Castle Ballroom, 2839 Olive

Presbyterian · PostNov 20, 2013#12013-11-20T22:13+00:00

Didn't see this elsewhere. Winds on Sunday caused the partial facade collapse of the Castle Ballroom. There has been hope for the building's renovation. John D. Paulus Sr. was the building's architect -- the same as 923 Locust (under the 1960s faux tudor) and 1123 Locust.

Background here:
http://m.stltoday.com/business/local/st ... touch=true

Application for National Register is here:
http://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/weekly_fe ... llroom.pdf

stlexplorer · PostNov 21, 2013#22013-11-21T02:49+00:00

Oh no! I hope the disaster inspires quick action by a developer to save this landmark.

beer city · PostNov 21, 2013#32013-11-21T06:10+00:00

That is looking pretty bad - if there is insurance on the building, there might be hope, but I am not banking on that, losing this one will hurt

stlien · PostDec 03, 2013#42013-12-03T07:53+00:00

A developer inquired about this property a few months back.. the owner wasn't interested in selling.

Presbyterian · PostDec 03, 2013#52013-12-03T17:23+00:00

The current owner is Ron Smith, Operations Manager for Mayor Slay's Office... aka SAG Properties. I believe the firm is named after the facades of the buildings they fail to stabilize. Perhaps the mayor should have a word with his staff about protecting the public image of the Mayor's Office? The RFT could have a lot of fun with this one.

http://www.sagconsulting.com/sagproperties.html

americancitizen · PostDec 04, 2013#62013-12-04T14:29+00:00

^ someone I know talked to them a few years ago about this building and the take away was that SAG had absolutely no clue on how to actually develop the building, unrealistic expectations on potential users, and no sense of reality on what it actually costs to get a project like this done. So here it sits...

rbb · PostDec 05, 2013#72013-12-05T18:25+00:00

So are there any updates on the condition of the building? Has any work been done to it since the collapse?

-RBB

stlhistory · PostDec 05, 2013#82013-12-05T19:33+00:00

Fencing went up to protect pedestrians. The hole is uncovered. The snowstorm is coming this afternoon.

Snowstorm + open roof = goodbye Castle Ballroom, hello vacant corner lot.

rbb · PostDec 06, 2013#92013-12-06T15:29+00:00

Thanks for the update.

-RBB

imran · PostFeb 17, 2014#102014-02-17T22:20+00:00

Can we atleast mass email the Mayor to ask that he have a conversation with Ron Smith? An owner of a listed historic property should not be allowed to just shrug their shoulders as nature goes to work on it. They should be cited till repairs are made. The owner may want to just sit on this prime lot and speculate. This should not be allowed.

Knowitall · PostFeb 18, 2014#112014-02-18T20:47+00:00

Saw a interesting exchange on twitter about this between Lewis Reed and Richard Callow ...

@PresReed: The Castle Ballroom is an important historic resource. Its demolition should not be taken lightly. @nickpistor @PreservationSTL

"@publiceyestl: @PresReed @nickpistor @PreservationSTL Agreed! Didn't you buy the Castle in 2003? And flip it $2x to a supporter in 2004 w no improvements?"

No response from reed as of today

imran · PostFeb 18, 2014#122014-02-18T21:17+00:00

This is a lot more to this than meets the (public) eye. The Black Repertory Theatre was looking to restore and move into this building last year when their lease ran out at Grand Center. The owner was not interested in selling.

Mark Groth · PostFeb 18, 2014#132014-02-18T22:28+00:00

There is no sales history on GEO STL. How do I find out who has owned this and sold this property? Isn't this public information? I know my name is on my house and the owners before me.

beer city · PostFeb 18, 2014#142014-02-18T22:55+00:00

This whole thing stinks - We loose a lot that while sad, usually can be replicated in some manner - this one is unique, it will hurt - and just when the area around is really taking off -

Mark Groth · PostFeb 18, 2014#152014-02-18T23:59+00:00

BOA Prez Reed responded on my FB group on this topic; but, since it's a 'group' that requires my personal approval to join, I don't feel right posting it here. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but that feels like the right thing to do.

If you are interested click and read:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/287566229960/

Knowitall · PostFeb 19, 2014#162014-02-19T05:02+00:00

Like a true pol, acknowledge and deflect.
Or maybe I need to quit binging on House of Cards Netflix series

urban_dilettante · PostFeb 19, 2014#172014-02-19T09:47+00:00

hmmm… Reed says improvements were made. Callow says no improvements. Somebody's lying.

roger wyoming II · PostFeb 19, 2014#182014-02-19T14:14+00:00

^ I have no idea. One is a long-time elected official while the other is a professional dissembler. ... let's call it a draw!

Knowitall · PostFeb 20, 2014#192014-02-20T00:28+00:00

^ won't be a draw, this is going mainstream soon. Just wait for it.

Presbyterian · PostFeb 20, 2014#202014-02-20T00:52+00:00

It is worth noting that as soon as we learned that someone in the mayor's office owns the building, Slay's P.R. boy Callow started suggesting Reed is implicated.

Mr. Mayor, I like you. Voted for you eight times so far. So let me be clear. What we are looking for, Mr. Mayor, is leadership. Not blameshifting. What are you going to do about this?

Knowitall · PostFeb 20, 2014#212014-02-20T01:16+00:00

Does Ron Smith still work at the majors office?

Presbyterian · PostFeb 20, 2014#222014-02-20T02:11+00:00

Yes per city website. But it gets better. Per SAG website:

Ron Smith, R.A., AIA Partner/Project Manager
Email: rsmith@sagconsulting.com

Ron Smith brings to the SAG Consulting Team over thirty-one years of public government service with the City of St. Louis. He has held the position of Executive Director of Operations in the Mayor's Office for the City of St. Louis for five years, and was responsible for overseeing the entire operation of twenty-two city government departments. He served as Building Commissioner for the City of St. Louis for over ten years, and has over twenty-six years in code enforcement."

http://www.sagconsulting.com/team.html

Knowitall · PostFeb 20, 2014#232014-02-20T02:23+00:00

I knew he was the building commissioner and he gets pretty good treatment on the 4th floor every time I saw him there but I didn't know he presently worked at the mayors office but I guess that explains why everyone sucked up to him when he visited the 4th floor on personal business

PostFeb 28, 2014#242014-02-28T14:24+00:00

This story should get resurrected in the next few days

jstriebel · PostFeb 28, 2014#252014-02-28T17:39+00:00

Knowitall wrote:This story should get resurrected in the next few days

Should we prepare to be angry, happy, or just kind of frustrated?