Redevelopment of the area to the west of DeBaliviere is dependent now on meetings with local officials of the Federal office of Housing and Urban Development. Calvin Stuart, executive director of the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council, said a meeting will be scheduled in the near future.
(As reported last spring, the Board of Aldermen approved the plan submitted by Skinker-DeBaliviere for redevelopment of the area between Delmar and the north side of McPherson and from DeBaliviere to DeGiverville. This “triangle area” has long been a prime example of urban blight, ramshackle buildings, no off-street parking, too narrow streets, high crime rate, and rapidly dwindling population. To handle this rehabilitation, the SDCC Board formed the Kingsbury Redevelopment Corporation, composed of SDCC members and others.)
“HUD has been accepting very few applications, and it is a good sign that they are going to review ours,” Stuart said. “If a preliminary review indicates that our plan is feasible, we will be authorized to submit a detailed application.” HUD approval is necessary as a step towards obtaining government insurance and other benefits.
Redevelopment of the south side of Delmar is temporarily stalled by the fact that the West End Urban Renewal organization has not yet decided on a plan for the north side of the street, Stuart said. Redevelopment of Delmar will also depend in part on the kind of redevelopment which takes place in the residential area to the south.
Stuart said private seed money is available for the project and will be drawn upon. The plan envisions as a first stage the construction of 170-200 dwelling units in the 5700 blocks of Kingsbury, Westminster, and McPherson. Some would be town houses and some apartments, and the plan includes recreation facilities and off-street parking.
“I’m quite optimistic about our chances,” Stuart said. “We have had expressions of interest from potential investors, even outside the St. Louis area. Housing specialists who originally said we didn’t have a chance of succeeding now think we have a good chance. People can see that this is not just a potentially stable neighborhood; it is a stable neighborhood now.”
Leon Struss of Pantheon Inc. will be the contractor. He was formerly with Millstone Construction when it built Laclede Town. Team Four, Inc. will be consultants and site-planners, and Stuart praised Team Four highly for devoting a good deal of free time to the project when its prospects did not look good.
He estimated that if all goes well construction could begin by the late summer of next year. He described progress as steady and slow but said it was as fast as anyone had anticipated.
“One major factor,” according to Stuart, “is people’s general attitude towards the Future of St. Louis. This includes the prospects for the convention center and other things. HUD is concerned about the way the people of St. Louis respond.”
Originally published in The Paper, October–November 1972.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1972_10.pdf, printed page 3.
