St. Louis Development Corporation Awards First Deconstruction Contract

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has awarded its first deconstruction contract that will provide increased job opportunities and more.

November 14, 2018 | 2 min reading time

This article is 7 years old. It was published on November 14, 2018.

St. Louis, MO- St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has awarded its first deconstruction contract, an alternative to standard demolition that reduces landfill waste, maximizes the salvage of building materials, and provides increased job opportunities.

The building, located at 4208 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, was slated for demolition as part of the Rhema Church’s relocation from the National Geospatial Agency (NGA) project site. The three story, 30,000 square foot warehouse has been primarily used as a storage facility for over a century. The structure was built in 1884 of handmade bricks and untreated lumber and includes two freight elevators that can still be operated with hand-pulled ropes. 

The contract has been awarded to Refab, a St. Louis-based deconstruction non-profit, after a competitive bidding process. Eric Schwarz, owner of Refab, says, “This building is the ideal candidate for deconstruction. A demolition would have taken a few people about a week and you would see a lot of the material wasted. Through deconstruction, we will be able to provide nine people full time jobs for up to six months and we’ll be able to save nearly every piece of this building. We are estimating more than 90% of materials are sellable.”

As demolitions of vacant buildings increases in the city, deconstruction efforts can help to reduce environmental and public health impacts and support the local economy through jobs creation and increased opportunities for salvage-related businesses. “Moving forward, we will continue to review buildings planned for demolition for their deconstruction potential and are developing a pilot to deconstruct 30 vacant residential buildings in early 2019,” says Laura Ginn, SLDC program manager. The program is being developed in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and St. Louis Community College Workforce Solutions Program.

About the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC)

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is an umbrella, not-for-profit corporation organized under Chapter 355 of the Missouri State Statutes with the mission of fostering economic development and growth in the City of St. Louis by stimulating the market for private investment in City real estate and business development and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City.  The mission of the SLDC is to stimulate the market for private investment in City real estate and business development and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City of St. Louis. If there are questions, please contact John Parker, Director of Corporate Communications and Media at 314-363-1102 or email him at parkerj@stlouis-mo.gov
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