The Central West End Deserves Better! Public meeting about the proposal to demolish the San Luis Apartments Saturday March 29

Here is your chance to make a difference! Saturday March 29th the Planning and Design Committee of the Central West End Association will be hosting a public meeting regarding the fate of the San Luis Apartments located on Lindell Boulevard at Taylor. The meeting is at 9:00 am at the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library which is located at the northwest corner of Lindell and Euclid

Interior of the San Luis in the in 1975 (from the Globe Democrat Collection)

The owner of the San Luis, The Archdiocese of St. Louis is proposing to demolish the building and replace it with a SURFACE PARKING LOT! This proposal is an insult to everything good happening in the Central West End and the City in general. The CWE is one of the most vibrant, dynamic and walkable urban neighborhoods in the City and one of its most visible blocks is in danger of giving way to the WORST possible use imaginable. Until recently, the San Luis housed over 200 senior citizens, who have since been kicked out and forced to find other living arrangements. The likelihood that these seniors will find comparable housing in such a convenient walkable area are slim.

Is this the future of Lindell & Taylor?

Please come to the meeting next Saturday and voice your opinions. Let the CWEA and the Archdiocese know that the corner of Lindell & Taylor deserves better than looking like its part of a second-rate city with no respect for itself and no aspiration to become a great city and a great place to live. Just one block south and west, the "Doctors Building" parking lot, is about to be replaced with a mid-rise apartment building with ground floor retail. While I am less than thrilled with the design of the new building, at least an eye sore that has been around for 30+ years will be gone. The Archdiocese has given no indication of any desire to build anything new at Lindell & Taylor, so please remember, that if this proposal goes through, we could be faced with a new eye sore for another 25 years or more, so please show up next Saturday.