Dutchtown group urges SLPS to turn Cleveland High School to SLDC, cites $50 million financing gap

Saint Louis — Dutchtown Main Street urged the Real Estate Committee on Aug. 18 to move decision-making about Cleveland High School out of the school district and into the hands of the Saint Louis Development Corporation, arguing the building is a long-standing liability and that repurposing costs greatly exceed what the district should shoulder. Nate Lindsey, vacancy litigation attorney for Dutchtown Main Street, said Cleveland High School has been closed since 2006 and described two financing estimates presented to the committee: an estimated redevelopment financing gap of about $50,000,000 and an estimated demolition/abatement cost of roughly $4,000,000. He told the committee the neighborhood had shared an EPA consulting study on repurposing and concluded the market cannot currently support adaptive reuse without very large public subsidies. "Cleveland High School has become a bit of an albatross for our neighborhood," Lindsey said, and he recommended the district divest the building so SLDC can lead remediation or redevelopment efforts. Lindsey said Dutchtown Main Street’s litigation work focuses on reducing vacancy burdens through nuisance law and that the neighborhood does not seek to purchase the property itself. Committee members asked whether the group sought demolition; Lindsey said the neighborhood’s goal is to transfer responsibility to the entity best positioned to find a solution — SLDC — and to remove the burden from the district’s capital program. He noted past broker pricing for the property and urged the committee to weigh any asking price against the substantial public incentives or remediation that would be required. No committee vote was recorded on Cleveland High School. The item was presented as a neighborhood briefing and a recommendation that SLPS consider divesting the property to the city’s development agency so remediation and redevelopment can be pursued by SLDC.