Habitat for Humanity St. Louis

A development, completed in 2011, breathed new life into the JVL neighborhood, creating 71 construction jobs and generating $6.3 million in direct employee wages and income.

Investment

  • NMTC Amount: $3,430,000
  • Total Project Cost: $3,436,160

IMPACT

  • 1 FTE jobs
  • 71 construction jobs
  • Development of 65 affordable homes.

Investor

Project Description

The Jeff Vander Lou (JVL) neighborhood of St. Louis, located less than 2 miles from downtown, was once a healthy and vibrant community. However, the neighborhood fell into decline and disrepair after World War II, as businesses closed and low-income renters vastly outnumbered homeowners. By 2008, JVL was suffering from poverty and unemployment rates nearly triple the national average, as well as a vacancy rate that totaled nearly 9 percent of all the city’s vacant lots.

In 2008, Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis (HFH STL) launched a revitalization effort for the JVL neighborhood that included the development of 65 homes for neighborhood families. Over the next three years, three Community Development Entities, McCormack Baron, USBCDE, and Central Bank of Kansas City, in three separate transactions, provided a total of $14.5 million in NMTC financing, which was used in conjunction with private donations, grants, and other sources of capital to make the project possible.

This development, completed in 2011, is breathing new life into the JVL neighborhood, creating 71 construction jobs and generating $6.3 million in direct employee wages and income. The neighborhood’s poverty and unemployment rates have decreased. Crime dropped by more than half in 2011 and is on track for a 66% decrease in 2012. The 65 new homes nearly tripled the number of owner-occupied buildings in JVL, and the influx of working families brought more than 60 employed persons to a community with less than 50% labor force participation and only 34% of working-age individuals employed. A new bank and coffee shop opened up nearby to serve the new homeowners, and a struggling grocery store and retail center have stabilized.

The tax impact generated by the JVL project resulted in at least $130,000 in new local, county, state, and federal tax revenue. All 65 homes were built to Energy Star and LEED certification standards, providing each homeowner with $435 per year in energy cost savings. Habitat homeowners also accumulate more than $2 million in wealth from their home equity over the next 20 years.

MAP

Address: 3101 Sheridan, Saint Louis, MO 63106

Census Tract: 29510121200

PDF Profile

Other Missouri Projects

This is phase 1 of a 10- to 15-year development plan that looks at transformation where people live, work and play in their corner of the JeffVanderLou neighborhood. Habitat for

The substantial rehabilitation of The Post-Dispatch Rotogravure Building (also known as the Crescent Parts Building) which is a 4-story building located in the heart of the Center for Research Technology
A new, 21,272-square-foot facility provides meeting rooms, a chapel, and a large conference space for up to 125 people, as well as administrative offices for the Deaconess Center for Child
Financing for a community development not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the prosperity and growth of the American family.