The owners of the building that houses Bar:PM, the LGBTQ bar struck last month by a careening St. Louis Police SUV, are now being told by the city their building could be condemned because of the damage done by the cop car.
KMOX’s Sean Malone had the scoop Friday, citing a letter the City of St. Louis sent to Kevin Benear and John Claus, who own the building on South Broadway in the Carondelet neighborhood.
The letter, which you can read in full on KMOX’s website , is from a building inspector with the Department of Public Safety. It says that the building is not up to code, presumably because of the large pieces of plywood covering the hole created when the SUV hit it, and that the building will be re-inspected February 19.
The letter adds that if the issues are not resolved, the building could be condemned for occupancy.
“If the police were responsible for the damage, then why should we be getting these letters to get it fixed?” Claus told Malone.
The Building Division’s Frank Oswald told KMOX that the letter sent to the building owners was “very general” and that while it stated that the city could condemn the building, it was not a threat to do so.