Historical November–December 2005 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
I am the same age as the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council (SDCC); its bylaws were written within months of my birth in 1964.
In our shared infancy we had many things in common: My father, a founding member, became the first executive director of SDCC, we attended many community and functions within our first few years, and were bounced on the laps of its members while serious issues such as arson and prostitution were discussed around the table.
I was born on the 6000 block of McPherson, grew up on 5700 DeGiverville, rented on the 6100 block of Waterman, owned a home on 6100 Kingsbury and settled now on the 6100 block of Washington. Back in the day, I remember riding my tricycle to my father’s office, then on DeBaliviere in what is now the parking lot of the CWE bank, it burned to the ground by an arson’s flame. Many a building on DeBaliviere met the same fate as many building owners were left with vacant buildings as businesses fled to the safety of the suburbs. At the same time, banks refused mortgages to homebuyers and insurance companies refused homeowners insurance. Prostitutes and drug dealers seemed to be the last remaining tenants of Nina Place and the slumlords ruled the territory now known as DeBaliviere Place and the buildings that were torn down in the area we know as Kingsbury Square. Little hope remained except in the hearts of the community, the families and people who had set down their stakes and claimed this land to raise their families. Not for these folks would I even be writing this essay for there would be nothing to write. And it is to some degree to these people I write because they taught me a life’s lesson, they gave me my vocation and I hope they realize what they have done for all us that still live here and all of us who come to live here.
We have the churches to thank, too and Washington University. Fast forward to the 21st century. Young professionals flock to Skinker-DeBaliviere.
In many cases, homes sell at the open house for above the sales price. Not a bad thing if you are a vested homeowner who paid $15,000 for your five bedroom home back in the late 60’s. Or even if you bought into the neighborhood later into a rehab, or had the wherewithall to rehab and rid your house of its 1940’s kitchen and in the process saw that adding granite counters added market value.
The addition of central air into one of our homes is of course one of the most marketable things to do. What has happened is there are no deals here anymore. Homebuyers plop down sums of money larger than what some of our neighbors paid for their entire homes. Prices range from the $200,000’s to the $400,000’s and that means downpayments in conventional terms of $40,000 t0 $80,000. Mortgage payments (with taxes and insurance) run in the $1,200 – $2,400 monthly range at this level. Everybody’s taxes go up, too.
This has and will create some friction and unless we work on how to work together on shared issues we are going to become a divided community and here are three areas where I believe this will happen: 1. Expectations: People no longer are attracted to the neighborhood for its charm as much as its value.
When someone buys a home for more than $250,000 they are making an investment and not only do they intend to maintain that investment, they expect you to as well. So, don’t expect a “good morning” from your neighbor if you are behind in cutting your grass; it has shaved value from their home.
When I lived on Kingsbury, there was a neighbor who kept watch over gutter replacement and chastised a fellow neighbor for replacing rotted copper with aluminum and I bet if they could have taken some action they would have, even though the copper gutter was cost-prohibitive for the neighbor.
On my new block of 6100 Washington, I had to replace the walk and hired a contractor to carry out the work. Unbeknownst to me, he decided to dispose of the rubble in the alley dumpster. Instead of telling me what was going on, a watchful neighbor called the police, instead of me.
These actions are several things I have observed or experienced in this neighborhood that we are breaking down and it is no longer about helping people but more about “me and my investment.” Let’s find something that we all share and can nurture and work on together. Where are the block groups? 2. Information: information from the source (SDCC).
There is disparity in the amount of information that flows across Des Peres.
I know because I lived east of Des Peres and SDCC has minimal presence.
My best example is when Lyda Krewson began discussing in 2000 the CONSERV inspections of our neighborhood that were to be scheduled in 2001, SDCC had an opportunity to mobilize the information and get neighbors ready.
They did not reach out to the folks who needed to know.
I feel very strongly that our neighbors, some 40-year veterans of Skinker-DeBaliviere, are not getting the information they need to help them. Many of these neighbors could not afford the $250,000 home prices does that mean they deserve to be ignored.
There are resources ranging from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to a 5% Home Equity Loan from UMB bank that could help our neighbors repair their homes and meet CONSERV and City of St. Louis Codes. 3. Perception: The Perception of our neighborhood is that it is a desirable enclave adjacent to a booming commercial strip, now known as the East Loop.
This would not have happened without countless volunteer hours from a handful of hardworking neighbors. That is really good for all of us.
It brings value that all of can now embrace and feel pride in.
But that the perception that everything is booming is misleading.
We experience crime here on a regular basis and I don’t believe enough attention is being paid to the muggings, drug dealing, traffic violations (aren’t you sick of the speeding and the wrong way drivers, when will it stop?!) Let’s work together on issues such as license tag theft, as cohesive contingency we could get our legislators to take this issue to the next level. Where are we going?
I only hope our neighborhood continues to get better.
My children are a living legacy of what the founding members of the SDCC set out to achieve.
But if the expectations are not agreed upon and met, the information not shared and the perception put into clear focus, we will suffer and so will our investment in our home, and a wonderful community that we all share. Editor’s Note: Rachelle L’Ecuyer has worked professionally in community development for 17 years, including several at Regional Housing and Community Development Corp.
She was the 2001 Community Fellow at UMSL and a 2004 Fannie Mae Foundation Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and currently is Director of Community Development for the City of Maplewood.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November–December 2005.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2005_11.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
