We can argue baseball, politics, or where to get the best pizza, but we agree that Skinker DeBaliviere is a wonderful neighborhood! Regardless of your age, family status, skin color, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or whatever other variable you wish to cite, this is a welcoming and great place to live. Our blessings include friendly neighbors, stately homes, a host of nearby coffee shops, Washington University, and Forest Park. Housing is in demand, residential values are strong, many apartments have been renovated by Washington University, and there’s even talk of creating a dog park.
But it wasn’t always that way. Post-World War II, Skinker DeBaliviere, like many other urban neighborhoods in St. Louis and across the country, suffered from red-lining by real estate companies and lenders, higher crime and poorer schools, and a rush by many to the suburbs. (As noted in Richard Rothstein’s book, The Color Of Law, governments at all levels supported segregation and fostered white flight.) Fortunately, our neighborhood has always had committed volunteers, and their efforts slowed, and even reversed this decline. That included the creation of the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council and the Times of Skinker DeBaliviere in the 1960’s, and the Residential Real Estate Service in the 1970’s. Progress continued through the 1980’s, and our neighborhood benefitted from the gains made by Pantheon Corporation to our east and in the Delmar Loop to our west and north.
But despite our progress, housing conditions remained a challenge. As recently as twenty years ago our neighborhood had far too many vacant and deteriorating buildings. This led to lower property values, unsafe conditions, and was a deterrent to individuals investing in their homes. The enormity and pervasiveness of the problem was so significant that finding a solution was beyond the scope of any individual.
Fortunately, in 1988, Mayor Schoemehl, under his Operation ConServe Program, brought together several disparate forces to stabilize and improve the neighborhood. This began when a failed real estate development in the 6000 and 6100 blocks of Washington was acquired by the City. It was then deeded to a newly-formed non-profit neighborhood Housing Corporation directed by a volunteer board. Its goal was to renovate this housing and to use the proceeds to acquire and renovate more housing, and then continue the cycle. Its focus was properties that were so dilapidated that they were too risky to attract an individual developer. That is clear in the mission statement (at https://skinkerdebaliviere.wordpress.com/sdc-housing-corporation/):
“To be the buyer and developer of necessity; empowering strong development and homeownership, with the goal of improving the character, heritage and quality of the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood and community.”
Similarly, its Purpose Statement says, “Founded in 1988, the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Housing Corporation is a non-profit organized for ‘combatting community deterioration and improving the quality of life by promoting and undertaking neighborhood improvement and housing development activities within service areas defined by the Board of Directors.’” By design, the Housing Corporation became the developer of last resort. Focusing on improving the neighborhood – and not concerned with making a profit – the Housing Corporation also purchased some decrepit and disreputable buildings on Des Peres and razed them.
There was an improvement in the quality of housing conditions in Skinker DeBaliviere, but there was more work to be done, so the goals of the Housing Corporation remained the same: improving the conditions of buildings so that they would be purchased by people who wanted to live in our neighborhood, or, at times, selling properties to a developer.
According to its website, from 1988 to 1998, the Housing Corporation completed a housing study, acquired seven problem properties (improving five and razing two), and rehabbed five apartment units, for a total community investment of over $3,000,000. The website notes that the Corporation addressed 25 living units, resulting in improvements of $573,582, and inspired or assisted projects of $630,000. From 1999 to 2008, the Corporation rehabbed/sold the Rosedale Square Apartments (now called The Forest Park Condominiums), had a loan of $1,300,000 forgiven by the City, and was involved in 46 projects, with a total community investment of $19,123,400.
The weakened economy and housing crisis slowed the scope of activities since 2009: nine living units have been addressed resulting in $21,627 in improvements, and $12,500 in projects have been inspired/assisted by the Corporation. In addition, our neighborhood no longer qualifies for Community Development Block Grant Funds, and technical and financial support from the City has declined (in part because of our successes). As the Great Recession took root, the housing corporation did not rescue even one foreclosed dwelling unit, opening the door to speculators renting single family homes to students. And as of 2014, the Community Council no longer has funding for a Housing Specialist, a position created in 1997.
To fill this funding gap, the Housing Corporation has moved away from its original focus – despite the fact that deteriorated and vacant buildings remain in our midst. Indeed, developer Mark Gorman says, “There are some houses on DeGiverville that I am considering renovating, though it seems to me a perfect project for the Housing Corporation.” Instead, the Housing Corporation has turned to long-term ownership of rental property and buildings, but these projects actually have a negative cash flow, draining reserves that are intended to acquire-rehab-resell. This includes the purchase and rehab of a commercial building – outside the Corporation’s residential purpose – at the SE corner of Delmar and Hamilton and a six-family and two-family home, but these properties resulted in a negative cash flow.
And now, the Housing Corporation is planning to build the upscale “Walker Townhomes,” on Des Peres, just south of Washington Avenue. This is not a development of the last resort, and I raised the issue of whether the Housing Corporation was being true to its mission with Executive Director Gary Boehnke. He said, “The Walker Townhomes Project is a stated objective of the Skinker DeBaliviere 2014 Neighborhood Master Plan and fits within the SDCHC 1988 & 2002 Purpose Statements and its Mission Statement of being the developer of necessity; this lot has been vacant for over 25 years with no developer coming forward.” But it’s not that simple.
Beyond the issue of the Housing Corporation being a developer of last resort for older homes needing rehabilitation, Marvin Nodiff, a neighborhood attorney who has been involved with local housing wonders if the $75,000 fee paid to a developer of these townhomes indicates that this project is outside the organization’s mission. Further, he observes, “My experience with attached housing is that it doesn’t attract young families with children. Seniors want to avoid stairs. And the price point (an anticipated cost of $475,000) is very high for the neighborhood. I don’t find the green space offensive as is, and would hope the Housing Corp would focus instead on renovating existing housing that’s in bad condition.”
Lana Stein notes, “The housing corporation received over $1 million for the sale of what is now the Forest Park condos. This nest egg has funded substantial operating deficits over the past few years. The Walker townhomes will add to this drainage. A change in direction is badly needed to insure that funds exist to address problem properties.”
Times change and the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood has improved enormously over the past twenty years. An important factor in this success is that the Housing Corporation focused on problem properties that were not likely to be addressed by individuals or developers. Although far fewer in number, those kinds of properties remain in our neighborhood. Susie Feinberg and Karleen Hoerr, named Board Members Emeritus of the Housing Corporation because of their efforts, former 28th Ward Alderman Dan McGuire, who helped create the Housing Corporation, Mark Gorman, Marvin Nodiff, Jo Ann Vatcha and Lana Stein all say, “We need the Housing Corporation to focus on problem properties, take risks, and help to improve our neighborhood. We do not need the Housing Corporation to act like a for-profit developer.”
