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Vacancy Collaborative News
St. Louis Vacancy Inaugural Fundraising Event

Cheers to a great year! Let's celebrate at our inaugural fundraiser. "Pints, Prints & Plans: A Celebration & Vision for a Vibrant St. Louis."

Date/Time: December 14, 2022 from 5:30p to 7:30p

Location: Central Print 
2624 N 14th St, St. Louis, MO 63106

Mark your calendars for an evening event. Invitations will be sent out via email this week.

 


Bid on Prop NS Properties 



14 Prop NS properties are available for sale! Prospective purchasers can submit offers to purchase on this site. Because these buildings will still need additional work to reach a condition that meets occupancy standards, LRA will still review all offers to ensure that purchasers have the necessary resources and capacity to bring buildings up to code. The bid window for these properties closes at 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Wednesday, November 20. Submit any questions to the contact form on the bottom of this page
  

STLVC Working Group Transitions to Project Group 

In 2022, the Vacancy Collaborative decided to evaluate our governance policies and organizational structure. We are moving into a new phase of work on vacancy in St. Louis City. Our foundational structure was instrumental to coordinating our early work and building relationships. However, we realized that we needed to adjust our structure to focus on the projects that drive anti-vacancy work forward and to continue to build relationships across sectors. Our new organizational structure will enable us to facilitate work that is more data-driven, community-informed, and collaborative.

Visit our website to learn more or fill out this form to join one of our project groups.

 
LRA Focus Groups

A series of engagement activities with LRA and SLDC staff, residents, and community partners to inform, consult and co-create on the redesign of programs and policies that provide a more transparent and equitable environment to execute the mission of LRA. 

Join a focus group today to provide your input for the new LRA program. Click on each group below for meeting details. 
  1. Residents Focus Group 1: Meet on Nov. 29 from 6:30p - 7:30p
  2. Residents Focus Group 2: Meet on Dec. 1 from 6:30p - 7:30p
  3. Rehabbers/Developers Focus Group: Meet on Dec. 1 from 11:30a - 1:00p
  4. Green Reuse Partners Focus Group: Meet on Dec. 3 from 11:30a - 1:00p

Tourism Asset Development Grant
 
The Missouri State Legislature allocated $30 million into a grant program that is designed to aid further development of high-priority local tourism assets.
 
The Local Tourism Asset Development Grant Program supports public/private partnerships intended to further the statewide recovery of the tourism, travel, and hospitality industries (Tourism Industry) from the negative economic impact of COVID-19.This competitive grant program will support high-priority local projects such as:

1. Upgrades to indoor and outdoor Tourism Industry facilities.
2. New indoor and outdoor Tourism Industry facilities for which the planning, development, and/or construction was delayed due to the negative economic impact of COVID-19.
3. Rehabilitation, renovation, maintenance or costs to secure vacant or abandoned property to reduce their negative impact and position the property for current Tourism Industry uses
 
The Local Tourism Asset Development Grant Program is now accepting applications through December 14, 2022. Apply Here
 

            
Racial Equity Spotlight
St. Louis Neighborhood Groups Working to Acquire Vacant Property or Work to Get Owners to Fix Property

St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative member Holston Black among other St. Louis neighborhood groups work to acquire vacant properties or work to get the owners to fix them up. Most of these groups are in neighborhoods of North St. Louis Residents of these neighborhoods are encouraged to invest in their community by becoming home owners. Legal Service of Eastern Missouri help these organization to acquire vacant properties to turnover into livable homes.  

Check out the article here
In Case You Missed It!
The Community Revitalization Grant Program
 
The $100 million fund encourages strategic investment to revitalize communities and spur economic recovery and growth by supporting local projects in areas such as tourism, downtown development, and blight mitigation. The applications are open and will close a 11:59 pm on November 30th, 2022. Apply here

 

   
Our friends over at Pocketparks have unveiled a new park near IKEA. 2 Acre park is two acres of pleasant meadow with seating as well as a crop circle and a sculpture of a DNA double helix. You can read more over on the Pocketparks website
 
                           
 
 
Events and Resources
St. Louis County Land Bank Coalition Series 

St. Louis County Land Bank Coalition presents

Solutions for the Vacant House Next Door

Join us on November 15, 16 or 17 to learn more about our plan to address the growing problem of vacant and abandoned properties in St. Louis County.

The County's outdated tax sale system creates barriers to buying and rehabbing vacant properties.

Proposed changes to state law will improve the County's tax sale system, make it easier to buy and renovate properties, and involve the community in the process.

Click here for event details. 
 


Real Estate and Rehabber/Developer Training
 
The Gateway Neighborhood Fund (GNF) is a collaboration between the City of St. Louis, community reinvestment advocates and local lenders. The collaboration is designed to facilitate purchase/ rehab lending for those that have been cut off from existing financing, allow families to preserve their homes by giving them access to funds for deferred maintenance of existing homes, and create a capital access environment that encourages neighborhood stabilization and reduction of vacant housing.


Presentation by Randen Click, Housing Manager at Justine PETERSEN, along with other members of the Board of Managers for the Gateway Neighborhood Fund. Learn more about the Gateway Neighborhood Fund online at https://www.gatewayneighborhoodfund.com/
 

Register to schedule a training session.
 

Opportunity to Provide Feedback to the Future Assets of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
 

As you may be aware, the Archdiocese of St. Louis is engaged in 'All Things New', a planning effort to reimagine how the Catholic Church can renew the parishes, schools, and ministries in the entirety of the Archdiocese.  The subcommittee for Social Outreach and Catholic Presence, led by Bridget McDermott Flood from the Incarnate Word Foundation, is assisting this effort by considering how to strengthen social outreach and evangelization to those in need and maintain a Catholic presence in every part of the Archdiocese.  

While there are no concrete plans at this time, the subcommittee is creating resources to assist the Archdiocese and its parishes, particularly as it pertains to how Church properties might be adapted to evangelize and serve the mission of the Church to provide social outreach. We are interested in learning from you about how your agency might be a partner in these new efforts.

The Incarnate Word Foundation invites to attend a Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 10 a.m. to share your thoughts, learn about the work of the subcommittee, and to complete a profile form. This profile form will be incorporated into a database that parishes and the Archdiocese can reference as they consider partners who may be interested in properties that can be re-purposed for ministry.  If you would like to attend or would like to receive a recording of the meeting, please complete this registration form.

Initial Informational Session
Incarnate Word Foundation
Zoom Meeting: Wednesday, November 30th at 10am
Click here to register

 

Job Postings


 Grant Available 

The St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Commission is funding events with the goal of increasing access to safe spaces for youth aged 16-25 that are most impacted by gun violence. You can read more and apply for the grant here
 

Vacant Property Resource 
 
The Vacant Property Explorer, introduced in July 2021, is a robust tool for viewing and exploring potentially vacant properties in the City of St. Louis. This new tool displays likely and confirmed vacant properties in the City, combining data from several City departments. The new Explorer automatically updates on a monthly basis and provides more detail on the property's history, status and burden to the surrounding area. 

Just click on a colored parcel on the map to learn more about that property. See something that needs updating? Once you click on the property, a popup box will appear on the left. Then just click the Report It dropdown arrow to alert the City department you wish to receive notice

 
 

Vacant Lot Toolkit 
Check out the new Vacant Lot Toolkit! This resource guide was developed as a tool for neighbors and community organizations interested in revitalizing a vacant lot in the City of St. Louis. 


Click here to view and download.



 

Vacancy Collaborative Recurring Meetings
The Vacancy Reading Group has continued meeting during COVID via zoom. All are welcome! Contact: dana.malkus@slu.edu for more information. 








 
Project Group Meetings

The meeting schedule will come in 2023 once the new project groups are established. Sign Up today to join a project group.  

Guide to having conversations about displacement and neighborhood development
 
Policy and Legislation

Recognizing Community Organizations

Small Grants for Greening Vacant Lots

Strategic Code Enforcement 


Toolkit for Residents, Nonprofits, and Business Owners Interested In Small Development and Rehab
 
You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed, attended a working group meeting, or another Vacancy Collaborative event.

What is the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative?
The St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative (VC) is a coalition of community members, private and non-profit stakeholders, and City agencies committed to reducing vacant property in St. Louis. The VC helps to coordinate existing vacancy efforts under one umbrella and empowers the public and private sectors to work together toward solutions. We convene committees and working groups to facilitate systemic change, advance new policies, share success stories, and support neighborhood-centric solutions. Head to www.stlvacancy.com for more information.
Funding to support the coordination of the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative was provided, in part, by Missouri Foundation for Health, the Missouri Department of Conservation, U.S. Bank, and many generous individual donors. 
 
You can make a donation now if you are so inclined :)
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