St. Louis Circuit Court is set to rule on a motion for summary judgement on whether a property at 3509 Page Boulevard is a nuisance.
Northside Regeneration has been condemned on two separate occasions and cited numerous times by St. Louis City’s Department of Public Safety - Building Division for ordinance violations.
“The violations associated with this condemnation included missing doors and windows leaving the building open to unauthorized entry, inoperative electric and bulging and shifting walls,” the July 27 pleading states. “These ordinance violations are injurious to the public health, safety, security or welfare of neighboring residents and businesses.”
Paul McKee, a developer, owns Northside Regeneration. The St. Louis Business Journal reported that some $646,000 is owed in back taxes.
“He is notorious in St. Louis,” said Peter Hoffman, managing attorney at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM)’s Neighborhood Advocacy. “He owns 1700 parcels in primarily three city neighborhoods on the city's Northside. He is a problem. His properties are a problem.”
Covenant Blu sued McKee, Northside Regeneration and creditors in Oct. 2022 with the help of LSEM. Covenant Blu is a Missouri nonprofit corporation that facilitates the preservation and protection of the residential and community property values within the Covenant Blu Grand Center neighborhood in the City of St. Louis.
“We serve the community's interest in these cases and that’s who the plaintiff is in these lawsuits is the neighborhoods trying to bring back their communities by holding these absentee owners accountable,” Hoffman told the St. Louis Record. "It's an important voice to lift up is these community groups getting some comfort in using the courts to address these issues with our support.”
The case is one among hundreds that LSEM has filed in an attempt to improve historically disinvested neighborhoods on the city's north side.
“The neighborhoods we work for identify which properties are problems for the residents and then we work to try to help them solve those problems,” Hoffman added. “Sometimes it’s through the court or demand letters. Sometimes, it’s by helping an owner clear titles so they can get home repairs and fix the property.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, the plaintiffs want the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the property.
“Plaintiffs seek to have the court appointed receiver take possession of the Property and abate the nuisance conditions thereon with said improvements constituting a priority lien over all other liens pursuant to Section 441.590, RSMo (2016),” the Oct. 6, 2022 complaint states. “Plaintiff further seeks a transfer of title should Defendants not meet the statutory requirements to regain possession under Section 441 .641, RSMo.”