There are 6% fewer banks in St. Louis compared to five years ago, according to FDIC data, and while experts blame the closing of financial institutions on the rise in home banking, they are leaving empty buildings in their stead.
“Empty buildings are always depressing to a community,” said Nick Kasoff, a former Libertarian candidate for state treasurer.“They're never well maintained. They often are havens for loitering and crime but I think the really big problem with vacant buildings is that they are a big billboard saying ‘Nobody wants to be here.’”
US Bank has been leading the trend in St. Louis since 2019. Some 28 branches have closed between June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
“The US Bank by me is not a particularly reusable building and if it ever closed, I don't know what they would do with it,” Kasoff told the St. Louis Record. “I think ultimately it would have to be demolished.”
As previously reported, four Bank of America branches have closed in and around St. Louis in the past four years while Enterprise Financial Services is scheduled to close branches at 1001 First Capitol Drive in St. Charles and 5721 South Lindbergh Boulevard in south St. Louis County in 2022.
“Having a closed building is never a good thing,” Kasoff said. “Bank buildings tend to be fairly substantial, nice buildings that the bank wants a lot of money for. So, the prospect of reusing a bank building in a low-income neighborhood is perhaps more difficult. But, in essence, it's just another building. In the long run, either it gets reused or demolished.”
For example, Afro World at 7276 Natural Bridge in North St. Louis County was previously a bank.
“They reused the building for a black culture-centered retail store,” Kasoff added. “Ultimately, that’s what you expect is for the building to be reused or demolished. It’s a problem that is not unique to bank buildings.”
A McDonald’s restaurant on West Florrisant closed earlier this month, according to Kasoff.
“Nobody was expecting it,” he said. “Now there's going to be a boarded-up McDonald's on the corner until somebody figures out what they're going do with that building. It could have some impact on commercial property values but the greater impact is on the psyche of everyone who either lives there or who comes there for work. It’s a big billboard that somebody spent a million dollars on and then walked away from. The psychological effect of a vacant building is serious.”