“Residents of Kirkwood need to remember that prospective Buyers are attracted to the charm and character of the area – not only in its homes, but in its awesome residents…It would be a shame to scare them off or diminish the attractiveness of Kirkwood in the name of historical preservation (which is a desirable and noble goal)…”
Lewis Homes is a small family owned custom homebuilder in the Kirkwood Community. Lewis Homes bought the property from Capstone Realty for the purpose of building a new home. The price they paid was reflective of the value of the property, not the structure thereon. In fact, the home had multiple significant structural and water issues. The City of Kirkwood documented more than 25 issues in the City’s Property Maintenance Inspection Report. The City’s report, which is required to gain occupancy, states, in part, that: “[The potential buyer would have been required to get] A signed and sealed Missouri structural engineer’s report on the condition of the bowed and cracked foundation walls and the dormer on the garage, and make necessary repairs.” “In conjunction with [the] above listed engineer’s report, submit verification from a Missouri licensed soils engineer—the condition of what appears to be plastic soil expansion under the structural column to the west of the basement stairs. This column appears to have raised the main beam of the house causing the first and second floor structure to bow up into the center of the building; report must address remediation of this condition.”
Factual Timeline:
April 2007: Lewis Homes agreed to purchase the property after determining that it was NOT designated as a historic home on the National Register in the State of Missouri. At that time, Lewis Homes began preparing plans for the building of the new home and advertised their intentions to rebuild a new home in flyers throughout the Kirkwood area.
July 28, 2007: More than three months later, Tad Skelton, an East Argonne Resident, offered to purchase the home for $345,000 by email. The email contained no expression of concern for the preservation of the home, nor was there any indication for the reasons for purchase. The correspondence, in its entirety, stated the following: “Mary Lewis Realty, I am interested in purchasing the existing home at 407 E Argonne in Kirkwood. I am a cash buyer, could close as soon as the paperwork allows, and am offering $345,000. I am currently out of town and don’t have phone service, but have occasional email access. Please let me know your interest in this transaction. Regards, Tad Skelton” That same day, Lewis Homes responded to Mr. Skelton stating that the home was purchased for the purpose of building a new home and was essentially not for sale. However, Lewis Homes went on to state that the home was in a state of serious structural disrepair, but if someone wished to buy the property, Lewis Homes would sell it at a price that would include its costs and some projected profit in the mid $400’s. At that time, Lewis Homes' project investment that would need to be recovered at sale was about $400,000.
August 3, 2007: Lewis Homes’ Real Estate Agent, Tina Niemann received a letter from Dr. Scott Purvines, another resident of E. Argonne. The neighbor’s letter contained gross inaccuracies regarding Lewis Homes' acquisition of the property. The letter further stated “We are planning to resist the demolition and sale of that property by any legal means available to us unless Lewis Contracting [Homes] changes its plans or sells the house to one of us.” The letter concluded by saying, “We respect you [Ms. Niemann] as a member of our community and like you as an individual. We don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire or be a victim of the bad publicity we hope to generate.” On the afternoon of August 3rd, Ms. Niemann met with Dr. Scott Purvines & his wife to respond to his letter. Lewis Homes, through Ms. Niemann, attempted to set up a meeting with the neighbors for the next day to provide accurate information and discuss the neighbors’ concerns. However, late Friday August 3rd and early Saturday August 4th, many neighbors posted signs in their yards stating “Please do not buy 407 E. Argonne” and at least some neighbors provided misinformation to passersby that the signs had been posted because Lewis Homes had misinformed the former owner, Ms. Ballard, that Lewis Homes would rehab the property.
Saturday August 4, 2007: Lewis Homes again requested a meeting with the residents. Tina Niemann called the Purvines at their home to attempt to organize an informational meeting between Lewis Homes and the residents. The residents refused to remove the signs and requested the meeting be delayed until Sunday and eventually Monday to include attendance by particular residents.
Monday August 6, 2007: When Mr. Skelton was available, many of the residents finally met in an informal meeting at the Hautly residence. Lewis Homes attempted to provide accurate information about the purchase of the home and asked that the neighbors remove the signs. Lewis Homes believes the signs were prepared for the specific purpose of damaging a hard earned reputation of excellence and impairing the ability to operate its business. On the way out of the meeting, Mr. Skelton stopped Tina Niemann to make another verbal offer to purchase the home. It was explained that the offer was below Lewis Homes costs and expenses in the project. However, Ms. Neimann told the neighbors if they were serious, they should submit a formal written contract, which met Lewis Homes costs. Ms. Niemann reported to Lewis Homes, “that the neighbors’ primary concerns voiced to her were the loss of tax credits on the north side of Argonne.”
Week of August 6-12: In the meantime, the neighbors contacted Fox 2 News, and other news sources. The day following the initial Fox 2 report, Lewis Homes restated its intentions to build a new home. However, while Lewis Homes did not want to undertake the rehab of this house, as a courtesy to its Kirkwood Neighbors, it offered the opportunity to the neighbors and all rehabbers to purchase the property in “as is” condition for the purpose of rehab.
August 12-20th: Over the next week and a half, Lewis Homes had approximately 20-30 rehabbers come through the home discussing the possibility of rehabbing or relocating the home. Lewis Homes made clear the significant structural issues to each interested party. Of the 20-30 parties, Lewis Homes received three formal written contracts ranging from $360,000-$380,000. As written, the highest offer of $380,000, which was $30,000 less than Lewis Homes expenses, was contingent upon building and structural inspections. Lewis Homes responded to that party stating that the sale had to be “as is” again citing the structural issues. There was never an oral or written contractual offer for $400,000. At the same time written offers came in, Lewis Homes indicated that it would accept an offer to purchase the home for $410,000, which represented its increasing costs and expenses in the property. That figure included no profit.
August 20, 2007: Lewis Homes’ counsel sent a letter to a representative of the neighbors extending the same offer to purchase the home for $410,000 that was extended to all parties who submitted written contracts. The letter indicated that Lewis Homes was moving forward with construction and time was of the essence. The representative indicated he would forward the offer to the interested neighbors.
As of August 27, 2007: Lewis Homes received no offers to purchase the home for its stated costs.
August 29, 2007: Lewis Homes continued with its planned removal approved by and in compliance with all the rules and regulations of the City of Kirkwood. Lewis Homes is a custom homebuilder. We purchased the property to build a new home. We believe that we did 
everything in our power to allow the residents and/or any other interested person the opportunity to preserve the home. Lewis Homes values the history and tradition of Kirkwood. The City of Kirkwood Landmark Commission honored Lewis Homes with the “Best Residential Infill” of 2006. The award states that Lewis Homes built: “New single family housing which fits comfortably into the existing character of its neighborhood. Like a good addition, this good neighbor found compatibility through use of scale, proportion, materials, textures and details.” A variation of that design will be built on 407 E. Argonne with our customary attention to quality and detail. Lewis Homes believes that the new residence on East Argonne will fit the architecture, character, and history of the homes on East Argonne and within the Kirkwood Community. The owner of Lewis Homes is a Kirkwood Resident who values the community and his reputation for preservation of Kirkwood’s history and character in his work. It was important to the company that the proper factual timeline and events were accurately depicted to its Kirkwood neighbors so that the residents would be able to draw accurate and informed conclusions. Thank you for the opportunity to present the facts to our Kirkwood neighbors. Sincerely, Your Neighbor Lewis Homes
Cottrell Realty Group would like to thank Mike Lewis of Lewis Homes and Mary Lewis for their contribution of this very detailed timeline and facts.
We share the common opinion that Historical Preservation is a very noble and necessary goal for Kirkwood MO. That said, residents of Kirkwood MO should be cautious not to scare off prospective buyers (and as a result possibly inadvertently diminish property values). We’re already dealing with buyer’s looking in Kirkwood (some of which are in from out of town) who are puzzled or concerned about the protests, red signs and controversy. – Resident would be well suited to work within the framework of the municipality – as residents of Webster Groves MO have for quite some time – and if the protections provided for architectural review are not adequate to ensure historical preservation – then the residents should ensure that the City of Kirkwood amends and/or augments their review procedures. The Mayor and City Council are only a phone call or meeting away.
A second thing that residents of Kirkwood MO should remember, the ultimate buyer of 407 E. Argonne, should not be ostracized or otherwise harmed. The buyer of this home deserves the right to enjoy the awesome charm and character and environment that Kirkwood MO brings to all of its residents.
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