Save 1234 S Vandeventer Family Business

Hi my name is Zainab, I am fundraising to help in legal fees to help save our family business. My grandfather bought this building 50 years ago after immigrating to this country and it has been in our family ever since. This building is a historical landmark to Saint Louis and is largely still made up of the original brick and structure from the late 1800s. This building has seen multiple tenants from being a grocery store to what was now my family’s automotive business for the last 50 years. In early 2020 my grandma was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and my grandpa was hospitalized due to his declining health. Both of my grandparents have been in and out of the hospital over the last 3 years. Our family focus shifted to our grandparents medical needs which resulted in financial hardship and neglect to the business building. The building incurred some damages in this process but the city of St. Louis has now called for an “emergent demolition” and will try to cease the property from us in the claims of a financial lien. The building was not in any advanced stages of destruction and should have been allowed to rehabilitate due to its historical significance to the area. We were not allowed to remove any of our personal property from the building which amounted to thousands of dollars in inventory which is now being destroyed. We were not able to save the building through legal process but we need help raising funds to protect ourselves from losing this land that has been in our family for 5 decades and to assist in potentially furthering court proceedings. This business was my grandfather’s life’s work for the last 50 years and my uncle’s for the last 25. My uncle has been offered pennies by leasing companies wanting to obtain the property for years though this land is worth that and 100 times over perhaps. This is another chapter in the St. Louis City gentrification efforts that take from small businesses and local communities for greater profit that does not benefit the very community it is targeting. My mother and her siblings grew up in this very community. Currently we are trying to raise money to cover the thousands of dollars in legal fees we have already incurred as well as the money we will need if this case were to proceed in court. This building represented much more than materials to my family, it was a sign of the American Dream and held 3 generations worth of memories. We couldn’t save the building but the land is ours and we need your help making sure it stays that way. Thank you for your time and any donation possible right now is greatly appreciated.