Silent Auction Fri., Sept. 25: Make Your Home as Cool as North Market Display Home

The display home for the North Market Place Homes is on the market (and could be yours, if you make an offer soon*).  In anticipation of a sale of this home at 1331 North Market in the not-too-distant future, we have decided to make the furniture available for sale, as well.  Now, you too can make your home look as cool as a display home by taking home some of this never-been-used furniture.  But instead of a plain furniture sale, we’ve decided to turn this event into an enjoyable social occasion for the community.

Therefore, you are hereby invited to go shopping at 1331 North Market for a good cause on Friday evening from 7 until 10 p.m.  Selected items, including bedroom sets, kitchen table and chairs, lamps, dressers, and area rugs, will be sold through a silent auction, with the bidding scheduled to end at 9:30 p.m.   The proceeds of the evening will go toward the renovation of 1316 North Market, a vacant building on the same block as the display home.  Old North St. Louis Restoration Group recently purchased that property from the city with the intention of carrying out a historic rehab there.

A suggested donation of $5 per person will be accepted at the door.  Beer, wine, and refreshments will be provided.  As noted on the flyer below, you may contact Karen Heet, ONSLRG’s Real Estate Development Coordinator, for more information at 314-241-5031 or by email at karen@onsl.org.

* You can also contact Karen for information about purchasing this home or other properties in Old North St. Louis.

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Now’s Your Chance to Become a Part of “One of the Country’s Best Revitalization Stories”

Recently we used this space to celebrate the achievements in preserving and breathing new life into historic buildings throughout Old North (see post from July 4) - and once again, Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC, picked up the message and shared our story with the rest of the world.

Kaid Benfield's latest blog post about Old North St. Louis on July 6 draws the attention of his readers to the progress at Crown Square.

In previous posts over the past year or so, Benfield, the director of NRDC’s Smart Growth Program, has referred to Old North as “one of the country’s best revitalization stories” and described the neighborhood as “the very antithesis of sprawl.”

Now YOU can get in on the action, become a part of the community, and keep the neighborhood’s momentum going all at the same time.  Last week the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group released a Request for Proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of six (6) vacant, historic buildings in the North Market area of Old North St. Louis.   The full details of this RFP can be found in the Rehabbers page of the Real Estate section of the ONSL.org website, where you can download the RFP and see a listing and photos of all of the properties:http://onsl.org/rehabbers/.

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group purchased these properties from the City of St. Louis with the purpose of stabilizing them before they deteriorate any further or completely collapse.  Since the ideal scenario would be to get these properties into the hands of legitimate rehabbers who have commitment and resource to preserve the buildings, ONSLRG would like to give rehabbers or developers the chance to purchase them before ONSLRG spends significant funds on stabilization.  If serious offers do not get submitted by August 14, ONSLRG will begin work on the buildings and offers to purchase after that date will be expected to cover those stabilization expenses.

With this offer, you can get a limited edition Old North historic property and customize it to create your dream home.   The following buildings are just three of the historic properties available through this RFP:

The building at 1312 Warren is in the Crown Square redevelopment area and is sandwiched between two other buildings that have already experienced complete historic rehabs.

The little building at 1217 North Market should be small enough to make it more manageable and affordable for an individual rehabber. The house is between a new North Market Place home and one of the nine buildings part of the North Market Place Apartments development that won a "Most Enhanced" Award from Landmarks Association a couple years ago.

At first glance, the building at 1300 Monroe may seem a bit challenging, but we have plenty of experienced rehabbers in Old North who can share their expertise and make referrals to reputable contractors. Besides, this building features a nice view of the Arch, straight down 13th St., and was featured in the New York Times a few years ago.

To learn more about these properties and the process for making an offer for one or more of them, download the RFP from the Rehabbers page.  If you would like to make an offer or have questions after reviewing the information included in the RFP, call ONSLRG’s real estate development coordinator, Karen Heet, at 314-241-5031, or send her an email - karen@onsl.org. 

If you’re not up for taking on a rehab project, you can still help out by sending ONSLRG a contribution to help cover the rather hefty costs of stabilizing these buildings.  For this option, call executive director Sean Thomas at 314-241-5031 or send him an email - sean@onsl.org.

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Scenes from the Old North House & Community Tour

The 2009 House & Community Tour is history - and it turned out to be one of the best in terms of the attendance, the weather, and variety of sites to see.  The following is just a sampling of photos from the big day.

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Pass it along: Old North House & Community Tour on YouTube

Check out the new YouTube video promoting the Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour, scheduled for Saturday, May 9 (just 24 days away!) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please forward this link to everybody you know so that we can get the word out about this wonderful opportunity to see the great things going on in Old North St. Louis, “where the past is present, and the future is North.”

And be sure to mention that tickets are available online right here on the ONSL.org website.

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3 Days & Many Sides of a Comprehensive Revitalization

The past few days have offered glimpses into several aspects of the comprehensive revitalization under way in Old North St. Louis.

A crucial piece of the positive transformation of Old North St. Louis into a dynamic and sustainable neighborhood involves the residents working together to address and resolve the types of issues that affect all communities. ONSL takes this approach through a number of community-building events and activities which allow residents to get to know and build relationships with each other and through Quality of Life meetings held roughly every other month.

On Thursday evening, residents and stakeholders of the neighborhood gathered at North Market Apartments community space for the February Quality of Life meeting facilitated by North Market Place homeowner and ONSLRG’s newest Board member, Kathryn Bentley. Those in attendance heard from Kabrina Forrest, Coordinator for the Family Court Juvenile Division’s Neighborhood Accountability Boards, an innovative, community-focused response to juvenile delinquency. Kabrina reported that ONSL doesn’t have enough incidents of juvenile delinquency to qualify for a new N.A.B., but residents can support and become a part of other Boards that have been established in other neighborhoods. Also on the agenda were updates from the residential and commercial leasing agents for Crown Square, and a report from Kathy Woodard, the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Officer assigned to ONSL.

Above: Kabrina Forrest discusses Neighborhood Accountability Boards

On Friday and Saturday, the focus shifted to attracting new residents to add to the neighborhood’s diverse and active population. With an open house for new and rehabbed homes for sale on Friday evening, and an open house for rehabbed apartments at Crown Square on Saturday, ONSLRG continues to support efforts to offer housing options for anyone desiring to be a part of the community, regardless of their stage in life and position along the economic spectrum.
Above: visitors to 1412 Hebert admire the kitchen.

Another key component in ONSLRG’s rebirth is strong leadership by residents of the neighborhood, and that was evident over the past few days, as well, with Board members out in force at all three events, to meet their neighbors, greet prospective residents, and share their enthusiasm for the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board Member Nate Sprehe & his wife Kathy stopped by several of the open houses to show their support.


Below: CAMCO leasing agents Todd Whiteaker and Valerie Henry showed prospective renters around 1314 Warren while ONSLRG Board Secretary Johnnie Owens and member Kathryn Bentley were on hand to answer questions about the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa and newest Board member Kathryn Bentley outside 1314 Warren.

Below: Karen Heet, ONSLRG’s Real Estate Development Coordinator, greeted visitors at the apartment at 1310 Warren and answered questions about the neighborhood and the Crown Square development.

Below: ONSLRG Board Treasurer Phil Valko stopped by to see the apartments and put in a few good words about the community.

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ONSL on Fox 2

Fox 2 aired another story on Old North St. Louis tonight. Crown Candy, Crown Square, and North Market Place were featured.

You can watch the video at Myfoxstl.com.

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Mullanphy Foundation Begins to Rise

The footing for the new foundation on the Mullanphy Emigrant Home was poured today. Next up is the foundation wall and the concrete blocks to close up the openings on the north and south ends. Visit our Flickr Page to see more pics from today and see all of the progress that has been made in the last year.

Even with all of the work that has been done we are as much in need of your donations as ever. $63,000 has been raised so far, but that still leaves a large gap between what we need and what we have. If you would like to make a donation to the effort, or just learn more about the Mullanphy Emigrant Home and the incredible effort to save it from total collapse, visit savemullanphy.org.

North Market Place Homes peaking through.

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Crown Village Construction Update

Fresh construction photos from earlier today. The construction crews have made good progress, with several of the buildings now gutted. Masonry work is set to expand to more buildings, with other buildings set to have interior demo start.

Head over to www.crownvillagestl.com to find out more information about the project, as well as the North market Place Homes. The site has been up and running for a couple of weeks, but it hasn’t been promoted too much yet.

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Summer in Old North

Been a while for this. Today’s pictures cover the neighborhood from the southern tip to the northern edge.

Old piece of machinery in one of the buildings on the 14th St. Mall.

The Arch sneaking between two new homes in North Market Place.

Flowers in front of a new home.

Setting up scaffolding to relay a brick wall on N. 19th St. This is a renovation of another LRA property.

Mullanphy Building after debris clean up. Visit www.savemullanphy.org to find out how you can help preserve the Mullanphy Emigrant Home.

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Landmarks "Most Enhanced" Celebration for North Market Apts.

Day 43 of “45 Days in Old North”The dramatic visual effect of the transformation of 1436-1440 Monroe earned the North Market Place Apartments a spot on the cover of the program at the Landmarks Association “11 Most Enhanced Awards” ceremony earlier this evening. The redevelopment of the 9 historic buildings in Old North St. Louis was recognized by Landmarks with one of this year’s 11 awards, and many of our partners and community residents were present to celebrate the occasion.Above: The development team was represented by Kevin Scronce (E.M. Harris Construction Co.), SeanThomas (ONSLRG Executive Director), John Burse (ONSLRG Board President), Phil Krull (E.M.Harris Construction), and Mike Harris (CEO of E.M. Harris Construction). Also present but eluding the camera were RHCDA President Stephen Acree, Deputy Director David Dodson, and Project Manager Aaron Burnett, and ONSLRG Office Manager Jane Smith, and KAI architect Frank Loberbaum.Above: ONSL residents John Burse, Phil Valko, Susan Tschetter, Gloria Bratkowski, Tom Bratkowski, Dave Eisenbraun, Zoila Rendon, and Tino Ochoa. Above: ONSL residents Phil Valko, Bruce Smith, Tom Tschetter, and Dave Eisenbraun.

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