Condemned University City seafood market cleaned up after months of bad smell

UNIVERSITY CITY (KMOV) -- The smell of dead fish rotting in the St. Louis summer heat has overcome several neighborhoods in University City for months. Now, something is being done about it.

The source of the dead fish is a condemned supermarket called Seafood City near 81st Street and Olive Boulevard. The business was shut down six months ago, leaving many residents wondering why something wasn’t done sooner.

A hired bio-remediation crew wearing hazmat suits took on the task of clearing out thousands of pounds of rotting fish and other items from what used to be Seafood City. For months, neighbors in the area knew something was off.

“As soon as it got nice outside and we were able to play outside, it’s smelled terrible,” Katie Wilson, a University City resident said.

Curtis Preston, also a University City resident, said it was hard to sit on his back porch.

“There’s been a lot of flies and we couldn’t figure out where they were coming from,” he said.

Many residents told First Alert 4 they’ve contacted the city for months about the issue. University City hired the bio-remediation crew due to the property owner’s inaction. The building owner, located in California, agreed to pay for the remediation.

University City officials estimate the cleanup costs will be at least $50,000.

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