Old CBC Highschool grounds for sale?

dweebe · PostApr 30, 2007#12007-04-30T14:32+00:00

I drove past the old CBC Highschool in Clayton and noticed they have a "FOR SALE 300,000+ sq ft on 4.89 acres" sign in front of it.

I thought Concordia Seminary had bought the CBC grounds for expansion of their campus? Didn't CBC want to sell the property to developers and neighborhood residents fought it tooth and nail?

It will be interesting to see what could get built there.

moorlander · PostJun 26, 2007#22007-06-26T21:32+00:00

Fontbonne in negotiations to acquire former CBC site

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory4.html

alongfortheride · PostJun 28, 2007#32007-06-28T19:52+00:00

"thanks tony novelli!"

doug · PostJun 28, 2007#42007-06-28T20:44+00:00

CBC should have moved back to Sherman Park in North St. Louis.

stlmizzoutiger · PostJul 02, 2007#52007-07-02T14:39+00:00

Doug wrote:CBC should have moved back to Sherman Park in North St. Louis.

I'm sure that would have been a popular idea with the parents who are paying good money for their child's education

: "I pay thousands of dollars for my child's high school tuition so he can go to school in the most dangerous part of the city!" CBC would have became the laughing stock of the St. Louis region had it moved to North St. Louis. I'd imagine DeSmet would have enjoyed a nice enrollment increase along with some of the other prep schools if CBC would have even considered doing such a ridiculous thing. There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed in North St. Louis before an established private school like CBC would even passingly consider a move there.

moorlander · PostJul 02, 2007#62007-07-02T17:32+00:00

^ I'm sure Doug was joking... if not, he needs to get his head checked, and I mean ASAP!

HMMMMM, move to a location:

- more central to it's students

- more expansive

- donated by alumni

- with better access and highway frontage

or

move to a location nowhere near it's students and in the roughest part of town.

MattnSTL · PostJul 02, 2007#72007-07-02T17:33+00:00

Unfortunately, I don't think Doug was joking.

doug · PostJul 02, 2007#82007-07-02T19:01+00:00

What is unfortunate is that affluence left the City.

The relocation of such fiscally powerful social institutions would do wonders for the North Side, albeit this is severely unlikely.

Why would parents be upset? Is it because the distance? Is it because of the crime? Or is crime an excuse for some other explanation?

There are areas of the North Side which are far more dangerous than Sherman Park.

southcitygent · PostJul 02, 2007#92007-07-02T19:16+00:00

I find it rather ironic that Doug chastises those institutions that have fled the north side while he himself is safely ensconced in a safe south side neighborhood. Put your money where your mouth is.

dweebe · PostJul 02, 2007#102007-07-02T19:27+00:00

Doug, get over it. Didn't CBC leave North City 100 years ago after they had a fire? Then after the fire the moved to the CWE for a short period before moving to Clayton sometime in the 20's or 30's? (I dunno, I'm not a CBC alumni.)

As much as I hate urban sprawl I can understand the move. There wasn't an old-boys Catholic school outside the 270 loop and most of their students were from out there. Plus an alumn gave them a sweet-ass deal on the land and they could expand their student base. I'm glad the land went to a school and not some office buildings or McMansions.

(BTW Doug: You constantly spout North St. Louis this and North St. Louis that, yet you live in a nice comfy very white part of South City. I could buy your contrarian fight-the-power schtick if you lived in Benton Park West or North St. Louis.)

PostJul 02, 2007#112007-07-02T19:44+00:00

If all else fails, google it.

The school was founded in 1850 as "St. Joseph's Academy" by three Christian Brothers who came to St. Louis in 1849 from Montreal, Quebec. In 1851, the school moved from its original location at 16th and Market Streets to 8th and Cerre Streets in downtown St. Louis where the name changed to the "Academy of Christian Brothers." In December of 1855 , the school was granted a college charter becoming the first institution of the Brothers in the United States to operate at the collegiate level.

In 1882 , due to lack of space, the school once again relocated to the "Cote Brilliante" campus in north St. Louis City on the northeast corner of Easton Ave. and N. Kingshighway where it would serve as a primary, secondary, and college boarding school for boys. At one point in the 1890's, over half of St. Louis' clergy was a graduate of CBC.

Tragedy hit CBC on October 5, 1916 when a fire destroyed the school. Six men were killed from the fire. Washington University allowed CBC to use the former Smith Academy building to finish out the remainder of the academic year.

For several years, the brothers taught in parish schools until a new "Christian Brothers College High School" was built at University Ln. and Clayton Rd. in Clayton's Hi-Pointe neighborhood. The school building was annexed several times due to constantly increasing enrollment. The Hi-Pointe campus opened in 1922 and served CBC students for 82 years.

In 1998 , the CBC Board of Directors announced that the school would once again relocate to a new campus in west St. Louis County, eight miles west of the Clayton campus. The property is located at the northwest corner at the intersection of US-40 and I-270. The first academic year at the current campus was 2003-2004.

So I was wrong: they moved to Clayton 85 years ago. My bad.

doug · PostJul 02, 2007#122007-07-02T20:22+00:00

Living in a certain neighborhood or ward does not prohibit speaking of other areas, or of systemic societal problems. Moreover, given it is all rental properties, my particular block is actually quite diverse in terms of age and ethnicity. Tilles park, while the majority of patrons are white, does also attract a number of latinos and bosnians, eastern europeans, and asians. I have had a share of crime and public welfare issues. Certainly it does not compare to that of other areas. My point is that having social institutions in the North Side, which are actively investing in the community, there would be a big turnaround. And the possibility will be hindered if the excuse is that the area is hopeless. I don't think there is a chance of CBC relocating, but it is an idea. Why shouldn't we have ideas even if they are unlikely?

Given my limited experiences, I can only empathize with those who have had much worse and with greater frequency. At the same time many write off their areas as hopeless and the ghetto, thus the feeling that they can solve their own problems is effectively destroyed. It is called self efficacy.

buckethead · PostJul 02, 2007#132007-07-02T20:55+00:00

Doug wrote:Living in a certain neighborhood or ward does not prohibit speaking of other areas, or of systemic societal problems.

Unless you live in the suburbs. Then you have to keep your opinions of the city to yourself, right?

doug · PostJul 02, 2007#142007-07-02T21:01+00:00

Touche.

rockintheburbstc · PostJul 03, 2007#152007-07-03T22:20+00:00

holy cow, yes it was a radical idea but quite honestly it'd be a step to solve catholic schools' problems, maybe not a good one in the current environment obviously (which Doug admitted) but something new. The trend of suburban sprawl is canabalization of what already is and area catholic schools are no exception.

someone said there were no other good ol'boys catholic schools west of 270....the one i just graduated from, priory! it was built in the 50s on this location for ppl coming further west who would've gone to other catholic schools back east like sluh.

i hear a new catholic school is being built out in st charles in addition to the sacred heart one there. it's a difficult issue. the catholic school population of stl generally isn't increasing and ppl are moving further west. i'd rather stl keep its rich catholic school tradition than continue the trend of ppl shifting to huge breakfast club/could be suburban anywhere style public districts like francis howell.

that said, there is a growing core of young professionals in the city. if a catholic prep school infrastructure (in addition to sluh, which should be commended for weathering the storm) could return for the kids they'll have, they'd be much more likely to stay in the city. perhaps a combination of the sprawl principle and the future children of the urban young professionals could be reached with a school VERY close to the city in Illinois. How awesome would one on metrolink, present of future? okay, i'll stop ranting now.

moorlander · PostJul 03, 2007#162007-07-03T22:29+00:00

I'm just glad it is being purchased by another school (fontbonne). I didn't really see another use for the property and would have cringed at the thought of tearing it down.

framer · PostJul 04, 2007#172007-07-04T05:02+00:00

rockintheburbsTC wrote:that said, there is a growing core of young professionals in the city. if a catholic prep school infrastructure (in addition to sluh, which should be commended for weathering the storm) could return for the kids they'll have, they'd be much more likely to stay in the city. perhaps a combination of the sprawl principle and the future children of the urban young professionals could be reached with a school VERY close to the city in Illinois. How awesome would one on metrolink, present of future? okay, i'll stop ranting now.

Didn't Cardinal Ritter College Prep open in Grand Center just a couple of years ago?

ntbpo · PostJul 04, 2007#182007-07-04T09:11+00:00

As an alum of CBC I can tell you that CBC did everything they could to try and stay in the city (Clayton off Skinker). The city of Clayton would not allow them to expand; all of the land surrounding them was high end rental. Clayton would not rezone the area to allow expansion of a high school. Simply put they were given an offer they couldn't refuse; free land at 40 and 270, you would have to be an idiot to turn that down. However I do hate the fact that their move has made it almost impossible for city kids to commute and attend.

Alex Ihnen · PostSep 11, 2007#192007-09-11T22:03+00:00

Sept. 11, 2007 -- The former Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School property in the 6500 block of Clayton Road in Clayton has been sold to Washington University in St. Louis, it was jointly announced today by Concordia Seminary and the university. Concordia purchased the property in 2001 when the high school moved to its new location in Town & Country, Mo.

The sale was finalized today following approval by the executive committee of Washington University's Board of Trustees, Concordia Seminary's Board of Regents and the Board for Pastoral Education and Board of Directors of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The 8.2-acre site contains eight buildings, providing 169,000 square feet of interior space. The facilities include classrooms, offices, a theater and library complex, a gymnasium and sports annex, and a cafeteria. The grounds include an athletic field, a track, tennis courts and a 150-space parking lot.

The university has not announced any long-range plans for the property, which is in easy walking and shuttle distance from the university's Danforth Campus, but work will begin soon on renovating and improving the gymnasium and athletic fields for the use of intramural and club sports.

the central scrutinizer · PostOct 13, 2010#202010-10-13T17:14+00:00

Not directly related to this old thread, but CBC is having serious money issues right now. Talked with some people in the know. Stay tuned...

framer · PostOct 14, 2010#212010-10-14T04:43+00:00

Is this anything like those home make-over shows where a well-meaning donor unwittingly saddles the recipient with a huge tax and upkeep bill that they can't maintain?

the central scrutinizer · PostOct 25, 2010#222010-10-25T20:29+00:00

Framer wrote:Is this anything like those home make-over shows where a well-meaning donor unwittingly saddles the recipient with a huge tax and upkeep bill that they can't maintain?

Well, one of the problems is that it was built for roughly 1200 students and has an enrollment of roughly 800.

dweebe · PostOct 29, 2010#232010-10-29T16:33+00:00

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:
Framer wrote:Is this anything like those home make-over shows where a well-meaning donor unwittingly saddles the recipient with a huge tax and upkeep bill that they can't maintain?
Well, one of the problems is that it was built for roughly 1200 students and has an enrollment of roughly 800.

I wonder what the old student body size was at the old Clayton campus? Has it always been low at the new place or did they take a hit during the recession?

stlien · PostJan 17, 2011#242011-01-17T21:40+00:00

This would be an awesome renovation to apartments. Like Field School Lofts and Theresa Park Lofts.

Alex Ihnen · PostJan 18, 2011#252011-01-18T04:56+00:00

True. Washington University owns it now and won't be selling it - though they did try to trade it for some land closer to the main campus...