Neighbors living around the former Carter Carburetor plant in north St. Louis are drawing a hard line: no redevelopment without new, public soil tests. Residents in the Jeff‑Vander‑Lou neighborhood, where the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club sits right next door, gathered this week to insist on continuous monitoring and clear, accessible results before any construction starts on a proposed youth golf training center.
“Many people in the community between Dodier and Natural Bridge have died or have cancer,” one attendee said at the event, according to KSDK. Neighbors noted that warning signs still ring portions of the property and said earlier cleanup work hauled away contaminated soil but left capped areas in place. Organizers said they want routine, transparent testing in surrounding blocks as well as on the land slated for redevelopment.
EPA Findings And Cleanup Status
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that the site was contaminated with PCBs, trichloroethylene (TCE) and asbestos and required both demolition and excavation. According to the EPA, a settlement with responsible parties paved the way for remediation, and site work wrapped up in May 2020. Agency reports state that crews removed heavily impacted soils and demolished deteriorated buildings as part of the cleanup effort.
Planned Reuse And The Clubs' Position
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis and Gateway PGA REACH have framed the property as a chance to build a youth golf training and mentoring facility and say they coordinated with regulators on the transfer and planned reuse. Club officials say the project would pair after‑school resources with sports instruction for neighborhood youth. The organization has also emphasized that safety and compliance with regulations remain central to how it approaches the redevelopment.
Neighbors Push For Baseline And Ongoing Tests
Community activists used Earth Day events to publicly pressure city leaders and federal agencies for baseline testing and a clear, accessible monitoring plan, as reported by First Alert 4. Protesters said they have not seen the kind of transparent sampling results that would reassure families whose children use the club next door. The timeline for the golf project remains uncertain as the various parties continue to coordinate.
Legal And Regulatory Context
The Carter Carburetor site covers roughly one and a half city blocks at about 2800–2840 North Spring Avenue and sits across Dodier Street from the Herbert Hoover club, according to EPA site records. The agency’s files describe a prospective purchaser agreement and long‑term measures that include caps where highly contaminated soils were left in place, which neighbors point to as a key reason for demanding follow‑up testing. Local land‑reuse officials still own a portion of the property that has been floated as a potential pollinator park or community garden.
For now, residents say ongoing monitoring should come before any grass is planted or tee boxes go in. "The safety of youth, members, staff, and community remains the highest priority," a club spokesperson told reporters, per KSDK. Nearby neighbors say they plan to keep pressing for tests and public reports as talks over the site’s future continue.
