Landmarks Association of St. Louis

5201-5203 Virginia Avenue
St. Louis City

Built in 1910, the double storefront building was vacant for many years before Gary and Mary Joan Wood of Cairo, Missouri purchased it. Enticed by their daughter’s investment in a property down the street, the Wood’s thought the historic tax credit program made it seem like a financially feasible project. Their journey began in 2014 and did not finish until October of 2017. In that time, the Wood’s put a lot of sweat equity into restoring the structure. They peeled wallpaper, patched plaster walls, and repaired and repainted the pressed tin ceilings. Break-ins and subcontractors proved to be difficult obstacles. Several months passed between when the building was finished and when they finally found tenants.

The Wood’s perseverance paid off, however, because they insisted that the work be “done right” and used best preservation practices. A façade grant from the City of St. Louis helped with the expenses of repairing the storefronts while state and federal historic preservation tax credits helped finance the rest of the project.