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The Chesterfield Union and 5295 Waterman

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Post1:31 PM - Feb 20#1

This is a complex of three buildings on the NE corner of Union and Waterman, two of which were damaged in a fire about a month ago.  The corner building was waiting for repairs from the tornado, the second and third buildings are attached to each other and the middle of the three was the one most badly damaged.  Walked by yesterday and all three are fenced off with Demolition in Progress signs.  Anyone have any info?  The corner building doesn’t look like it can’t be repaired, I don’t know the extent of the damage to the other two except for what is visible in the second pic.  Would hate to see them come down.





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Post2:02 PM - Feb 20#2

Damn that sucks. 
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Post2:38 PM - Feb 20#3

These are beautiful some of my favorite apt buildings in the city (pretty rare that they have balconies), wouldn't this have to go before the preservation board?
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Post5:33 PM - Feb 20#4

That’s just awful news

We gotta get the fire problem in this city under control. It’s 2026
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Post6:13 PM - Feb 20#5

NO!!!  It would be crazy to tear this down. Fire-damaged buildings in much worse shape have been saved. The city should fight for this one.
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Post6:27 PM - Feb 20#6

Owned by an LLC with a Nevada mailing address.
No demo permits appear on the city's website.

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/address ... 4906020270
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Post11:12 PM - Feb 20#7

quincunx wrote: ↑
6:27 PM - Feb 20
Owned by an LLC with a Nevada mailing address.
No demo permits appear on the city's website.

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/address ... 4906020270
Are they even allowed to demo without a permit??  and isn't this a historic district?
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Post2:46 AM - Feb 21#8

No. Maybe by demo, they mean interior demo.
It's in the CWE historic district.
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Post1:58 PM - Feb 23#9

I emailed Michael Browning about this, his reply:
"Thank you for that. I agree that demolition would be terrible for the neighborhood and hope that the buildings can be saved. I've already been engaged with the building division on this."
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Post7:23 PM - Feb 23#10

I was told that the building is owned by the same people as Lux Living.
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Post7:45 PM - Feb 23#11

Yikes, I hope that's not true. The buildings weren't listed on citywide's website though that's apparently now been taken down 🙃
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Post10:54 PM - Jun 24#12

Well this can’t be good. Is there a demo permit?



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Post11:13 PM - Jun 24#13

Excuse my ignorance were these buildings fully/partially inhabited before the tornado?
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Post12:03 AM - Jun 25#14

^Yes they were. They were also at least somewhat inhabited after the tornado too.
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Post12:03 AM - Jun 25#15

The corner one wasn’t I don’t think, but the one that burned was. The corner one seems salvageable for sure


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Post7:31 PM - Jun 25#16

Ald. Michael Browning posted this on Facebook today:

Last January, a fire at the Chesterfield consumed much of the top floor. Our firefighters were able to put the fire out in sub-freezing temperatures as it snowed, but the amount of water that froze and unfroze in the building has made it unsafe. Today, demolition began on building A. There are three buildings in this complex, and building B, which sits at the corner of Waterman and Union, will remain, as will building C, which is on Waterman. Future plans are still being developed, and while nothing is guaranteed, everything possible is being done to save building B.


Hit by the tornado in May 2025, and then a fire in January 2026, the west side of the Central West End has seen disaster after disaster. I’ve spoken to the owner of this complex, and they are determined to rebuild, but I recognize that today is a sad day, and a hard day for neighbors who are still recovering themselves. The actions we are taking are moving us forward, and step by step, we get farther from the tragedy and closer to the day when this will be a memory of a difficult time that we got through together. 

ID: Spiritas Worldwide operates a large crane, demolishing the top floor of The Chesterfield’s Building A
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Post11:58 AM - Jun 27#17

Spirtas has indeed begun demo.
IMG_6877.jpeg (3.26MiB)
IMG_6876.jpeg (3.36MiB)
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