The building that once housed the Club Imperial, where St. 亚洲无码 music royalty such as Ike and Tina Turner and Chuck Berry played some of their early gigs, will stay standing. For now.
In a 5-0 vote Monday, the St. 亚洲无码 Preservation Board upheld for the building at the corner of West Florissant Avenue and Goodfellow Boulevard.
Robert Vroman, the new owner of the structure built in the 1920s, had sought to demolish it after submitting the only bid to buy it at a delinquent city tax sale over the summer. Vroman and argued the market has shown no interest in rehabbing the property.
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The only proposal he has received is from a nearby business owner to tear it down and build a strip mall.
Even after media attention from several outlets in the聽last week, 鈥渢he only people who have contacted me are four small business owners interested in renting space in the hypothetical strip mall,鈥 Vroman said.
While acknowledging the building has 鈥渃hallenges鈥 鈥 it was structurally condemned late last year 鈥 Cultural Resources Director Dan Krasnoff said losing it 鈥渨ould be a real loss for our cultural history.鈥
鈥淚 feel like there hasn鈥檛 been a strong enough effort here to reuse this building,鈥 he told the board.
The building became part of local music history after George Edick opened the Club Imperial in 1952. He hosted a local music show in the early 1960s called 鈥淧arty Time鈥 that featuring the latest local dance and music trends and was broadcast on KPLR (Channel 11). A jitterbug variation that became known as the St. 亚洲无码 Imperial was born there. Even after Ike and Tina Turner became stars, they returned to play at the club that was pivotal to their early careers. They even recorded some songs from 鈥淚ke and Tina Turner Revue Live鈥 there.
Edick鈥檚 son, Gregory Edick, said his dad would want the building to stay standing. He told the board he couldn鈥檛 afford to fix the building鈥檚 roof, which is why he lost it to back taxes several years ago.
鈥淚t could be fixed,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he biggest thing is it needs a new roof.鈥
Alderman Pam Boyd, who represents the Walnut Park West neighborhood where the building is, said the area wants to 鈥渉old on to that history.鈥
鈥淣orth St. 亚洲无码, people want to label it as dangerous and there鈥檚 nothing there,鈥 she said. 鈥淲ell, there鈥檚 a lot there.鈥
Vroman said he wasn鈥檛 surprised at the board鈥檚 decision. He hopes all the media attention might shake loose a buyer with the wherewithal to rehab the building.
If no one steps forward, he may ultimately let it go back to a tax auction, which could mean the city takes ownership if no one else wants it. He also said he would look into the possibility of having it declared a redevelopment area by the city鈥檚 Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. Under city rules, that makes the preservation more apt to allow demolition of significant buildings.