Demolition to begin on long-troubled St. Louis jail

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Demolition will begin soon on the St. Louis jail known as the City Workhouse, which has been the source of criticism for decades. The mayor’s office says demolition begins Dec. 16. Further steps will be announced in early 2025, but plans are underway for an animal shelter at the site, and perhaps additional space to store towed vehicles. Tiny homes for the homeless also are possible. The city transferred all workhouse inmates to the downtown City Justice Center in 2022. A 2017 lawsuit filed on behalf of detainees cited infestations of rats and rodents, black mold, and intolerable heat in the summer and cold in the winter.