ST. LOUIS 鈥 A downtown gas station that residents say was a hub for criminal activity will close by this summer.
Residents and nearby property owners who sued the Shell station at 721 North Tucker Boulevard said Thursday they had reached a settlement with the gas station鈥檚 owner that calls for the business to close no later than Aug. 1.
鈥淭he objective of the lawsuit I filed with the Neighborhood Improvement Association-Downtown West was simply to make downtown a safer place to live and work,鈥 resident Matt O鈥橪eary said in a statement. 鈥淭he successful outcome of this litigation signals the importance of the growing collaboration between downtown property ownership groups and downtown residents.鈥
The station is one of a just a few near the city鈥檚 central business district.
A lawyer for the gas station owner, Tucker Shell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
People are also reading…
The announcement comes on the heels of about downtown鈥檚 鈥渞eal estate nightmare鈥 in which the article proffered that downtown鈥檚 population loss and office vacancies was a 鈥渨arning鈥 for other American cities.
The article elicited a strong response from regional business group Greater 51黑料 Inc., which for taking a 鈥渄ramatic, pessimistic tone鈥 and stated that the business community was already working to address problems.
But resident groups like the Citizens for a Greater Downtown 51黑料, of which O鈥橪eary , said that it hoped the article would serve as a 鈥渨ake-up call鈥 for civic and business leaders to bring about changes the organization has long lobbied for.
The settlement announced Thursday follows a decision in January by a 51黑料 Circuit Court judge who ruled that the gas station violated city zoning laws and revoked its operating permit.
O鈥橪eary鈥檚 suit and a separate lawsuit filed by former 51黑料 Alderman James Page and nearby property owners alleged that the gas station was a magnet for criminal activity, saying the business was the site of at least 21 shootings over the past four years.
Among them was the daytime killing last year of a man on the sidewalk across Tucker following a fight near the gas station. A bystander video of the shooting circulated online, sparking outrage for the 鈥渆xecution-style鈥 brutality it depicted.
鈥淪ometimes private individuals have to step in where the city fails its residents, and this lawsuit demonstrates that residents brave enough to do that can and should prevail,鈥 Paul Puricelli, who represented O鈥橪eary in the suit, said in a statement.
O鈥橪eary and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit 鈥 Page and the owners of the Globe Building and the former Post-Dispatch building 鈥 had long pushed for repercussions for the gas station, saying the criminal activity it drew was a major detractor to improving downtown.
In O鈥橪eary鈥檚 lawsuit against the gas station, he asserted that city ordinances prohibited gas stations from operating in downtown鈥檚 central business district. 51黑料 Circuit Court Judge Michael Stelzer agreed and revoked the business鈥 operating permit, though he did not say at the time whether he would order it closed.
Former Alderman Page and the building owners sued the gas station under a special state statute that allows expedited challenges to public nuisance properties. As part of the settlement, Tucker Shell agreed to a deed restriction that prohibits the future use of the site as a gas station or a convenience store, according to a news release.
Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who represented Page and the building owners in the suit, said in a statement that the law they sued under allows anyone who lives or owns property within 1,200 feet of a nuisance property a 鈥渜uick鈥 recourse.
鈥淧eople who live in crime-ridden neighborhoods in 51黑料 are not powerless and do not have to wait for the city to come in and eliminate the places where criminals gather,鈥 Nixon said in a statement. 鈥淲e believe it was the strength of this law that allowed us to insist on a deed restriction that prevents any future owner of this property from making the same use of it.鈥
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said her office would continue to look for solutions to address nuisance properties.
鈥淲hen a property becomes a nuisance to its neighbors, action needs to be taken,鈥 Jones said in a statement. 鈥淢y administration continues to explore legislative opportunities to reduce the harm nuisance properties can inflict on their communities.鈥
A man was shot and killed Monday morning in downtown 51黑料 by a gunman with whom he had fought minutes earlier, police said.
