The man who first led the charge for the revitalization of the neighborhoods around Washington University Medical Center has died.
Eugene Kilgen, who served as executive director of Washington University Medical Center Redevelopment Corp for 23 years until his retirement in 2000, died Jan. 17, 2009, at the age of 71. Kilgen headed the effort to redevelop the neighborhoods bordering the medical center, first in the Central West End and later in Forest Park Southeast.
“Gene was a very nice man who was universally appreciated and admired for his dedication to the neighborhoods surrounding the medical center,” said Joe Roddy, 17th Ward Alderman. “His unassuming and understated personality was just what was needed to successfully implement the many changes that transpired during his tenure at WUMCRC.”
Kilgen first set his sights on the southern portion of the Central West End, helping to transform streets of abandoned brick homes and boarding houses into stable residential blocks. Washington University Medical Center and private developers invested millions of dollars into residential, commercial and institutional development, breathing new life into the neighborhood.
“He was the primary leader behind the huge effort to stabilize the Central West End,” said Brian Phillips, current executive director of WUMCRC. “He was a huge resource of knowledge in terms of redevelopment efforts in the area.”
Kilgen helped secure a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1990s to redevelop the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood.
Kilgen's family owned the Kilgen Organ Co., supplying pipe organs to churches all over the world. A Kilgen Organ is on display at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica.
Kilgen died at Conway Manor in Creve Coeur. He is survived by his wife, Janice Kilgen; two daughters, Genevieve Kilgen-Henry and Michelle Patredis; and four grandchildren.
Services were held Jan. 24 at St. Cronan’s Church. Contributions may be made in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association, 9374 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63132 or Dolan Residential Care Centers, P.O. Box 4082, Chesterfield, MO, 63006.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch article
Eugene Kilgen obituary