Every contractor knows the sinking feeling of walking onto a job and finding it's been hit overnight. Imagine that happening three times on the same building, after a tornado already set you back.
That's where Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Housing Corp. finds itself at 4700 Labadie Ave. in north St. Louis. The nonprofit's executive director, Jean Crumpton, told First Alert 4 that the building has been vandalized three times since June 2026.
Thieves shattered at least 10 brand-new windows, stole copper wire from the air conditioning units and took some of the units themselves.
"They sawed off the cages, threw them over in the yard, then took the air conditioners up off the pad," Crumpton said.
A small building with a big job to do
The project is a complete gut rehab of a vacant apartment building in the Kingsway East neighborhood, according to the organization's website. When it's done, it will be a mixed-use building that serves as the nonprofit's new headquarters and a home for four local families. Each two-bedroom apartment will have in-unit laundry, off-street parking, yard space and direct access to on-site supportive services.
"Apartment building with two bedrooms and one bath. It is specifically for low-to-moderate income affordable housing," Crumpton said.
The city's Community Development Administration has been a major backer. The station reported the city initially invested $1.4 million in 2024, and the nonprofit's website describes a $1.4 million city grant. The CDA also listed 4700 Labadie among its August 2025 American Rescue Plan Act supplemental housing awards, at $700,000.
Crumpton said the project is about 90% complete. But it still needs money to repair damage from the May 2025 tornado, along with the vandalism.
"In order for us to finish this project, we need $400,000 more. And that is to finish all of the exterior and interior and get all of the contractors paid off," she said.
Insurance covered some of the costs, but not enough, she said. The organization has dipped into its own reserves.
"So, now, as an organization, we've used a lot of our reserves to cover all of these extraneous costs that were not anticipated," Crumpton said. "Well, it's been very frustrating because each time we have a setback, then it costs more money."
The city says it's staying in
Tom Nagel of the city's Community Development Administration said the city remains committed to the building.
"This is an investment in the neighborhood. We are filling this gap, this building that was vacant for more than a decade," Nagel said. "The city, CDA, we're going to work with our partners and we're going to work through this damage. So, we're going to overcome this and make sure that this building is made whole."
He described the approach as "partnering with the city, applying for subsidies, working together on that construction budget that we can really transform these vacant buildings that are walls of bricks before, but now they're going to become homes."
If the city's help and other grants come through, the building could be up and running before the end of the year, the station reported.
The nonprofit has been at this a long time. It was founded in 1998 to fight deteriorating housing, crime and declining schools in the Greater Ville area, and it works with neighborhood groups including the Kingsway East Community Organization.
Neither the station nor the organization named the general contractor on the job.
Why it matters for Contractors
This story is a hard look at job-site risk in vacant-heavy neighborhoods. A building that's 90% done is full of exactly what thieves want: new windows, condensers, copper and equipment. Cages around AC units didn't stop them here. Contractors working in similar areas should think about security cameras, alarm monitoring, delaying condenser installation until occupancy, and making sure builder's risk coverage actually matches the exposure. The other lesson is about getting paid. When a small nonprofit owner runs out of reserves, subs are the ones waiting on money, so it pays to know how a project is funded and whether there's contingency for theft and storm damage. And if the city and grants close the $400,000 gap, there's still exterior and interior work left to finish.