ST. LOUIS — The city of St. Louis has issued a demolition permit for an entire block of historic commercial buildings in the Carondelet neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the city credited the buildings' demise to neglect by the owner, who scoffed at the suggestion, saying he bought the seven-building block four years ago knowing it was beyond repair and in need of demolition.
The row of brick storefronts in the 7200 block of South Broadway was built in the late 1800s and was part of the application for the Central Carondelet Historic District's listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The block, sometimes called the Watkins Block because of the C.R. Watkins furniture store that once operated out of one of the buildings, was slated for demolition as recently as 2017 until preservationists succeeded in efforts to save the buildings.
The city issued a demolition permit Jan. 19 to owner Kevin Kulich, who said he will replace the block with new storefronts that look historic and unique. Kulich’s construction team has already started the process of demolishing the buildings, salvaging materials from the interior along the way. He’s not sure how long that process will take and didn't give a timeline for replacing the buildings.
City officials cast blame on Kulich for the demolitions.
"The demolition permit was issued after numerous attempts by the Alderman (Sarah Martin of the 11th Ward) and Building Division to reach the property owner for repairs/preservation went without action," St. Louis Building Commissioner Frank Oswald said in a statement. "The continued crumbling state of the building began to raise flags by the St. Louis Fire Department as a potential hazard for both first responders and members of the public passing by."
Oswald continued, "Six or seven years ago, the building would have been eligible for preservation, but its continued decline by its owner's neglect ultimately rendered it too far gone for any preservation work to be done."
City records show that Kulich purchased the buildings for $108,000 in 2018 from the previous owner, whom Kulich said made several attempts to preserve the buildings through renovation projects and tuckpointing, the practice of repairing the mortar joints between bricks. Part of one of the buildings collapsed even after that work, which Kulich said happened before he bought it.
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