To strengthen north St. Louis neighborhoods, program gives 50 families $20,000 each

To strengthen north St. Louis neighborhoods, program gives 50 families $20,000 each

Jul 7, 2023

“We entered this program to keep our home for our family,” Darius Franklin said. “We didn’t enter this program just so we could fix it up, make it look nice and get a check. This house is more than just monetary value to us.”

The 1906 home in the West End is owned by his grandfather and is home to multiple generations of family who see Rooted as an opportunity to protect and build upon their assets, to ensure that future generations can benefit from their family’s legacy and remain in their home on Oakley Place.

Rooted: Cultivating Black Wealth in Place is a new initiative developed through Invest STL’s work in policy design, activating and testing innovative approaches to longstanding challenges neighborhoods and residents face. Rooted is focused on helping West End and Visitation Park residents build wealth so that they can afford to stay and grow in their neighborhood. To learn more about Rooted and see pictures of the neighborhoods check out this article from STL Today – St. Louis Post-Dispatch, click here.

West End + Visitation Park Resident-led Neighborhood Plan Receives International Chart Award

West End + Visitation Park Resident-led Neighborhood Plan Receives International Chart Award

May 23, 2023

WeCollab has been awarded the Congress for New Urbanism International Charter Award. WeCollab is a resident-led collaborative in the West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods, on the western edge of the city north of Forest Park and Delmar Blvd. Their top priority for the West End Plan is to ensure that it spurs equitable investment and action in the area.

Recognized for their authentic commitment to resident-led planning and supported by a community of partners including Invest STL, the City of St. Louis, Cornerstone Corporation, YARD & Company, @Acess, Lochmueller Group, BlackArc, and Vector Communications, WeCollab developed a focused yet comprehensive plan for the neighborhoods of the West End and Visitation Park.  

The residents wrote the request for proposals, selected the consultant, managed the budget, and made decisions. Community members were compensated as part of the team and produced an engagement process, with more than 40 pop-up events in addition to standard community meetings. The jury noted, “This plan is likely to be executed because it was developed from within the community”.

Read the whole article from the Congress for New Urbanism at Public Square: 

https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2023/05/08/community-led-plan-bottom-revitalization