ST. LOUIS — Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis was once again granted approval Monday to demolish a historic church in Forest Park Southeast to accommodate the organization’s new $30 million headquarters, this time over the objections of neighbors.
The nonprofit organization previously received approval from the St. Louis Preservation Board in 2018 to demolish a former Catholic church at 4321 Chouteau Ave. to make way for a new Ronald McDonald House at the corner of Chouteau and Tower Grove avenues.
Construction of the project, and the capital campaign to fund it, were delayed due to the pandemic. But the nonprofit is ready to restart the development, Dan Harbaugh, president of Ronald McDonald House Charities, said at the Preservation Board's meeting Monday. The organization has raised $24 million in its capital campaign so far, he said.
Since the Preservation Board's 2018 approval had expired, the developer had to return to the board for re-approval to demolish the church, formerly known as Emmaus German Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis also received approval in 2018 to demolish a warehouse at the site that is not historic, and the city already granted approval for that demolition to proceed.
At the latest Preservation Board hearing, some of the project’s neighbors objected to the demolition of the church and said they had not been aware of the development when meetings were held in 2018.
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