CLAYTON, Mo. — The former St. Louis County courts building now owned by one of St. Louis’ largest companies is slated to come down soon, with bids posted for demolition.
The former family courts building at 501 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Clayton, vacant since a $100 million replacement was built after voters approved a bond issue in 2012, was purchased by Enterprise Holdings for $13.1 million in June 2020. The property, at the corner of Brentwood Boulevard and Forest Park Parkway, is directly north of the car rental company’s corporate campus.
After the building is demolished, Enterprise plans to maintain the 4.6-acre site as vacant green space, with no immediate plans for development by either Enterprise or a third party, a company spokeswoman said. The site is zoned commercial, according to St. Louis County records.
Bids on the demolition and grading package are due March 3.
The 2020 purchase price for the family courts building included about $4 million for the county to demolish, remediate and clear the site for Enterprise.
But the process has not been easy for the St. Louis County Port Authority, which owned the building and is overseeing the demolition. The Port Authority holds its next meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Removing the building’s asbestos ahead of demolition took longer than expected due in part to a shortage of workers, said Beth Noonan of CED Solutions, who is overseeing the process for the Port Authority. The work was nearly done in late November, but was held up because part of the work required Ameren to reconnect electricity. The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and the city of Clayton also had to approve the demolition plans.
“That has been a long, long labor, but we’re pleased that it’s finally getting close to being completed,” Noonan said at the Nov. 18 Port Authority meeting.
John Maupin, chairman of the Port Authority board, said at that meeting that he hoped the remediation process ahead of the future demolition of Jamestown Mall in north St. Louis County goes smoother. That property also is owned by the Port Authority.
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