7,000)

August 2008

This house was a steal for Blairmont. It had previously sold at foreclosure for over $47,000. It was in fine shape six years ago, when its convoluted sales history began, but today it's boarded, empty and racking up the code violations (10 at its last inspection.) Condemned to be demolished, it faces a very grim future.


June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

• 2240 University 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 175

• 2221 Benton Street (Sheridan Place LLC, January 2007)

August 2008

It's a bit rough around the edges, but with some work it could be handsome once again. And notice that the original cast iron fenceposts are still standing in the front yard! Blairmont purchased the 1892 house from a long-time owner-occupant.

Links:

• 2221 Benton 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 174

Left and right:
• 1802 Elliott Street (Dodier Investors LLC, August 2007 )
• 1800 Elliott Street (Dodier Investors LLC, November 2006, $22,500)

August 2008

Emptied out, but not boarded up; the windows remain exposed on these two houses over a year after Blairmont got them.

Links:

• 1800 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 173

• 2701 Madison Street (Dodier Investors LLC, January 2007)

August 2008

Here's a former church building that I missed in my earlier survey of Blairmont's former church holdings. It belonged to the Church of God in Christ Congregation, who bought it from the LRA in 1999. Nearly windowless, built of painted concrete block, and standing a stout one story, it's not particularly great architecture, but one wonders what happened to the congregation that once gathered there.

Links:

• 2701 Madison 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 172

• 2710 Blair Street (VHS Partners LLC, February 2006, $35,000)

August 2008

Yet another Blairmont house backed up against the 14th Street Mall. While construction returns more and more of Old North to life (including a rehab job right next door!), Paul McKee's inaction and inertia continues to drag it down.

The house was sold in 2004, listed as "rehab after sale". The work got at least as far as restoring the upstairs dormer window. The house has a long history of inspections and violations.


August 2003


June 2003 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

Links:

• 2710 Blair 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 171

• 2534 University Street (N & G Ventures LLC, May 2006, $69,000)

May 2008

2534 is a simple two-story house, with the dark brown brick and diamond patterns typical of early 1900s houses in the neighborhood. The missing second-floor windows are also typical of Blairmont's older purchases. The city's records show the house only became vacant under Paul McKee's ownership.


June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

The lot next door at 2532 University, meanwhile, had a house on it when Blairmont acquired it. The building is gone today.


June 2002 - photograph by Kevin Kieffer

A note: With this post, the Daily Dose will be taking a hiatus of roughly two weeks. It was bound to happen sooner or later: after 170 posts, I've finally run out of photographs, apart from a few special cases I'm saving for later. I anticipate being in St. Louis soon, and have several McKee properties still to photograph; updates will resume thereafter.

Links:

• 2534 University at the city's Geo St Louis database, with 2007 photos.
  
• Aerial view from Maps.Live.com
  
• More on Blairmont:
  Built St. Louis || Ecology of Absence || What Can I Do?

Daily Dose of Blairmont 170

• 2742 Cass Avenue (Larmer LLC, April 2008)

May 2008

• 2718 Cass Avenue (Larmer LLC, April 2008)

May 2008

These two buildings, like the ones across the street, were working buildings for the auto salvage/scrap yards surrounding them.



The corner building is the more interesting of the pair. It was condemned for demolition in 2006, but just can't seem to be destroyed; two demo permits pulled in 2007 both expired. Its back wall has collapsed... or been wrecked, or possibly brick rustled; it's hard to tell.



In better times, it hosted a corner store, or possibly a restaurant, or possibly two... again, it's hard to tell, as a painted sign advertises "Cass Chop Suey", "E & J Fish House Express", and "C & K Food Mart". Housing all three in one building would seem to be quite a feat, but then, one should not underestimate the ingenuity of urban entrepreneurs. And yes, those are still the original cast iron storefront columns behind that pink paint.


February 2008




The other building has had some piecemeal additions on the cheap. Any architectural ornament it possessed has been lost to the ages.


Okay, Mr. McKee, you wanna tear this one down and build something new in its place? This time, just this one time, I won't object. Just... you might wanna check with the EPA first, 'cause I bet there's a whole mess of chemicals and nastiness on that site.

Links:

• 2742 Cass 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 169

• 3509 North Market Street (Larmer LLC, January 2008)

May 2008

Here's yet another example of the fine-scaled, mixed-use economy that once defined the urban neighborhood: store on the ground level (most recently Grand View Market - "If you don't see it, please ask, we may have it"), apartments above and (somewhat unusual) next door as well. It's a model whose decline has been devastating to the built environment. Blairmont bought the place this year, from a couple who've owned it for at least a decade.

The city boarded the place up shortly after these photos were taken.

Links:

• 3509 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 168

• 1909 Laflin Street (Larmer LLC, April 2008, $65,000)

February 2008

Can't comment on the condition of this one; the photographs predate Paul McKee's purchase of the house (you can tell, see, because it's actually been boarded up.) It's another lone survivor in central JeffVanderLou's urban prairieland.

Links:

• 1909 Laflin 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 167

• 2602 Garrison Street (Larmer LLC, March 2008)

February 2008

It's a lonely last survivor on the encroaching urban prairie -- no small thanks to Blairmont. It had three immediate neighbors just a few years ago (all visible in the aerial view linked below.) The houses at 2600, 2608, and 2610 were all owned by Paul McKee's companies, and all have been demolished.

Links:

• 2602 Garrison 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 166

• 2825 St. Louis Avenue (Larmer LLC, January 2008, $25,000)

February 2008

Fanciful inscribed scrolls mark the limestone lintels of this red brick house on St. Louis Avenue.

With this purchase, Blairmont now has an owner-occupant surrounded. Buying up properties is no problem, but boarding them up? The cost is apparently too much to bear! The house changed hands several times in recent years before finally winding up with Paul McKee.

Links:

• 2825 St Louis 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?