FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

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We’ve been asked these questions several times…

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1. Where is the building?

Specifically, 822 Wilmington, 63111. It’s in a neighborhood called “Carondelet” in south St. Louis, surrounded by small single family homes and just a couple of blocks north of beautiful Carondelet Park . Click this link to see it in Google Maps.

2. How many square feet again?

Approximately 13,000sf by realty standards, which includes first & second floors of about 6500sf each. Basement is an additional 4000sf.

3. How tall are the ceilings?

Well, there aren’t any ceilings, but there is 16′-8″ clearance on the first floor, 13′-6″ clearance on the second floor, and about 9′ in the basement.

4. What are the construction materials?

The entire structure is concrete, with brick exterior walls. The floors are concrete (including the roof), the columns are concrete, and the beams are concrete. Everything has a layer of plaster on it (at least the areas where the plaster hasn’t fallen from moisture.) Nothing structural is made of wood – in fact – most of the doors are steel, and painted to look like wood. (An art long lost…)

5. What was the building originally?

Built in 1914 by Southwestern Bell Telephone as an exchange location; equipment on the lower floors, and female operators connecting cables between subscribers on the second floor; it was expanded three times due to increases in subscribers: 1923, 1925, and 1928. (See this post.) In the early 40’s, it was sold to Jacoby Art Glass Studio, which operated there for about 30 years. In the 70’s, it was sold to a printing company, which changed names and owners a couple times, and the last printing company moved out around 2006. [Check out the “Building History” category on this site for more detailed information.]

6. Is there a yard?

Technically, no, but there’s a 5′ wide strip of grass between the long side of the building and the city sidewalk. We plan to plant herbs there! But for outdoor space, we have big plans for roof gardens and roof terraces. And if you’re worried about our border collies Lucy and Lily – we didn’t have a fenced yard before and always take them out on a leash. So that practice continues.

7. How do you plan to use 13,000+sf?

First floor will be workshops & studios and a four car garage off of the alley; if you’ve read the rest of this blog, you’ll note that we we have many interests – we plan to have a pottery studio, woodworking shop, messy/dirty welding/machine shop, and who knows what else will come. The second floor will be our main living space – probably three bedrooms/three baths and very large open living/dining areas (think “ultimate loft”) and we may end up having some “clean” studio areas for activities like watercolor and sewing/knitting, etc. The basement will be whatever crazy shit Tom dreams up, as long as he doesn’t have any inclinations to jackhammer a deep pit and start reciting “It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told.” (ala “Silence of the Lambs”.)

8. So what’s the next step? [Also asked as: When do you move in?, What are your plans?]

Short term:  We have renovated about 600 sf in one corner of the first floor – in what we are call the Red Room  – because that area was in the best shape, dry and is contained away from the rest of the work. We currently, very comfortably, live there but that space will eventually be a suite for visitors.  Now, we are doing a number of smaller projects but are starting the tuck pointing and the repair of the roof to address some serious roof leakage issues. Once that is taken care of, we can start construction of the second floor and the garage. We will also be figuring out how to construct guest accommodations as part of the earlier phases of the second floor work.  “If you build it, they will come…” and our friends and family will come back to help us with the rest of the renovations. In essence, it will be a gradual process.

9. When will you be done?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Anyone asking this doesn’t really understand the gravity of our project. Scenario 1: We win the lottery (correction: TOM wins the lottery) . Scenario 2: Never.