The Community Development Administration (CDA) of St. Louis isn't idly sitting by as neighborhood plans gather dust; instead, it's injecting a cool $1.14 million into the lifeblood of local development. This cash injection, sourced from a sliver of city sales tax revenue, is poised to invigorate plans that have been percolating in community meetings and discussions across seven neighborhoods. Upgrades are coming to areas like Skinker DeBaliviere and the West End, with an eye toward turning those community blueprints into brick-and-mortar (or, in some cases, shipping-container) reality.
So, what's this money going to? Sit tight: the CDA's announcement details projects like the deployment of three pilot shipping-container business incubators courtesy of Brickline North CDC, an initiative blanketing Jeff-Vander-Lou and St. Louis Place neighborhoods. Daphne Redding, Vice President of BNCDC, told the City of St. Louis, “This is exactly why theBrickline North CDC was formed, to support neighbors in building capacity and opportunity.”
It's not all about business, though. Community spaces are also set for a refresh. Take the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council's plan to liven up a couple of underused lots along Delmar Boulevard—one transforming into an open area for public gatherings, and another morphing into a neighborhood dog park. These are no pie-in-the-sky promises; they're initiatives backed by the CDA's commitment and the city's Economic Development Sales Tax.
And the person behind the curtain, the mayor, makes it clear that the driving force for these changes is the hands-on attitudes of local citizens. "The best ideas for how to strengthen St. Louis come from the people who live here," Mayor Cara Spencer stated on the City of St. Louis. With the Neighborhood Plan Implementation Awards, it seems the city's wallet is syncing up with its rhetoric, making a wager on local insight rather than an outside playbook. It's a hands-on effort to not just dream up, but actually roll out safer, more dynamic communities—a vision spelled out by Nahuel Fefer, CDA's Executive Director, who sees this funding as a crucial step toward materializing years of community planning.
