(The Center Square) – The City of St. Louis on Friday announced distribution of $10.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds in grants for neighborhoods.
The Community Development Administration requested project proposals from specific areas and Economic Justice Index areas to receive funds. The Economic Justice Index measures 10 factors to determine needs, including life expectancy and violent crime. The index also measures health insurance, income, property values, vacancy rates, education attainment, internet access, communities of color and redlining, an illegal practice of refusing to sell insurance or make loans in areas considered by those businesses to be a poor or financial risk.
“Our commitment to proactive development, neighborhood beautification, and strategic project implementation underlines CDA’s mission of reversing decades of disinvestment and investing in community and grassroots organizations,” Nahuel Fefer, executive director of the Community Development Administration, said in a statement.
In August, the organization announced distribution of $20 million in ARPA funds to develop 952 housing units throughout the city. It included $10.9 million for 12 multifamily projects for 866 rental units. Three of the projects previously received low-income housing tax credits.
Federal ARPA money provided approximately $350 billion in emergency funding for state, local, territorial and tribal governments to assist in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city’s final round of grants was distributed to four areas of focus: building developments, neighborhood beautification, capacity building and home repairs.
Development of community assets received $4 million. Both the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis and Jubilee Community Development Corporation received $500,000, the largest grants in the category.
Boys & Girls Clubs is planning a $1.3 million project to revitalize a 14-acre superfund site for golf, multi-purpose fields and a STEM center. Jubilee is planning a $22.7 million rehabilitation of a school building for a wellness center for opioid treatment and transitional housing.
Neighborhood beautification efforts will receive $3.3 million. The largest grant was $490,400 to the North Newstead Association to expand its neighborhood beautification programs to eight areas.
More than $447,000 of the $1.1 million in capacity building grants went to North Newstead as it plans to hire a fulltime asset manager for three years and coordinate a comprehensive assessment of area property conditions.
More than $795,000 of the $1.7 million allocated for home repairs was granted to Mission St. Louis. The organization plans to complete more than 250 repairs annually to more than 100 homes at a cost of approximately $1,000 per house.
“Through these grants, the City of St. Louis is investing in the future, fostering development that is rooted in equity, sustainability, and community collaboration,” Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a statement. “These projects were all proposed by community organizations and will be empowered through the City’s strategic deployment of ARPA dollars.”
