^At the request of Tina Pihl. Likely the neighborhood feedback process will start over and hopefully yield something positive for everyone (the city, neighborhood, and developer).
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^Haven't they already been approved? Or does the change of plans require a new review?
The plans were never previously approvedsymphonicpoet wrote: ↑May 19, 2022^Haven't they already been approved? Or does the change of plans require a new review?
Something positive for everybody includes respect of the community and tenants. But here we are, again, with Lux Living creating victims wherever they're at. Until Vic & Sid are out, Lux Living will never change. Nobody should live through this. But hundreds do.chriss752 wrote: ↑May 19, 2022^At the request of Tina Pihl. Likely the neighborhood feedback process will start over and hopefully yield something positive for everyone (the city, neighborhood, and developer).
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... fb7dd.html
^It's my personal opinion, and assumption, that the negative press coverage and posts made are an orchestrated effort to change the public opinion and force Lux to deal with the bad media rather than fixing what needs to be fixed. In other words, it needs to be investigated. Slander prohibits positive progress. I also believe that some public officials and neighborhood boards have a highly biased view of the company and so I don't think they'll be a very fair forum for review. Their minds are already made up even before the first public meeting.
I know some people would like nothing more than to see Lux collapse. I can name names, but I won't. They, like me, know who they are and I'm watching.
I know some people would like nothing more than to see Lux collapse. I can name names, but I won't. They, like me, know who they are and I'm watching.
What makes you think Lux is being targeted in a coordinated effort? And why not Green Street, or Pearl, or Koplar, or ClayCo, or Lawrence Group, or Opus, or Draper & Kramer, or Restoration St. Louis, or Garcia, or Grove Properties, or etc?
Your point is what? I can’t have my own opinions about this stuff?
Just look out there and you’ll see who the focus is on. You rarely, if ever, hear about the problems those companies have when it comes to management and construction quality. The focus is all on Lux. Dig into the other companies and you’ll find some real beauties. And people can’t complain about Koplar like they can everyone else since Sam hasn’t done much up until recently. Even then, everything he’s done has involved a partner developer, so responsibilities are split.quincunx wrote: ↑May 24, 2022What makes you think Lux is being targeted in a coordinated effort? And why not Green Street, or Pearl, or Koplar, or ClayCo, or Lawrence Group, or Opus, or Draper & Kramer, or Restoration St. Louis, or Garcia, or Grove Properties, or etc?
My particular list of developers I dislike is…
- Restoration St. Louis: They slapped up three ugly buildings on Manchester that have materials on them that do not meet the form based code. Just look at them. Good infill but probably won’t be standing in 18 years. They still can’t figure out what they’re going to do on Arco after all these years.
- OPUS Group: They came in wanting to do so much and delivered so little. Their Ceylon product is incredibly poor. When I toured it when they still owned it, there were numerous issues with it that made wonder what’s up. Cabinets were falling off, elevator was shaky, some doors didn’t want to open, electrical stuff was hit or miss in the unit I saw, and the employees were just rude.
- Clayco/CRG: Sure, they want to do big things but projects like Wildhorse Village and Riverpointe are the creations of Jeff Tegethoff (the Pearl guy). I count those as his so once you take him out of the picture, CRG hasn’t done much for St. Louis recently beyond partnering with Centene on the failed Clayton campus and Bob Clark shipping his investment money to Chicago and Arizona while he lived it up in Dubai for the past year.
- KDG: It’s more of a personal beef with them why I dislike them. Won’t go into too much detail on this one.
- Lodging Hospitality Management; My disliking of these guys comes from the stuck up attitude of Steve OLoughlin. The man might have a vision to do some fun things, but he’s rude and has threatened the Syberg’s people before, taking him to a new low altogether.
Companies like Green Street make me really concerned. They’re building so much so quickly and have a huge pipeline. One wrong slip and they’ll collapse. I like them, but I have some concern for them. Same goes for Pier Property Group. Might be time for them to slow down and assess some things. Lawrence Group/New and Found hasn’t done much yet to get the concerns up. Pearl/Jeff Tegethoff is now part of CRG and I hope he takes over that branch in the future and drives it his own way. Garcia Properties is great for St. Louis even if they only do a few house renovations here and there. I don’t know enough about Grove Properties.
Draper and Kramer, like Mac, is a national firm that had its own problems before, and still does. But like Mac, they’re improving, so I look forward to them doing more.
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Chris I appreciate Lux and their determination to help revitalize various areas of the city. I can appreciate the investment they put in and the end product is okay. I’m excited to see engineers club and optimist completed (hopefully) that way maybe they can be signature projects that turn the public view of them.
Now as for somebody that is on the outside looking in, there is plenty of reason to scrutinize them. Construction quality, design quality (just trendy average stuff as of current), management, and how they work with others ie was the lawsuit towards expo really necessary?
All I’m saying is they need to show positive direction towards the public rather than have you (Chris) tell us they are working towards a positive future which I hope is true. It just needs to be proven.
Now as for somebody that is on the outside looking in, there is plenty of reason to scrutinize them. Construction quality, design quality (just trendy average stuff as of current), management, and how they work with others ie was the lawsuit towards expo really necessary?
All I’m saying is they need to show positive direction towards the public rather than have you (Chris) tell us they are working towards a positive future which I hope is true. It just needs to be proven.
I believe that quality construction comes with better quality architects. Same goes if contractors select good materials and do it right the first time, but having an architect change up things halfway through construction throws a wrench in the machine and halts stuff. It’s a truly big issue we’re working on.LArchitecture wrote: ↑May 25, 2022Chris I appreciate Lux and their determination to help revitalize various areas of the city. I can appreciate the investment they put in and the end product is okay. I’m excited to see engineers club and optimist completed (hopefully) that way maybe they can be signature projects that turn the public view of them.
Now as for somebody that is on the outside looking in, there is plenty of reason to scrutinize them. Construction quality, design quality (just trendy average stuff as of current), management, and how they work with others ie was the lawsuit towards expo really necessary?
All I’m saying is they need to show positive direction towards the public rather than have you (Chris) tell us they are working towards a positive future which I hope is true. It just needs to be proven.
I hope they come out and say that they’re working for a more positive future. I know what I’m working on to help that be achieved even if it means keeping my own opinions out of the decision making process. I can say them, but when it comes down to having discussions, it’s zeroed in on things of importance rather than my dazed or semi-drunken rants. They’re working on it, just they need to prove it overtime. A switch can’t be flipped overnight to see those changes become reality. It takes time and some people don’t understand that.
As for the Expo lawsuit, that’s not my boat and I’ve decided not to ask about it. It’s not my business what’s going on there. But that’s nearing completion now and Hudson is done, so good work to both Jeff Tegethoff and Lux on getting those done and transforming that corner into a good link between two neighborhoods. We need more of these links, just fine tuned for the neighborhoods they’re in.
chriss752 wrote:^the negative press coverage and posts made are an orchestrated effort to change the public opinion and force Lux to deal with the bad media rather than fixing what needs to be fixed.
chriss752 wrote:I can name names, but I won't..... I'm watching.
1) Playing the victim and spinning conspiracy theorieschriss752 wrote: My particular list of developers I dislike is…
2) Making thinly veiled threats against critics
3) Pointing fingers at other developers
What a perfect illustration of what Lux Living is all about.
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No, you absolutely can - no one is saying you have to stop talking. But surely you understand that as an employee of Lux who's been quoted by the Post Dispatch in a recent article that people are going to question if this is actually your personal opinion or if it's a glimpse into Lux's internal views on these issues.
Perfect illustration of what I'm all about. Lux has their own thing going on. Full disclosure for the world to see: I might be worse than them with some things and better at other things. As for pointing fingers at other developers, the list is not really that. I've disliked those other ones for a while, but have hid my disliking for them to appear not biased.wabash wrote: ↑May 25, 2022chriss752 wrote:^the negative press coverage and posts made are an orchestrated effort to change the public opinion and force Lux to deal with the bad media rather than fixing what needs to be fixed.chriss752 wrote:I can name names, but I won't..... I'm watching.1) Playing the victim and spinning conspiracy theorieschriss752 wrote: My particular list of developers I dislike is…
2) Making thinly veiled threats against critics
3) Pointing fingers at other developers
What a perfect illustration of what Lux Living is all about.
I partially understand but I'm saying this is my personal opinion since even a few at Lux who've heard my opinions have looked at me like I'm a crazy person with 8 heads (like I know urbanSTL people are). I assure you this isn't a look into Lux's internal views.Laife Fulk wrote: ↑May 25, 2022No, you absolutely can - no one is saying you have to stop talking. But surely you understand that as an employee of Lux who's been quoted by the Post Dispatch in a recent article that people are going to question if this is actually your personal opinion or if it's a glimpse into Lux's internal views on these issues.
Oh my god this is hilarious. You people are dealing with a literal paid Lux employee.
It has been known that Asprient/CityWide/Lux are one of the worst and trashiest/thuggish companies in StL for YEARS now. I remember looking for apartments back in 2016-2017, and even back then people were beginning to learn to stay the hell away from what was then known as Asprient. I remember touring an apartment on Pershing, the place was a complete dump, up to and including iced over trash in the toilet (it was sometime in January or February). A friend later got a place on Pershing, different building, also owned by Asprient. Park Lux I believe. Elevator routinely didnt work. Security systems routinely broken. Filth everywhere.
Sid Chakraverty and Vic Alston are two of the trashiest people in St. Louis, have been for more than half a decade now, and it is a good look on KC that officials over there are not making them feel welcome. Just as much, our elected officials effectively doing NOTHING about this company for so long is a disgrace on this city.
Go to the StL reddit and you will find horror stories about them going back years. People have been trying to speak out about them, even collectively act about them, but lo and behold, they are usually poor and or young tenants and can't do much when slapped with intimidating legal docs telling them they will get bent over a couch if they so much as try to blink morse code for "HELP" at the media.
chris752, consider your career and consider your morality. Do you want to be associated with these people in either capacity? I wouldn't. You can do better than shilling for some of the worst people in this city.
And to sum up, if you don't want to believe this post and you also don't want to do your own research on this company (its easy, the posts are out there and there are a LOT), then just ask yourself; why do these people feel the need to rebrand every 2-3 years? Really gets the noggin joggin.
It has been known that Asprient/CityWide/Lux are one of the worst and trashiest/thuggish companies in StL for YEARS now. I remember looking for apartments back in 2016-2017, and even back then people were beginning to learn to stay the hell away from what was then known as Asprient. I remember touring an apartment on Pershing, the place was a complete dump, up to and including iced over trash in the toilet (it was sometime in January or February). A friend later got a place on Pershing, different building, also owned by Asprient. Park Lux I believe. Elevator routinely didnt work. Security systems routinely broken. Filth everywhere.
Sid Chakraverty and Vic Alston are two of the trashiest people in St. Louis, have been for more than half a decade now, and it is a good look on KC that officials over there are not making them feel welcome. Just as much, our elected officials effectively doing NOTHING about this company for so long is a disgrace on this city.
Go to the StL reddit and you will find horror stories about them going back years. People have been trying to speak out about them, even collectively act about them, but lo and behold, they are usually poor and or young tenants and can't do much when slapped with intimidating legal docs telling them they will get bent over a couch if they so much as try to blink morse code for "HELP" at the media.
chris752, consider your career and consider your morality. Do you want to be associated with these people in either capacity? I wouldn't. You can do better than shilling for some of the worst people in this city.
And to sum up, if you don't want to believe this post and you also don't want to do your own research on this company (its easy, the posts are out there and there are a LOT), then just ask yourself; why do these people feel the need to rebrand every 2-3 years? Really gets the noggin joggin.
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^With due respect, Aesir, yes, we know Chris has done some work for Lux. Even before he started working for them it was pretty clear they were friendly. Some of us even know Chris personally, and for that reason understand that he's what you would call a "true believer." To follow the religious analogy, even though ministers work for the church we usually accept that they believe what they're saying. There are exceptions, of course, but I don't think Chris is one. He's a legit preacher for the church of StL development. But we also know that not everyone knows him or will see that, so folks are perhaps trying to point out gently that the optics of his defense are . . . unconvincing. And maybe there are better ways to go about it.
That, said, reading a bunch of internet posts does not equate to research. If you want to do your own research you'll have to go and inspect the premises and talk to people that don't post on bulletin boards. Look to see what complaints have been filed with the city, what legal actions have been taken. Talk to Lux's employees on and off the record. The real information isn't on the public internet. The research here can't be done from behind a keyboard. No offense. This thread is quickly becoming something of a he said/ she said argument. Maybe it should be more than that, but if so the place to settle it isn't an internet forum. Most of us are hobbyist urbanists; the Monday Morning Quarterbacks of architecture and design. We like the pretty pictures, but we have other professions. (Mostly.)
You can't solve this here because blessed few of us have the time to actually research this. And fewer still have the skills, resources, or authority to do anything about it. At best we are hopefully engaged citizens who want to know that the city has sufficient oversight in place to take care of any problems that might arise. And I want to see the problems fixed to the extent possible so that all parties walk away satisfied and we can go back to talking about development. Arguments like this might be cheaper than litigation, but they still suck up a lot of energy.
For all my occasional frustrations I'd like to stay friendly with both of you. And I think you'd be a lot more likely to get something done if you worked together, uncomfortable as that might be at first. I disagree with him a lot, but Chris can get s#!& done. I respect that. If you two can work together maybe there really is an equitable solution here.
That, said, reading a bunch of internet posts does not equate to research. If you want to do your own research you'll have to go and inspect the premises and talk to people that don't post on bulletin boards. Look to see what complaints have been filed with the city, what legal actions have been taken. Talk to Lux's employees on and off the record. The real information isn't on the public internet. The research here can't be done from behind a keyboard. No offense. This thread is quickly becoming something of a he said/ she said argument. Maybe it should be more than that, but if so the place to settle it isn't an internet forum. Most of us are hobbyist urbanists; the Monday Morning Quarterbacks of architecture and design. We like the pretty pictures, but we have other professions. (Mostly.)
You can't solve this here because blessed few of us have the time to actually research this. And fewer still have the skills, resources, or authority to do anything about it. At best we are hopefully engaged citizens who want to know that the city has sufficient oversight in place to take care of any problems that might arise. And I want to see the problems fixed to the extent possible so that all parties walk away satisfied and we can go back to talking about development. Arguments like this might be cheaper than litigation, but they still suck up a lot of energy.
For all my occasional frustrations I'd like to stay friendly with both of you. And I think you'd be a lot more likely to get something done if you worked together, uncomfortable as that might be at first. I disagree with him a lot, but Chris can get s#!& done. I respect that. If you two can work together maybe there really is an equitable solution here.
@Aesir and others, I am fully aware of the company's past. I've read all the previous reports and have seen other things too. I'm well aware with what I got myself into and the company is aware of what they got when they hired me. There are days we disagree, that's 100% true and expected and other days, we get along and get things done.
I'm ok with having discussions about things and listening, in person, at a face-to-face level. Things are more productive that way than online chats and they tend to be more civilized. For a project like this one in the Grove, the in-person discussions will have to be held in a calm and fair manner on all sides so that listening can take place.
@symphonicpoet you sum things up nicely, but a few things to address...
I'm associated with them because they gave me a chance to get involved in the development process at a very hands-on level (no one else did or would've if they had the office capacity). For being nearly 22 and not out of college (just yet) that's quite a big thing for someone to do. Sid and Vic took a risk with hiring me and have taught me a lot of things, but there's still a lot to be learned by everyone at Lux and outside of it.chris752, consider your career and consider your morality. Do you want to be associated with these people in either capacity? I wouldn't. You can do better than shilling for some of the worst people in this city.
I'm ok with having discussions about things and listening, in person, at a face-to-face level. Things are more productive that way than online chats and they tend to be more civilized. For a project like this one in the Grove, the in-person discussions will have to be held in a calm and fair manner on all sides so that listening can take place.
@symphonicpoet you sum things up nicely, but a few things to address...
- Alex Ihnen was, and, even though he isn't here in St. Louis anymore, still is, the ultimate STL Development preacher. No one will surpass him. I'm just me who has a hobby like others on this forum. I'm not that big of an influence and hope never to be. Having others on here share new and exciting things is always fun to discuss and debate. UrbanSTL is the STL Development town square.
- Actual dialogue is extremely helpful no matter what the situation is.
- Yes, research needs to go deeper than just internet posts to verify sides of the story. In the case of Lux, I guarantee that if everyone took an extreme deep dive and interview a whole lot of people. you'll see that both sides of the argument are valid, just personal beliefs and ways to go about fixing things don't line up and then things get nasty.
- Yes, we might disagree but we still get along. Conversations reveal a lot.
- I get sh*t done for the single reason that someone has to push to get things done (whether that's in m personal life, at home, or at work). Things won't get done or change if they just sit there.
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^I'm not saying you're the only preacher in the church of (Re)Build it and They Will Come. (Heck, I hope I'm at least a member of the choir myself.) But you are one. Embrace it!
It is abundantly clear that everyone knows this dude works for Lux. What isn't clear is why you seem intent on making endless handwaving excuses for him and them. You know him personally? Ok cool. Guess that makes up for him knowingly working for literal fraudsters who regularly threaten and intimidate tenants into silence over unsanitary and unsafe housing.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑May 25, 2022^With due respect, Aesir, yes, we know Chris has done some work for Lux. Even before he started working for them it was pretty clear they were friendly. Some of us even know Chris personally, and for that reason understand that he's what you would call a "true believer." To follow the religious analogy, even though ministers work for the church we usually accept that they believe what they're saying. There are exceptions, of course, but I don't think Chris is one. He's a legit preacher for the church of StL development. But we also know that not everyone knows him or will see that, so folks are perhaps trying to point out gently that the optics of his defense are . . . unconvincing. And maybe there are better ways to go about it.
Ok, so you clearly aren't interested in even a tiny bit of effort here, because......the internet isn't real or something. Or maybe just more "I'm IRL pals with Chris so I'll just push this under the rug too".That, said, reading a bunch of internet posts does not equate to research. If you want to do your own research you'll have to go and inspect the premises and talk to people that don't post on bulletin boards. Look to see what complaints have been filed with the city, what legal actions have been taken. Talk to Lux's employees on and off the record. The real information isn't on the public internet. The research here can't be done from behind a keyboard. No offense. This thread is quickly becoming something of a he said/ she said argument. Maybe it should be more than that, but if so the place to settle it isn't an internet forum. Most of us are hobbyist urbanists; the Monday Morning Quarterbacks of architecture and design. We like the pretty pictures, but we have other professions. (Mostly.)
This is more for other people reading this thread, since you'll just excuse it away: https://old.reddit.com/r/StLouis/search?q=asprient
Of particular note:
Legal threats and intimidation from 2017. Pretty similar to what they are doing now:
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/cri ... fb7dd.html
Seems fraudsters don't change. Makes sense when you understand that Vic Alston legally changed his name, and was federally investigated for accounting fraud.
https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-05-09/lu ... nt-project
I know I can't solve it, because I am not an elected official in St. Louis. Not because I don't have time to research this - I do, and its easy and doesn't take much time at all in the first place. But even that is unnecessary, because if you have been paying attention for the last 6-7 years in this city, you'd already know how Asprient (and CityWide and Lux) does business. The most that I can do is not just go along with a "everything is going to be fine, these people totally changed their tune over the last year" gongshow.You can't solve this here because blessed few of us have the time to actually research this. And fewer still have the skills, resources, or authority to do anything about it. At best we are hopefully engaged citizens who want to know that the city has sufficient oversight in place to take care of any problems that might arise. And I want to see the problems fixed to the extent possible so that all parties walk away satisfied and we can go back to talking about development. Arguments like this might be cheaper than litigation, but they still suck up a lot of energy.
Equitable? Lmao. No. The ideal solution here would be Lux investigated, charged, and bankrupted, and their buildings sold to literally anybody else. Roll the dice, it doesn't matter when dealing with "people" like this, pure chance will result in an improvement. The ideal solution would be the SEC growing a pair and not accepting cash payouts for fraud.For all my occasional frustrations I'd like to stay friendly with both of you. And I think you'd be a lot more likely to get something done if you worked together, uncomfortable as that might be at first. I disagree with him a lot, but Chris can get s#!& done. I respect that. If you two can work together maybe there really is an equitable solution here.
As for "working together", I have less than zero desire to ever go near the people in charge of these companies, or the people that work for them. This isn't something you can shapeshift into a "shades of gray" issue to avoid dealing with dude. Vic Alston, Sid Chakraverty, and Ira Berkowitz are objectively bad people and running them out of town on a rail would be one of the more lenient things we could do as a city.
Hey, I have an idea. If everyone involved, and the company, just changes their name for the whatever-th time, we can all just make this go away. Sound nice?
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No. Not a bit. I have a great deal of sympathy for renters dealing with an absent or unresponsive landlord. I've been there. Most of us who weren't born into wealth have. I want to be sympathetic to your position. But when you go around making fairly personal attacks you risk losing that sympathy.Aesir wrote: ↑May 26, 2022Sound nice?
There's absolutely a point to talking to the media. There's great value in reading the stories. And I'm glad they're doing the research.
But I have to ask, what outcome do you really want here? Do you want to see the structural and management problems of the building where you perhaps still live fixed? Or do you just want to see the current owners suffering pain? Either of these is probably achievable, but both together would be more difficult. I'm on board with the first. I don't see the second as terribly productive unless the owners are truly criminally negligent. (And I'm not a lawyer, but I'm skeptical that the second is likely to be true.) Pick your fight. And good luck.
I’ll go first. I want Lux held accountable for pirating a long dead neighborhood organization. I want Tegethoff (expo developers) appropriately compensated for lost time and labor.symphonicpoet wrote: But I have to ask, what outcome do you really want here?
Oh no personal attacks? What, am I supposed to play nice with these people? I absolutely do *not* respect them or their employees; and I see no reason to. Anger is justified when you have been hearing the same story about them making tenants' lives hell and stealing their money for approaching a decade now.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑May 26, 2022No. Not a bit. I have a great deal of sympathy for renters dealing with an absent or unresponsive landlord. I've been there. Most of us who weren't born into wealth have. I want to be sympathetic to your position. But when you go around making fairly personal attacks you risk losing that sympathy.Aesir wrote: ↑May 26, 2022Sound nice?
There's absolutely a point to talking to the media. There's great value in reading the stories. And I'm glad they're doing the research.
But I have to ask, what outcome do you really want here? Do you want to see the structural and management problems of the building where you perhaps still live fixed? Or do you just want to see the current owners suffering pain? Either of these is probably achievable, but both together would be more difficult. I'm on board with the first. I don't see the second as terribly productive unless the owners are truly criminally negligent. (And I'm not a lawyer, but I'm skeptical that the second is likely to be true.) Pick your fight. And good luck.
What outcome do I really want? I said it above. I want Lux gone and the people running it thoroughly investigated by the feds, with no option of paying their way out of charges. I don't really care how that happens. I have never lived in an Asprient/CityWide/Lux building, partly because I am a St. Louis native who knows of better options, and not a student or recent transplant who doesn't know any better and is easy prey. That's part of why these people are so damaging. The majority of their buildings are in areas where out of town people will get their first real experiences of living in St. Louis, and they get this sh*t.
These people have proven who they are many times over. My question to you is why you seem to be so intent on insisting people should "work together" or "be productive" with them. This city can and should do a lot better. At least KC seems to *sorta* grasp this.
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Chris has been on this forum for a long time providing updates that he doesn’t need to. This is an Urbanist forum and frankly I disagree with the notion that these buildings are so damaging.Aesir wrote:Oh no personal attacks? What, am I supposed to play nice with these people? I absolutely do *not* respect them or their employees; and I see no reason to. Anger is justified when you have been hearing the same story about them making tenants' lives hell and stealing their money for approaching a decade now.symphonicpoet wrote: ↑May 26, 2022No. Not a bit. I have a great deal of sympathy for renters dealing with an absent or unresponsive landlord. I've been there. Most of us who weren't born into wealth have. I want to be sympathetic to your position. But when you go around making fairly personal attacks you risk losing that sympathy.Aesir wrote: ↑May 26, 2022Sound nice?
There's absolutely a point to talking to the media. There's great value in reading the stories. And I'm glad they're doing the research.
But I have to ask, what outcome do you really want here? Do you want to see the structural and management problems of the building where you perhaps still live fixed? Or do you just want to see the current owners suffering pain? Either of these is probably achievable, but both together would be more difficult. I'm on board with the first. I don't see the second as terribly productive unless the owners are truly criminally negligent. (And I'm not a lawyer, but I'm skeptical that the second is likely to be true.) Pick your fight. And good luck.
What outcome do I really want? I said it above. I want Lux gone and the people running it thoroughly investigated by the feds, with no option of paying their way out of charges. I don't really care how that happens. I have never lived in an Asprient/CityWide/Lux building, partly because I am a St. Louis native who knows of better options, and not a student or recent transplant who doesn't know any better and is easy prey. That's part of why these people are so damaging. The majority of their buildings are in areas where out of town people will get their first real experiences of living in St. Louis, and they get this sh*t.
These people have proven who they are many times over. My question to you is why you seem to be so intent on insisting people should "work together" or "be productive" with them. This city can and should do a lot better. At least KC seems to *sorta* grasp this.
Heck, I’ll tell you that the abandoned buildings along Kingshighway near me are damaging. I am eagerly waiting for Lux to build there so that the squatting, racing, and donuts stop happening in my community and by me.
There’s a distinct lack of nuance here. For one, Chris is a human working for a company I don’t have a lot of respect for. You’re throwing him out like everything is binary. He’s trying to make things better and I welcome that.
Lux isn’t a good property manager, at least not from media reports. I actually did live in a building of theirs on Pershing and we quite liked it. But I have a feeling that my anecdotal account won’t matter much here, and frankly, nor should it. But when you’re citing a few Reddit threads and media reports (each with sampling issues that disputes the notion of either being very valid “research”), we’re leaving out the fact that they’re a huge company with several hundred units. By and large, especially given their almost complete occupancy in each building, there are probably a lot of happy people.
And if there aren’t, that’s certainly not good but then we’re still seeing a benefit provided. We need more units and more density in high demand neighborhoods. This helps limit the increase in housing and rental prices generally and in the case of my neighborhood in FPSE, would also reduce blight with all of its negative externalities.
So, I don’t love Lux. Far from it. But it’s not all bad, and I take issue with the one sided “research” and the notion that somehow the company should be shut down by the feds. Anyone who says that here has no idea what they’re talking about. Unless you’re a federal agent or in law enforcement, leave that to them.
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