Gravois Park home rebuilt and transformed, wins landmarks award

ST. LOUIS – An unbelievable transformation for a Gravois Park home that was up for demolition after a catastrophic fire in 2012.

Alberto Vushaj, owner and founder of Vushaj Construction and Plumbing, was hired to demolish the home at 3614 California Avenue.

After looking it over, Vushaj shared with the property owner what some would have called a crazy idea.

“He goes, ‘What are you going to do with it? You can do nothing with it.’ I said, ‘Let me see what I can do,” Vushaj said. He bought the home and got to work.

“We had an architectural drawing, engineers, they checked it out. The structure, the engineer said, ‘It’s in good shape.’”

It took Vushaj and his team about 14 months to rebuild the home from the bottom to the top. He said it was important to maintain the historical essence of the building.

“Preserving the neighborhoods and having a good home for somebody to live on it,” he said.

The once hollowed-out shell has been transformed into a beacon; showing what is possible even in the ugliest situation.

“We deal with a lot of challenges on different projects,” Vushaj said. “But this one turned out to be exactly what we thought.”

The property won a Landmarks Association of St. Louis award for Most Enhanced .
The house hit the market in March and is priced at $505,000.

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