Renovation possible for building once eyed for demolition

A developer hopes to renovate a vacant downtown St. Louis building that only weeks ago was the focus of a demolition effort.

The building, at 1105 Olive Street, most recently housed Maurizios Pizza, which relocated last year.

Craig Heller, whose developments include downtown loft projects, said Thursday he wants to renovate 1105 Olive but that theres nothing set in stone at this point. A mixture of offices and residences is possible, he said.

The turnabout comes to light less than six weeks after the citys Preservation Board voted to uphold a staff recommendation to deny demolition. Board members agreed with Betsy Bradley, director of the citys Cultural Resources Office, that the building is sound, at least by the standard set by city ordinance.

Developer Larry Deutsch had planned to buy the building and replace it with tenant parking for his Old Laclede Gas Building, at 1017 Olive. He said Thursday he transferred his interest in the building to Heller after the Preservation Board voted against demolition.

Once final paperwork is completed, Heller will own the building, which went through a sheriffs sale last fall as a result of years of unpaid property taxes.

Heller said he has no renovation timetable for the building, adding that the next step will be to get it on the National Register for Historic Places. Register listing would make the buildings renovation eligible for historic preservation tax credits.

The buildings soundness was an issue in a suit a previous owner filed against the contractor that built underground parking next door in 2003 as part of the Louderman Lofts, another Heller project. The suit claimed that the contractor damaged 1105 Olive when it removed part the structures foundation while building the garage. In 2011, a St. Louis Circuit Court jury awarded the previous owner nearly $1.3 million in damages. The case is on appeal.

Deutsch said he had believed up until hours before the boards meeting that demolition would be approved.

At the actual hearing, there was a complete reversal, he said.

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Renovation possible for building once eyed for demolition