Neighbors and city officials divided over plan to renovate historic Belleville building
A historic two-story brick building in downtown Belleville has sat vacant for decades without much public attention.
That changed last month.
A developer’s proposal to acquire the city-owned building and turn it into a business incubator and event space prompted neighbors to express concerns about parking, noise and security. That led to a City Council debate and helped persuade aldermen to delay a decision on what many people thought was a “done deal.”
“I think the feeling was, ‘Let’s do it right instead of rapid,’” said Clifford Cross, director of economic development, planning and zoning.
Now the city is back to the drawing board, despite some aldermen arguing that it was unfair to developer Kathy Mordini and her daughter, Kinsey, who had been working on their concept for more than a year and were the only ones who responded to a request for proposals this spring.
Others maintained that the posted request’s three-week deadline and limited advertising made it seem like the process was rigged.
“(The Mordini plan) was put out on social media many, many weeks before anyone else had an opportunity to submit a proposal,” said Mary Stiehl, one of two aldermen for Ward 6, where the building is located.
“A lot of people that wanted it looked at it and thought, ‘Well, we’ve got an inside job here, and we just gave it to her.’”
The City Council has directed the Economic Development and Annexation Committee to post another request for proposals on Belleville’s website and take other steps to solicit interest from businesses or organizations in and out of town. Developers will have 60 days to respond.
Built as saloon in 1887
The building at 127 Mascoutah Ave. and its adjoining vacant lot at 123 Mascoutah Ave. are on the northwest corner of Mascoutah’s intersection with Lincoln and Abend streets.
The structure was built in 1887 for Schopp Brothers Saloon and housed taverns for 55 years, according to research by Belleville Historical Society. It was used for other businesses until 1996, when a Hair Designers salon moved out.
The city took ownership of the vacant lot in 2009 and building in 2010, St. Clair County records show.
“It was donated by the Kern family,” Cross said.
That followed a couple of efforts by previous owner Chuck Helwig to open a microbrewery called Robin’s Beak at the site. Disagreements with the city over parking, construction of a building addition and other issues led him to locate in Swansea.
The property is on the border between the downtown business district and Old Belleville Historic District, a 19th century neighborhood whose roughly 100 homeowners abide by guidelines and restrictions on exterior changes to maintain a period look and feel.
The Mascoutah Avenue building isn’t for sale, but city officials are poised to turn it over it to a developer with a suitable renovation plan.
“We want it to be a sustainable private property back on the tax rolls for many years to come,” Cross said. “... We want something that’s going to anchor the neighborhood.“
The Mordinis own Avenue Realty and serve on the Belleville Mural Project board. They’re renovating another historic building at 122 Mascoutah Ave. that they bought recently, with plans to use the downstairs for an office and upstairs for Kinsey’s living quarters.
“We’d like to develop the whole corner,” Kathy Mordini said last week.
“There are several buildings that are available, and they could use some tender loving care. ... We’re all about building community, and I think this would be a great location for it. It’s time to this part of the town to come to life.”
The new Avenue Realty office will be next door to the former Charlie’s Off Main, a bar and restaurant that closed last year.
Baby showers and pop-ups
The Mordinis approached Belleville officials about the possibility of acquiring the Mascoutah Avenue property about a year ago, according to a letter Kathy sent to neighbors explaining their position.
“We met with Mayor Gregory and (Eric Schauster, assistant director of economic development, planning and zoning) last spring and Eric discussed how they gave buildings to other developers in the past and implied this building was a possibility for us to do the same,” she wrote.
The Mordinis checked back with officials periodically, fine-tuned their concept and worked to drum up public support. According to the letter, they thought an agreement with the city was imminent before being told that plans had changed and officials would post a request for proposals.
The request appeared on the city’s website in mid-April with a three-week deadline. The Mordinis were the only developers who responded.
Their new business, Abend Street Incubator & Event Space, would include an indoor venue for bridal and baby showers, “dining experiences” with guest chefs, art shows and other community events and gatherings before and after weekly group bike rides.
The vacant lot would be filled with kiosks for Thursday and Saturday “pop-ups” (temporary retail spaces) for artists and other vendors too small to rent their own storefronts.
“I’m working with my team to determine the operation hours they would recommend, but this is not being proposed as a late night bar or venue,” Kathy Mordini stated in the letter to neighbors.
The developers do plan to apply for a liquor license.
Mordini noted that any changes to the building’s exterior would have to be approved by the Belleville Historic Preservation Commission and follow historic district guidelines, which she did while planning for renovations to 122 Mascoutah Ave.
Opinions on both sides
Belleville City Council considered the proposal for Abend Street Incubator & Event Space at its meeting on May 16.
Several local residents spoke in favor of the project, describing it as a way to help young would-be entrepreneurs, create a community gathering spot and improve the neighborhood.
“It’s hard for me to see the high number of vacant, unoccupied and abandoned buildings immediately around our home and throughout the downtown area,” said Ned Padoff, who’s renovating a Victorian-style home on Jackson Street.
Padoff praised the Mordinis for “thinking outside the box.” Another speaker likened their vendor concept to the “fantastic” Vine Street Market in O’Fallon.
Several others spoke in opposition to the project. One was Bill Enyart, an attorney and former congressman who lives on Abend with his wife, Annette Eckert, a retired 20th Judicial Circuit Court judge.
“I have no problem with a business being in that building,” Enyart told aldermen. “But I think it could be a better business, perhaps, because of the noise and traffic and that sort of thing.”
Enyart emphasized the neighborhood’s historical significance. The city-owned building is across the intersection from the Gustave Koerner House, a National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1854. Koerner was a key figure in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for president.
Enyart argued that the proposal process was too rushed and that the Mordini plan was “lacking in substance,” particularly in the area of public safety.
Enyart pointed to ongoing problems with homelessness in downtown Belleville and recent “flash mobs” in the metro-east. That term refers to sudden large gatherings sometimes associated with crime.
“The pavilions that are proposed to be placed (in the vacant lot) would serve, I’m afraid, we’re afraid, as havens for the homeless,” Enyart said. “We already have a very significant problem — each of you is aware of it — with needles, drunkenness, drug abuse.
“Annette and I were walking our dog three days ago, and there was a gentleman behind the gazebo urinating.”
In her letter to neighbors, Kathy Mordini stated that other cities have built vendor kiosks with “fun and unique” designs, but she’s willing to consider removable tents if necessary.
Other opponents questioned whether the developers had a solid financial plan for the project.
Preservationists weigh in
Also at the City Council meeting, Mayor Patty Gregory read a letter from Jack LeChien and Molly McKenzie, chairs of the Gustave Koerner House Restoration committee.
The preservationists didn’t support or oppose the Mordini project. They mainly reminded aldermen that the building is in Old Belleville Historic District.
“The potential buyers of 123-127 Mascoutah Ave. have a dream to bring new ideas and uses to the property,” they wrote. “We ask that the dominant view of proposed changes be within the scope of the historic preservation ordinance and design guidelines manual.”
LeChien and McKenzie stated that they submitted the letter because of questions about potential elements of the business incubator and event space, including golf carts, pop-ups, kiosks and a vendor market.
Gregory agreed with Alderwoman Stiehl that the Mordinis’ promotion of the project on social media had created the perception that it was a “done deal.” The mayor insisted she had told Kathy otherwise.
“Nothing was promised to anybody,” Gregory said.
The City Council voted 15 to 0 to table the decision on building renovations until more ideas are collected through the new request for proposals. Chris Rothweiler, the other Ward 6 alderman, had made the motion. Ward 8 Alderwoman Nora Sullivan was absent.
Ward 1 Alderman Joe Hazel voted to table but suggested that the Gregory administration take action to improve its process.
“Everyone had the same timetable to get their proposals in, regardless of how polished their proposals were, and (Mordini) submitted hers,” he said. “And now we go back and say, ‘You have done what was requested of you. Let’s publicize your idea, and let’s allow everyone else to build off of that.’ I think that’s unfair.”
‘Point of no return’
One of the closest neighbors to the Mascoutah Avenue property is Barb Swantner, who lives across Lincoln and two doors down on Abend. She recently bought back a home that was built in 1871 by her great-great-grandfather and owned by her family for decades.
Swantner supports the Mordini project, mainly because she thinks the vacant, boarded-up building is an eyesore, and she would like to see positive activity at the intersection.
Swantner describes division in the neighborhood as widespread, but civil.
“We’re all being very polite and friendly about it, but we do have a difference in opinion,” she said. “Some of us want (the business) because we think it would be an asset to the neighborhood and the other ones feel that it’s going to detract from the historical aspects.”
Artist renderings of what the renovation would look like are “beautiful,” Swantner said. “Anything is better than vacancy.”
The city is expected to post the new request for proposals on its website this month.
Cross emphasizes that a City Council vote in favor of a proposal, any proposal, wouldn’t be final or binding. It would simply indicate broad agreement on a development concept and be followed by discussions, approvals, inspections and contracts.
Cross expressed hope that a decision could be made fairly soon.
“For now, the building seems solid, but it’s getting to that point of no return, where if you don’t do something with it, are you going to be able to save it?” he said. “It’s amazing how buildings, when they finally get to that point, how quickly they can really go downhill.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
