St Louis, MO - The City of St. Louis yesterday accepted the deed to the L. Douglas Abram Federal Building in downtown St. Louis from the federal government- thus ending a two year fight with the Rev. Larry Rice who had advocated the building be used as a homeless shelter. The building is expected to be partially converted into a parking garage for the Kiel Opera House and the adjoining ScotTrade Center (formerly the Savvis Center).

“This is an important building on a major thoroughfare in our central business district. When it became available, we knew we needed to act,” said St Louis Mayor Francis Slay.  “This transaction would not have happened without the support of Senator Kit Bond (Rep) and Congressman Lacy Clay (Dem).”

The Abram building became the center of media attention in January, 2004 after the federal government announced their decided to move the offices of the Department of Agriculture elsewhere in the City and place the building up for sale. Initially, the City of St. Louis sought to acquire the property and turn it into a parking garage for the Kiel Opera House, which has been closed since 1991. At that time developer Donald Breckenridge argued that without the parking solution offered by the Abram Building the restoration of the Kiel Opera House was doomed.

Shortly after the city announced their intentions, Rice stepped forward to claim the building as a homeless shelter under the Stewart McKinney Homeless Assistance Act which requires surplus federal property be made available to assist with homelessness. Rice argued that his ministry had outgrown their existing shelter and presented a plan to turn the building into a 1,000 bed facility which he would rent from the federal government for one dollar.  This led to a bipartisan effort by area politicians who lobbied The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversaw Rice’s application, to get it rejected in favor of the city.

The city is expected to convert two floors of the building to parking with additional space to be used for city offices. The Opera House, immediately east of the Abram building, is a 3,500 seat facility, expected to host and showcase Broadway theatre, musicals, dance and other artistic performances. It adjoins the ScotTrade Center, home to the St Louis Blues NHL hockey team.

“The Kiel Opera House is a beautiful, historic structure that can once again be a showcase for great events in Downtown St. Louis,” said Slay.