First Alert 4 Investigates: Warehouse owner billed for demolition not yet complete

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - It was a massive warehouse fire that closed the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge for two days in October that caused significant damage to a historic building.

But First Alert 4 Investigates is asking questions after city officials hired a demolition company to take down the building, which is still there two months later. Plus, they’re sending the property owner a bill he didn’t request.

“It was just very disheartening and frustrating,” said Adam Keune.

Keune choked up, looking at the shell of what once was a piece of history.

“This was a project that I put a lot of ion and work into, and now we see the results of that,” he said.

Keune had invested hundreds of thousands of dollars, hoping to restore the 100-year-old icehouse at 1800 N. Broadway to its former glory. The building served as a massive refrigerator for blocks of ice and produce, operating well into the 21st century.

But he’d been battling homeless people entering the property, as he explained after a fire raged inside on Oct. 14. Thick smoke billowed over the Stan Span, shutting it down.

“While the firefighters were battling the fire, it was necessary to poke holes in the building. However, they never did that,” Keune said.

Instead, he claims a company began tearing into the side of the building untouched by the fire.

“I learned about it on the 6:00 p..m. news when I saw these big, huge machines tearing apart the building I’d worked so hard on,” he said.

Two months later, the machines are gone. Stacks of metal and piles of bricks remain. The shell of the building is still standing, with precarious pieces hanging loose—hardly seeming safe.

When First Alert 4 Investigates visited the site last week, anyone could walk up to the property. The street was technically closed to traffic, but someone had dumped trash nearby.

By Monday—after our inquiries to the city—a new fence surrounded the site, and the street had reopened. Work, however, remains stalled.

“The city is definitely leaving me between a rock and a hard place right now with this mess, and nobody’s been down here for a month. So now, what the heck do I do?” Keune said.

Keune says he had no input on the contractor. The city’s Building Commission used an emergency provision to swiftly assign the project.

Documents obtained by First Alert 4 Investigates show the city had intended to demolish the building earlier in the year for code violations, namely after another fire over the summer. Keune said it only minimally damaged the building. Still, he says he never received notice of condemnation.

“I never, never heard from them,” Keune said. “I’m the easiest guy in St. Louis to find. Google my name.”

Earlier in the year, the city received just one bid for the demolition—from Z&L Wrecking. A city spokesperson wrote to us: they “were not going to move forward at that time due to budgetary restrictions.”

Fast forward to October and the same company got the call.

Now, without any input, Keune is on the hook for the $786,000 bill. He says it’s unfair.

“We’re still paying taxes. We’re still paying for water. We’re still paying property insurance, and the city wants to do things like this and play games with our livelihood,” he said.

Keune says he wanted the chance to solicit his own bids, consult a structural engineer, or even salvage materials. The building was slated to be sold three days after the fire.

Adding to his frustration, Keune points out that Arnice Little, the wife of the owner of Z&L Wrecking, is appointed by the mayor to a city demolition board. Little was last appointed by former Mayor Lyda Krewson.

“That’s a huge concern,” Keune said. “What we found out this week about what’s going on in the city—particularly in the Building Division—is just the tip of the iceberg of the collusion and corruption.”

In recent weeks, First Alert 4 Investigates has reported on companies tied to a now-former St. Louis City Building inspector, Banjo Popoola. Our investigation revealed these companies secured millions in city contracts.

The mayor’s office has called for an FBI investigation and audit.

In a text message released through a public records request, the Building Commissioner told another employee, “I didn’t know about… the Banjo thing.”

Similarly, the city said it wasn’t aware of Little’s appointment to the board overseeing contractors.

“The commissioner was not aware of this. We are looking into how the division determines conflicts of interest relative to this matter,” a city spokesperson wrote.

“It’s not a conflict of interest,” Little said. She explained that the board helps vet contractors but does not handle financials or specific contracts.

“I am not privileged to that information. I sit on the board, but I am not privileged to that information,” she said.

An official demolition permit has not yet been issued. Little said the delay is due to waiting on utilities to be fully abandoned.

“We’re at their whim. Once we’re shown the utilities are abandoned, we’ll proceed,” she said.

Little expects demolition to continue in the new year.

Meanwhile, the city has placed a lien on Keune’s property for the full cost of the demolition.

“The city definitely needs some major checks and balances,” Keune said.

He is calling for an investigation into the demolition process, echoing concerns about corruption in the building division.

“The city has enough egg on its face right now to make an omelet. Something drastic needs to be done,” he said.

Keune did not have full coverage insurance on the building. He maintains he had not received a single document from the city this year regarding condemnation or possible demolition. When First Alert 4 Investigates showed him the documents, he could see they had been sent to the wrong address.

He also disputes the code violations cited in the city’s request for demolition over the summer.

Regarding the October fire, a Department of Public Safety spokesperson said in a statement:

“The St. Louis Fire Department closed the neighboring interstate bridge between Missouri and Illinois and did not have a plan to extinguish the fire due to the building’s construction. It was decided that the demolition crew would be needed to remove portions of the building to allow the SLFD to battle the fire. From my understanding, a decision was made by the commissioner’s office to sole-source the demolition to Z&L Wrecking, who were familiar with the complex because of their previous bid.”

First Alert 4 Investigates has also now obtained Popoola’s resignation letter from Dec. 13.

In it, he wrote, “I truly did not have any favoritism for any of the contractors, but unfortunately, I developed a personal relationship with one of the contractors in the past year. Therefore, to avoid any further negative publicity…I am reg my position.”

Popoola claimed his resignation was prompted by media allegations and insinuations.

Monday, a spokesperson for Mayor Tishaura Jones said they acted swiftly to launch internal and external investigations.

“We can find out how this is happening and how to prevent it. The investigations will inform the next steps we take to ensure this behavior is not tolerated and to restore the public’s trust,” said Conner Kerrigan.

First Alert 4 Investigates will continue to follow the ongoing investigations into the city’s Building Division.

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