Habitat for Humanity Starts New Project in Old North

On Friday morning Habitat for Humanity held its “First Nail” Celebration as the ceremonial start for their new project which will bring 17 new environmentally-friendly, owner-occupied homes to Old North St. Louis over the next 6 months or so.   The event included greetings from local, state, and federal officials, as well as a welcome to the neighborhood by ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa. 

ONSLRG board members (from left to right) Gloria Bratkowski, Johnnie Owens, and Tino Ochoa endured the slight drizzle berfore the program.

Habitat for Humanity-St. Louis executive director Kimberly McKinney, expressed her excitement about the start of construction in Old North and the recent award from the Home Depot Foundation for HfH-STL's sustainable design features.

Tino Ochoa emphasized how the Habitat home-owners will be joining a neighborhood that already is enjoying a good deal of positive development with Crown Square, the upcoming grocery co-op, and much, much more.

Dignitaries and future homeowners (including a few current Old North residents) hammer the first nails into the framing that will go up at one of the first houses on the 1900 block of Hebert.

And in a symbolic gesture of the teamwork and support this project requires, the group collectively raises the first wall.

To learn more about this project, to volunteer, and/or to get on Habitat’s list of prospective homeowners, call 314-371-0400.

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A Neighborhood that Cares about Affordable Housing & Design

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group has always maintained a commitment to the ideal that current and prospective residents, from across the economic spectrum, should be able to find high quality housing opportunities appropriate and affordable for their individual circumstances.  With that said, we were excited to learn that Habitat for Humanity was interested in adding some of their homes to our efforts to ensure that the market in ONSL includes high quality, affordable ownership opportunities.  Last week ONSLRG hosted a community meeting to allow neighborhood residents to hear from Habitat for Humanity staff about their plans to build 17 new, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly homes in Old North this year.

The large turnout and lively discussion demonstrated that Old North residents are passionate about design related issues.  A lot of conversation focused on whether the contemporary design of the new homes would blend well with the historic character of the neighborhood.  Most historic neighborhoods that have been around for nearly a couple hundred years, however, include a range of housing styles that reflect the diversity of the population and the evolving tastes and construction methods.  While Old North is well known for its red brick, Victorian-era townhouses, the neighborhood is also home to buildings with facades of other materials and colors, as well as variation in size and setback.

It’s worth noting that Habitat’s staff and architects took the time to come up with designs that represent a significant departure from previous homes they’ve built in St. Louis - and with features that reflect characteristics of other homes in Old North, including the neighborhood’s sampling of flounder houses and one-story homes, especially in the northwest part of the neighborhood.

The rendering above shows one of the two-story flounder-style models adjacent to one of the one-story models.

The plan at the moment is for some of the preliminary development work to get started as early as the next month with volunteer crews to be on site for build days in two different waves, one from April through June, and the second from July through September.  The homes are to be built on the 1900 blocks of Hebert and Sullivan, and the 1400 block of Dodier (between Blair and 19th), as shown below.  As the site plan indicates, Habitat’s plan has attracted the interest of EcoUrban, another private developer with a track record for high quality, award-winning green buildings.

For information about how to get on the list for homeownership or to volunteer to help build these homes, contact Habitat for Humanity at 314-371-0400.  To offer your thoughts about how this development fits into the overall redevelopment of Old North St. Louis or for other general neighborhood questions, contact ONSLRG at 314-241-5031 or by email at info@onsl.org.

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Other upcoming events: Meetings with MODOT (Jan. 21) and Habitat for Humanity (Jan. 26)

Now that you’ve got a new calendar for the new year, you can start filling it up with events in Old North, including the following:

Next Thursday, January 21, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with representatives from the Missouri Dept. of Transportation, who will be on-hand to explain plans for the replacement of the Madison Street overpass.  This meeting will start at 7 p.m. and take place in ONSLRG’s Crown Village Gallery, 2700 N. 14th Street.

Then, on Tuesday, January 26, ONSLRG will host a community meeting with Habitat for Humanity.  Staff from Habitat will be present to discuss the plans for the 17 new, homes they’ll be building this year on Dodier, Sullivan, and Hebert.  This meeting also will begin at 7 p.m. in the ONSLRG gallery. 

Feel free to make copies of this flyer for your friends and neighbors and help spread the word.

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Holiday Greetings from Old North!

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Silent Auction Fri., Sept. 25: Make Your Home as Cool as North Market Display Home

The display home for the North Market Place Homes is on the market (and could be yours, if you make an offer soon*).  In anticipation of a sale of this home at 1331 North Market in the not-too-distant future, we have decided to make the furniture available for sale, as well.  Now, you too can make your home look as cool as a display home by taking home some of this never-been-used furniture.  But instead of a plain furniture sale, we’ve decided to turn this event into an enjoyable social occasion for the community.

Therefore, you are hereby invited to go shopping at 1331 North Market for a good cause on Friday evening from 7 until 10 p.m.  Selected items, including bedroom sets, kitchen table and chairs, lamps, dressers, and area rugs, will be sold through a silent auction, with the bidding scheduled to end at 9:30 p.m.   The proceeds of the evening will go toward the renovation of 1316 North Market, a vacant building on the same block as the display home.  Old North St. Louis Restoration Group recently purchased that property from the city with the intention of carrying out a historic rehab there.

A suggested donation of $5 per person will be accepted at the door.  Beer, wine, and refreshments will be provided.  As noted on the flyer below, you may contact Karen Heet, ONSLRG’s Real Estate Development Coordinator, for more information at 314-241-5031 or by email at karen@onsl.org.

* You can also contact Karen for information about purchasing this home or other properties in Old North St. Louis.

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Pass it along: Old North House & Community Tour on YouTube

Check out the new YouTube video promoting the Old North St. Louis House & Community Tour, scheduled for Saturday, May 9 (just 24 days away!) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please forward this link to everybody you know so that we can get the word out about this wonderful opportunity to see the great things going on in Old North St. Louis, “where the past is present, and the future is North.”

And be sure to mention that tickets are available online right here on the ONSL.org website.

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5 Houses For-Sale in ONSL Will Be Open Friday Evening

In yet another demonstration of ONSL’s diverse range of housing options, you can take a look at 5 homes that are for sale in different parts of the neighborhood on Friday evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Three realtors with listings in ONSL - Circa Properties, McAvoy Realty and ReMax Results - have joined forces to host an evening of open houses.

As their promotional materials put it, the event is designed “to offer an opportunity to experience what the Old North St. Louis neighborhood is all about: diverse living options in an inspirational, redeveloping neighborhood on St. Louis’ near north side! With downtown visible from many homes’ doorsteps, the ONSL neighborhood is the place to be, and now is the time to learn more and select your new home before the secret’s out of the bag! the Old North St. Louis neighborhood is all about: diverse living options in an inspirational, redeveloping neighborhood on St. Louis’ near north side! With downtown visible from many homes’ doorsteps, the ONSL neighborhood is the place to be, and now is the time to learn more and select your new home before the secret’s out of the bag!”

Houses open Friday evening include two recently completed homes at North Market Place, 1319 and 1331 North Market, and three historically rehabbed homes at 1208 Hebert, 1412 Hebert, and 2833 N. 14th.

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ONSL on Fox 2

Fox 2 aired another story on Old North St. Louis tonight. Crown Candy, Crown Square, and North Market Place were featured.

You can watch the video at Myfoxstl.com.

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Summer in Old North

Been a while for this. Today’s pictures cover the neighborhood from the southern tip to the northern edge.

Old piece of machinery in one of the buildings on the 14th St. Mall.

The Arch sneaking between two new homes in North Market Place.

Flowers in front of a new home.

Setting up scaffolding to relay a brick wall on N. 19th St. This is a renovation of another LRA property.

Mullanphy Building after debris clean up. Visit www.savemullanphy.org to find out how you can help preserve the Mullanphy Emigrant Home.

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Summer In Old North

After a series of problems including no internet access from the office for three days, photos are back. To make up for the delay, I am going to include several from the last few days in this post. Enjoy.

View of the City Museum from Old North.

Garden area along St. Louis Ave. with a curiously placed fire hydrant.

Planting a new lawn at one of the brand new homes on North Market. Click the link to find out how you can build a new house here.

Confluence Academy’s Old North St.Louis Campus expansion quickly taking shape.

New mural on the mall recently installed by The Urban Studio.

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