ST. LOUIS • A fire caused substantial smoke damage to a building that will house the Lafayette Prep Academy, a charter elementary school that opened downtown in 2013.
The fire was reported at about midnight Monday. The two-story brick building at 1900 Lafayette Avenue is attached to a church, but the church was not damaged. No one was injured.
The fire was contained to one classroom at the school building. 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ Fire Capt. Garon Mosby said the cause of the fire is under investigation. It was not suspicious.
Lafayette Prep Academy plans to renovate the building and open it to students in August 2016.
Construction work wasn't scheduled to begin until September of this year, and the fire won't change that timetable, said , managing principal of UIC, which is the developer for the school.
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Since it opened in 2013, Lafayette Prep has leased space and operated out of Christ Church Cathedral downtown, but it needs more space to grow. It is moving to a temporary home in a building at 18th and Olive streets for the coming school year before moving to the Lafayette Avenue location for the 2016-2017 school year.