Washington Avenue sidewalk hole still unfixed after eight years
ST. LOUIS - A massive hole along the sidewalk of Washington Avenue in St. Louis' Downtown West neighborhood remains unfixed more than eight years after it opened.
FOX 2 News reported extensively on the hole in 2021 and revisited the site Wednesday after a viral discussion thread on a St. Louis Reddit community page.
The hole reveals a hidden basement room when exposed. It is currently covered with four sheets of plywood, one of which is slightly tilted and held down in part by a sandbag. There are no fences or visible warning signs around the hole itself, just the plywood that covers it.
The hole formed in August 2017 during the Rise Up Beer Festival, when a stretch of Washington Avenue was closed, according to previous FOX 2 reporting.
At the time, Derrick Langeneckert was operating a forklift to transport beer to a booth. He stopped the forklift in precaution while two pedestrians walked nearby. Moments later, the sidewalk gave way, sending Langeneckert and his forklift into the basement below.
Langeneckert suffered multiple injuries, including a broken back. He later attempted to sue the City of St. Louis, though his case ended with "stipulation of dismissal with prejudice" in December 2023, according to Missouri court records, after the causes of action were reportedly "compromised and settled."
FOX 2 reached out the the St. Louis Mayor's Office on Wednesday, which did not provide an attributable comment on the hole.
It appears uncertainty over who should fix the hole has contributed to lack of progress in repairing it.
The City of St. Louis requires encroachment permits for any structure extending into the "public right-of-way," such as a sidewalk. The basement beneath the sidewalk could possibly require such a permit from the adjacent property owner.
The hole sits along a sidewalk outside a property at 1520 Washington Avenue known as the Ely Walker Lofts.
St. Louis city property records list "Ely Walker Lofts Condos" as the building's owner. The condos are managed by STL City Wide, while city property records tie several units to Asprient Properties. An ongoing St. Louis Circuit Court lawsuit, filed in 2023, links Asprient to brothers Victor Alston and Sid Chakraverty.
In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted Alston, Chakraverty and their chief accountant on federal wire fraud charges. However, those charges were ultimately dropped on August 27, 2025, according to federal court documents.
FOX 2's efforts to contact Alston, Chakraverty, STL City Wide and Asprient Properties for comment about the hole were unsuccessful.
For now, the hole stands as a long-running safety hazard with no clear timetable or responsible party. Many questions remain unanswered, including when the hole may finally be repaired.
