St. Louis Mayor Announces Demolition Plans for Old Workhouse Jail
Date Posted: September 19, 2024
Posted In: News, Projects,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Wednesday announced plans to demolish part of the old City Workhouse, which could free up space for abandoned animals, derelict vehicles and other city services.
A news release said that demolition of the jail, long derided by activists as dirty and inhumane, will begin by Dec. 16 and next steps will be formally announced at the beginning of next year.
The release said plans are being developed for an animal shelter, which could alleviate crowding issues at the current Midtown site, and additional space for the city’s often overstuffed tow lot. Satellite photos show dozens of beat-up cars have already been parked on the property.
Conner Kerrigan, a spokesperson for Jones, said a plan to put tiny homes on the site for homeless residents also remains under consideration.
Jones spent years campaigning with activists to close the workhouse, which they derided as a sweltering, rat-infested disgrace rife with abuse. She emptied the facility as mayor, transferring its inmates to the downtown City Justice Center in June 2022. And on Wednesday, she said it was time to eradicate much of it.
“Our community deserves better than to see the facility continue to stand as it did,” Jones said in the release, “so I am pleased that we can now move forward with the demolition.”
Leading activists for the facility’s closure applauded the move. “I’m struggling to put words together but this is so so good,” Kayla Reed, who leads Action St. Louis, wrote on social media.