STL on HBO

Good morning STL and happy Thursday! If you haven’t seen the new documentary on HBO called “Chimp Crazy”, it’s time to borrow your rich friend’s login and check it out. Without giving too much away, the documentary covers the story of a former chimp sanctuary in Festus, MO. The story is full of drama and mystery, but would you expect anything less when it comes to exotic animal brokers? Tiger King, meet Festus Queen.

WEATHER AND SPORTS

AROUND TOWN
Real estate developer sues Bar K

According to a suit filed on August 27th, the STL real estate development company, Green Street, responsible for many of the new developments in Midtown and FPSE (including The Armory and The Rail next to Bar K), is suing the owners of the popular bar/dog-park combo, Bar K, for past-due rent.

The filed document which you can read here, which, by the way, has some pretty glaring spelling and address mistakes. Let’s go off topic for a split second and call out some of these issues in the submission by Green Street’s law firm:

• Green Street’s investment group, 4565 McRee Investors, LLC is referenced multiple times as 4565 McCree Investors, LLC, including in the first sentence.

• The address of the property, 4565 McRee Ave. is listed as 4565 McCree in the third bullet.

• The affidavit at the end of the suit certifies that Hulse is the managing member of 4655 McRee Investors, LLC.

We’re not the grammar police by any means, but you’d think an intern would double check the addresses and entity names in an official court filing.

Anyways…

It appears that Bar K first showed signs of trouble when they missed paying their CAM reconciliation charge for the year 2022 in the amount of $43k. A quick explanation of what CAM charges are:

CAM charges are “common area maintenance” charges. Bar K agreed to pay these charges monthly in addition to their base rent. These charges are for maintenance the landlord would handle such as landscaping outside the building, parking lot maintenance, utilities, etc.

While Bar K did pay their required monthly CAM charges, there is a reconciliation performed at year-end to compare what the landlord actually spent in common area maintenance to what was paid by the tenants. If the landlord spent more (like in this case) than what they collected, they can seek reimbursement from the tenants.

The second red flag was when the rent increased after the first year, Bar K continued to pay the initial first year rent amount. This caused a balance to begin accumulating each month on top of the past-due CAM charges.

The third and most concerning red flag was when they stopped paying rent all together at the end of 2023. The October 2023 rent was paid on October 12th, however, the next rent payment was not made until February 2024, and those missing months were never caught up.

The fourth red flag was when Bar K again failed to pay the CAM reconciliation charge for the year 2023, which was much larger than the prior year: $101k.

Tack on some interest charges, and you now have a very big financial hole ( 💰️ $300k big) that Bar K must dig out from. Green Street is requesting back-rent plus the return of the property, which would spell the end of Bar K in STL.

With as popular and unique as Bar K is, hopefully they can secure the cash needed to get current on their rent, but with a debt load 10x larger than their monthly base rent, it won’t be an easy task. The first hearing is scheduled for the beginning of October.

The Dome gets new turf

You probably remember the comments after the Mizzou vs. Memphis game back in September of 2023. Calls to “set the Dome on fire and collect insurance money” rang out after the faded turf was displayed on live TV during the game. To be fair, the outdated lighting system didn’t help, but the turf was visibly in rough shape. In addition to the puke green color the turf faded into (we’re not even sure the original color was the bright green turf color you see today), the old yard marking lines were visible as well.

Well, after 14 years, the turf (and lighting system) is getting a much needed upgrade to the tune of a little over $1M. This is great news for the Battlehawks which call the Dome home as well as attracting additional NCAA games and other events. In addition to the fresh look, this new turf can also more easily roll up for storage under the field when conventions are using the space.

Although the Dome is still in need of $150M of repairs over the next 10 years according to the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority… this is a good start. Any businesses in the area want to throw some cash in the pot and secure naming rights to the Dome? Some ideas:

• Build-a-Bear Bunker

• Enterprise Center the Second

• Natural Light Stadium

• Schnucks Sphere

• Ameren Arena

WEEKEND WONDERS
What to do this week

Thursday

🎨 STL Art Fair in Clayton: Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, head to Clayton for the 31st annual STL Art Fair. Enjoy art, music, and food in the heart of Downtown Clayton. Free to get in and there will be over 190 professional visual artists with 37 award winners returning from last year.

🦎 King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at The Factory: This band started in 2010 but has already amassed 26 albums. Playing their first show ever in STL, they are known for energetic shows spanning multiple genres. Melbourne, Australia does STL!

Friday

🎳 Bowling for Soup at The Pageant: Their hit song, “1985” released back in 2004 was a song that, at the time, was about a time 19 years in the past. It’s been 20 years since the release of that song, making the song older than the year 1985 at the time of release. Put another way, it’s like a band coming out with a song called “2004” today, which, doesn’t seem that long ago. Time flies…

🤠 Atomic by Jamo Grand Opening in The Grove: The former events venue Atomic Cowboy in The Grove is back from the dead, except the cowboy didn’t make it, and now it’s just called Atomic. Resurrected by independent local concert promoter, Jamo, this grand opening FREE event kicks off with Voodoo Dave Mathews Band at 8pm. Doors open at 4pm— get there early to get a spot!

Saturday

🚒 Tons of Trucks at Ballwin Target: Have a kid who loves big trucks? Check out this free event in the Ballwin Target parking lot from 10am to Noon. There will be emergency vehicles, construction trucks, work trucks, tow trucks and more! Tom’s Coffee and Kona Ice will be available for purchase.

🎯 52nd Annual Dart Tournament at Blueberry Hill: September 6th thru the 8th, people of all ages will compete for cash prizes. If you win the men or women’s singles tournament, you get your picture on the Wall of Fame. Players travel from all over the US to play in this tournament with last year’s women’s champ from Denver, CO.

Sunday

🚲️ Bike MS at Lewis and Clark CC: Choose from four different distances (25, 50, 75, or 100 mile routes) that all start and end at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, IL. Bike MS has 50 rides across the US and is the largest fundraising cycling series in the world. Rides take place on Saturday and Sunday and raise money to help fight multiple sclerosis.

🧘 Yoga + Craft Brews at The Hub STL: If you didn’t know what The Hub STL was don’t feel bad— it’s that giant greenspace in front on 4 Hands in Chesterfield with the huge big screen. Namaste Outdoors and 4 Hands are teaming up for some yoga outside starting at 10am. Tickets are $25 and include a free beer.

ARCHWAY ARCADE
Poll question of the week

Winner of last week’s poll question:

STL prefers to bring back the NBA over the NFL. Too soon for the NFL… FSK

Did you know?

STL City used to be a part of STL County and was its largest municipality. In 1876, city residents voted to separate from the county, primarily due to taxes. STL City residents (there were over 350,000 at the time) did not want their tax dollars supporting the county of only 30,000 residents. Well, well, well. How the turntables…

Trivia

STL City is considered an “independent city”, in that it is not a part of a surrounding county. There are 41 independent cities in the US with 38 of them being in Virginia. What are the other two independent cities outside of Virginia? answer below

SHARING IS CARING
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Trivia Answer: Baltimore, Maryland (split from Baltimore County in 1853 for similar reasons to the STL/STL County split) and Carson City, NV (consolidated with a county in 1969, then the county was subsequently dissolved).