St. Louis spent over $6M repairing its shuttered jail. Now, it’s tearing it down.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A controversial building you own is now being torn down.

St. Louis' minimum-security institution, often known as the Workhouse, closed in 2022. But even the advocates who pushed for its closure criticized the mayor Tuesday for continuing to spend money on it only to demolish it.

Located off Hall Street in north St. Louis, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s next for the property.

“Now we will make sure no human being is ever detained in this facility again,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones as she stood in front of heavy equipment. Shortly after her remarks, workers started tearing down ancillary buildings on the property.

Last week, First Alert 4 Investigates gave you an exclusive inside look, revealing the building had already been gutted.

On Tuesday, we learned the demolition will cost taxpayers $2.24 million.

That’s on top of carrying costs in recent years and the millions spent on other repairs to the building in the last decade.

“There is no amount of money that makes the Workhouse livable. I spent time there, and I was never allowed outside,” said Inez Bordeaux with ArchCity Defenders, one of the groups who had fought to close the Workhouse.

But on Tuesday, even staunch supporters of closing the Workhouse who attended the event criticized the city for not selling the property and profiting from it when it first closed.

“We urged the city not to invest more in this and to use the money to address the root causes of crime,” Bordeaux said.

She said that while she’s glad there is now only one jail in the city—the Criminal Justice Center downtown—many more people have died there in recent years.

“Eighteen people in four years makes CJC the deadliest jail in the country,” she said.

Alderwoman Pam Boyd never wanted the Workhouse closed. She said conditions had improved after the city spent millions of dollars on repairs prior to its closure.

“We could have just sold it and left it alone—let someone use it in a way that benefits the city,” said Boyd, who represents the area around the Workhouse.

Boyd also said there has been little information from the mayor’s office, even about the contractors doing the demolition.

T.A. Contracting, whose name is emblazoned on the demolition equipment, isn’t based in the city. Other contractors told First Alert 4 they were never given a chance to bid.

“Why wouldn’t we make sure they have an opportunity to bid on it?” Boyd asked.

The city also hasn’t pulled a demolition permit. A spokesperson said that because the property is city-owned, they don’t need one.

“People are doing things, and the rules don’t apply to them, but they apply to everybody else,” Boyd said.

The mayor took no questions at Tuesday’s event—and refused to answer any afterward.

“The timing sure is interesting—I mean, three weeks before an election,” said Alderwoman Cara Spencer, who is running against the Mayor. “It’s certainly one that has caused me to pause, and members of the community, too. I think people see through political stunts.”

Spencer also said there has been a lack of transparency throughout the process.

“The city has dumped so much money into that site that it’s really hard to parse the value of the property right now,” she said. “Unfortunately, none of that information has been shared with the public—or even the Board of Aldermen.”

The mayor’s office said it is accepting bids for the design of a memorial at the site. But as for the rest of the property, its future remains uncertain.

A city spokesperson said full demolition of the Workhouse could take weeks. They still cannot start on the main building, as environmental remediation is ongoing.

That generally means there are pollutants or contaminants that could pose a threat to the public and the environment.

We received a contract today stating that asbestos remediation is underway. However, the alderwoman representing the area said she had not received any environmental reports.

This afternoon, First Alert 4 Investigates also got more details on the cost of repairs at the Workhouse.

Since March 2023, the city has spent $6.4 million on repairs to the building—the most recent ones happening in December.

Add to that the demolition costs and the expense of keeping the lights on, and the total is approaching $10 million for a building that’s been closed.

Another question being raised: What happens if the Criminal Justice Center becomes overcrowded or stops functioning properly?

A report by the mayor’s own new head of corrections said the detained population at CJC is growing at alarming rates and recommended a contract with an outside jail to house detainees in the future.

The mayor has vowed to make improvements to CJC, but many critics say conditions there are poor. For example, there is nowhere for detainees to go outside.