Closing downtown's last SRO alarms advocates

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said last week that the Mark Twain Hotel in downtown St. Louis will close under a settlement with owner Anchor Point Hotel LLC, ending one of the city’s last large single-room-occupancy-style housing options. The agreement followed a July 9 nuisance notice from Hanaway’s office that cited hazardous living conditions, chronic safety failures and persistent criminal activity at the property. Peter & Paul Community Services said on August 20 that more than 160 residents were facing the loss of their housing as the building prepared to close by September 1. The closure has alarmed housing advocates because the hotel has functioned as rare, below-market, week-to-week housing in the downtown core. ### Why is the Mark Twain Hotel central to this fight over downtown housing? The Mark Twain Hotel at 205 North 9th Street has long operated as a residence hotel in downtown St. Louis, according to city historic records. Missouri state Rep. Marty Joe Murray said the building “has long provided below-market, week-to-week housing in downtown St. Louis,” describing it as a key option for residents with few alternatives. St. Louis housing coverage in 2025 also noted that the city had only recently reopened most of its zoning map to single-room occupancies after a 75-year ban, underscoring how limited that housing stock remains. (ago.mo.gov) November 2025 marked a broader policy shift for the city when an ordinance made SROs permissible again in most areas, with restrictions and conditional-use review, according to St. Louis Magazine. That change showed city officials were beginning to treat rooming houses as part of the affordable-housing toolkit even as the downtown hotel now used in a similar way was moving toward closure. (dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov) ### What did the state’s settlement require? Hanaway’s office said the settlement was negotiated among the state, the city and Anchor Point Hotel LLC and resolved the dispute without an admission of liability. The attorney general’s office said Anchor Point must pay $500 to each person who lived in the building on July 1, 2026, including current residents as they vacate, with payments due by September 1. The office also said Peter & Paul Community Services would administer restitution and provide housing, relocation assistance and essential resources to displaced residents. (stlmag.com) Peter & Paul Community Services said an initial $100,000 would support the rehousing effort. The group said it was leading the response at the request of the attorney general’s office in partnership with the St. Louis City Continuum of Care and local outreach organizations. ### How many residents are being displaced? Peter & Paul Community Services said on August 20 that more than 160 residents were facing the loss of their housing. (ago.mo.gov) Fox 2 St. Louis separately reported that nearly 160 residents were being forced out, and the attorney general’s office said the settlement applied to people who resided in the building on July 1. The size of that displacement matters because downtown St. (ppcsinc.org) Louis has few comparable low-cost options. Rep. Murray said Peter & Paul and its partners were assessing individual needs, identifying housing options and connecting residents with essential resources as the closure proceeds. ### What are advocates and city officials saying about the loss? St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said in the attorney general’s release that the Mark Twain Hotel “had long created challenges for residents and the surrounding neighborhood,” while adding that the agreement would help affected people receive support. (ppcsinc.org) Peter & Paul Community Services, in its August 20 statement, framed the effort around preventing homelessness as residents lose housing. (house.mo.gov) The tension for advocates is that the building’s conditions drew state intervention at the same time the city has been reopening the door to SRO housing elsewhere. St. Louis Magazine reported in 2025 that advocates saw renewed rooming-house development as urgently needed because low-cost private-room housing had become scarce. ### What happens next for residents and the property? (ago.mo.gov) September 1, 2026, was the deadline set by the settlement for resident payments as tenants vacate, according to the attorney general’s office. Peter & Paul Community Services said it and the St. Louis City Continuum of Care were continuing to work with outreach partners to place residents in safe, stable housing. The attorney general’s office said the agreement was meant to clear a path for redevelopment of the property after the building is vacated. (stlmag.com) (ago.mo.gov)