Located at 1500 South Grand (Grand and Park) in the Gate District Neighborhood, the Hopewell building (as it has become known) is now facing a demotion threat by SSM and SLU. SSM acquired the building in early 2018 with a potential of expanding Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, no plans have been released on that end. After SSM bought the already depressed looking property, they let it sit and rot. They didn’t put a penny into cleaning it up and making it look more presentable, especially since it is across the street from SLU Hospital and Cardinal Glennon, not to mention that it is along Grand Boulevard, a highly traveled thoroughfare in the City.

With its brown brick, glazed brick and terra cotta representing craftsmanship not normally seen today, the building has a lot of potential. With its close proximity to the hospitals, the Hopewell Building could become apartments or a hotel. The first floor could become retail space again and house a restaurant or cafe. Cheap paneling covers up more glazed brick and large windows that are certainly more inviting than what is there now.

Apartments have done well in the near vicinity. The Gate District Neighborhood has a mixture of apartments and single-family homes just down Park Avenue from here and all are stable and occupied.

According to some people with knowledge of the building, the upper floors are not in that good of shape but worse buildings have been restored to their former glory, so no reason that this cannot as well.

This petition is asking SSM Health to preserve the building and restore it for higher usage. If not them, then the petition is asking SSM Health to consider putting the building up on the market so potential developers could acquire it and give the Hopewell Building a better future. Losing this would 1: most likely warrant a parking lot or green space, something SLU and SSM have too much of and 2. the demolition would destroy a street wall of buildings that has existed for over 60 years with the hospitals and university buildings being built up to the sidewalk.