Cupples 7 is on its way down: Cupples complex shrinks as St. Louis struggles to keep historic buildings standing
If there's a silver lining, it's this:
If there's a silver lining, it's this:
What are some ideas for the stabilization of privately owned buildings? Some options under discussion include a city-managed building stabilization fund (with liens placed on properties stabilized by the city) and fines on developers who own deteriorating buildings. Any one know how other cities handle this issue, or have other ideas? I've thought about a yearly fee for buildings lacking occupancy permits, maybe one that increases with every subsequent year a property lacks a permit, but that may just encourage more demolition, or discourage investors from buying properties in need of rehab. The stabilization fund/lien sounds promising, though the devil is in the details, especially in keeping it from becoming politicized, with favored developers getting a pass or ward-against-ward squabbling.Jeff Rainford, chief of staff to Mayor Francis Slay, said the mayor will hold an “all hands on deck” meeting on Thursday seeking ideas and possible legislation to keep a similar scenario from happening again. That could include anything from stiffer fines on developers to creating a large fund to help the city save buildings before it’s too late.
“We are pulling everybody together in city government to figure out what lessons we have learned from Cupples,” Rainford said.
The problem, according to Rainford, is the difficulty of holding developers accountable for deteriorating buildings.
