Is Paul McKee dropping his plans for Old North?
Yesterday, a group of concerned citizens, mostly residents of the 5th and 19th Wards, met with Jeff Rainford, Mayor Francis Slay’s chief of staff, about developer Paul McKee’s activities in their wards. One of the most interesting things to come out of was Rainford’s assertion that McKee has informed Slay that he is no longer interested in developing in the Old North St. Louis neighborhood and is moving to sell his mostly dilapidated properties to the Old North Restoration Group, a non-profit organization.
Michael Allen, who has been following McKee’s activities in Old North for years, was in the meeting and gave us this report:
About This Author: Antonio D. French is a writer, political consultant, and newly-elected Democratic Committeeman living in north St. Louis, Missouri. Have your own opinion about this story? Go ahead and leave a comment. But be respectful to others and show you own a pair by actually using your real name. Anonymity is cowardice. And don't forget to subscribe to our feed and get PubDef stories delivered right to your feed reader or email inbox.
Comments
Yep. There’s not enough room for warehouses in ONSL, because of all of that pesky historic architecture getting in the way, but the neighborhoods to the immediate west are still ripe for suburban sprawl style wipeout.
Another failure for that damn Slay!Why does’nt that damn Slay have his city judges bully McKee to maintain those many dilipadated buildings he owns,the way they bully poor senior citizens on fixed incomes who can’t afford to maintain their properties?
How is this Slay’s fault Ms. Jones? You are so angry and everything that goes wrong is our Mayor’s fault…in your demented little mind.
I’ll pray for you. You need the help. May God bless and look over you.
Jar,it is that damn Slay’s fault because his administration has given McKee a virtual monopoly to bank properties for his proposed development of old north St. Louis (which he is now backing out of)! That damn Slay’s administration isn’t coming down on McKee for his many code violations of his dilapadated properties the same way his administration bullies poor senior citizens who can’ afford to comply with code violations they are cited for.Mckee uses city departments as his defacto maintenance crew with the approval of that damn Slay. Mckee has been delinquent in tens of thousands of dollars in fines for work done by his defacto city maintenance crew.I am a male and an atheist ,so you save your prayer for someone that believes in prayer!The only help I need is to get that damn Slay bounced out of office!My mind isn’t demented nor little.
Tell me why I should worry about city inspectors and McKee gets buy with his properties? Any City Judges seen these properties fine him for his game as well as reimburse Missouri for the special session that was held by the gov for a tax credit. No Peace No Justice No Peace No Justice come on St Louis wise up and fine these blow hard rich guys please…
Development in the city is hard, but not impossible. Look at that nice little development that church did at Salisbury and North Florissant. I took a tour of it a few months ago and they said the last phase had to be put on hold because the market for market rate housing had dried up (along with just about all housing), but they do intend to finish it. I wonder if this is the reason this guy is walking? You guys are giving Slay a complex. I hear he is starting to think his first and middle names are “That Damn”.
I agree with Jar Jones, Star Jones why the hell is everything Slay’s fault? Although I’m not a fan of Negro Removal, considering I’m a Negro and have had family members in both the old Mill Creek area and Harlem, NY fall to gentrification. I am smart enough to realize that everything isn’t Slay’s fault, because Slay cannot do nada without the help of those mostly crooked and self serving alderman. I would just like to know what the uproar is about, everyone is blaming McKee for letting the weeds grow chest high, but thats not a sudden phenomenon. The Northside has been going down for years and it is mostly the fault of the community that elected these jackass alderman that steal from the community and then blame all the community’s problems on the Mayor and those white folks in South City. Its all BS, and their all crooked politicians, but start holding them accountable and maybe the Northside wouldn’t be blighted and subject to this kind of hostile takeover. Why is everyone so naive to realize that all the poor Black people are getting moved to North County and the rich folks were going to slowly but surely take the city back. Everyone wants to know why McKee wont tell them his plan, its because your not in them!
All you all is crazy! How is it the administration’s fault that someone buys property? Then, you have folks like the Hubbard, Al Amin and who all knows taking money from Sinqfeld another Republican. It’s about who pays.
Wake up people!!
So…I posted this previously and someone took it down. So I will post my comment again.
First of all…was the meeting contencious or cordial?
Secondly, the last thing that the St. Louis Police Department should be worrying about is stolen bricks. I think that there are much better things to be policing like shootings, assults, LARGE drug busts, etc.
North St. Louis looks like a war zone, and it’s not because McKee does not take care of his properties. It’s because NO ONE who lives there takes care of their property!
Along with guns and drugs, the police are charged with the protection of the City against all crime. The officers assigned to Downtown are writing parking tags on expired meters as they have for years, the officers assigned to Carondelet park run teens out after dark as they have for years, officers assigned to any neighborhood must fight the crime of that neighborhood. The murder rate in the areas where brick theft is going unchecked is not as high as the destruction of buildings. So tell me something Marc if you called the cops while witnessing an obvious crime even though it is not someone as graphic as a murder wouldn’t you want a response? It’s not as if this is a singular event. HOMES have dissapeared illegally. What would you suggest, the police should ignore anything that doesn’t require a COPS-like response? You would be surprised at how many other calls the police get requiring them to do something other than high speed chases. Also don’t be fooled by the “Lack of manpower” rhetoric. There are officers assigned to made up jobs that allow them to go home at 5pm. There are officers assigned to desk jobs that take them off the street. There are veteran officers that are near retirement that have no desire to chase cars or fleeing felons that are sitting at a corner and will sit there until it’s time to get off work.
What the f**k WTF? That is a stupid statement. What northside are you talking about? I drive through different neighborhoods in St Louis daily. The areas where Mckee’s property is heavily concerntrated, has many well maintained properties alongside vacant buildings with missing/broken windows, overgrown grass, collapsed rooves . These are Mckee’s properties. You probably never come to the northside but you can do your homework before you make hate filled statements. Also Antonio since Rodney Hubbard is your client has he come out with a statement against Mckee’s distruction of his home ward or is he feeling that he has this Senate race so in the bag or in the wallet that his statement would support all the destruction, arsons, waist high grass, open windows and doors etc?
This is still AMERICA. Paul McKee can buy whatever he can afford. Most of yall just mad and crying because you didn’t have the forsight to buy property you simply LOOKED at on a daily basis.
Good insight regarding the alderman Joshua B…they are the ones to blame, many of them anyway. Enough said.
I’m not mad at McKee. I am not for gentrification and I don’t believe it’s on the agenda. I’m there smack dab in teh middle of the target area and I AIN’T GOING NO WHERE. No one forced all the black folks who moved out to North County to move there…it was their choice and that’s what life is all about. McKee has made a choice to invest in North St. Louis so that’s a good thing!
Invest?!?! I see no investment on Mckee’s part. I am angry because of his property next door to MY home and the others in MY Neighborhood that are bringing down property values and harboring crime!!! Your right about buying what he wants to buy, but he should be held to the same standards that other residents are for keeping up and maintaining the property that he buys!!! And for WTF, I live in North St. Louis and I maintain my property very well!! I AM AS WHITE AS THEY GET!! Get that North of Delmar is Helltown attitude outta your head. Or that the only people that live here is Black and have no jobs or responsibility. I have black neighbors, white neighbors, german neighbors, polish neighbors, latino neighbors iranian neighbors, straight neighbors and Gay ones too. People like you are holding this city back as always!! One of the things that I love about MY NORTHSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD is that it isn’t filled with people like you! The people in my neighborhood welcomed me with open arms when I moved here and appreciate people for thier differences! I have lots of GREAT NEIGHBORS, that are active, involved, reponsible PEOPLE!! Get out of south city or wherever it is that you hermit and see what is going on in North St. Louis. Old North St. Louis is a perfect example! We will be nicer to you than you have been with your judgemental attitude when you arrive here also, because for the most part we are just nice people, and that’s the way it really is! Nice people that have taken on a big responsibility in saving a part of the city that deserves to be saved and appreciated for many generations to come. Not you or Mckee or negative stigma or attitude is going to stop it either so get over yourself and do something more helpful to this city that keeping that anger in you. Get out, make a difference,help your fellow man. you will be better for it.
This is good, but if St. Louis Place and JVL are to be bulldozed then it’s still a net loss for our City.