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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Much to be Thankful for in Old North St. Louis

Despite the difficult economic times, Old North St. Louis has had a lot to be thankful for this year.  In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we’d like to put the spotlight on just a dozen improvements, achievements or positive developments in Old North during 2009.  By limiting this list to just 12, that means several other worthy events, occasions, or successes won’t be covered here.  So, stay tuned, we’ll try to get around to acknowledging those in later posts.  As it is, the following list includes many items that deserve much more space than a brief mention and a photo or two, but we’ll have to settle for that for now. 

1) Jackson Park Improvements

Part of the improvements at Jackson Park included new playground equipment.

2) Support for the Old North Grocery Co-op - Thanks to a very generous 3-year grant approved by the Missouri Foundation for Health, we now will be able to launch the Old North Grocery Co-op at 2718 N. 13th Street.  More funds still need to be raised, but the support of MFH ensure that we can get up and running in 2010.

Something like this will be coming soon to ONSL: interior of a grocery co-op...in a neighboprhood called Old North Knoxville.

Planning for the grocery co-op has benefited from help provided by UMSL’s Community Partnership Project and a diverse group of people serving on our co-op planning committee.  The whole effort has grown out of our successes with other food-related efforts, which is why that deserves mention here…

3) Continuation & Expansion of a Variety of Other Healthy Food Initiatives - this year we hosted the 3rd season of the North City Farmers’ Market (thanks again to the ongoing support of the Missouri Foundation for Health!); we enjoyed a bountiful crop of produce grown in the the 13th Street Community Garden; and we started a new Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) arrangement with Family Harvest (with weekly deliveries by farmer Rusty Lee).

A healthy dialogue about plants in the 13th Street Garden

4) Opening of 2700 N. 14th Street as the new office for Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, the “Yet-to-be Named” Gallery, and space for neighborhood information and expanded support for neighborhood improvement initiatives.  We’ve posted some views of the exterior of the building and the gallery space in an earlier post, so now we’ll show off some other views of the interior space. 

5) Crown Square Apartments - NOW LEASING!…Yes, now that water and sewer connections have been completed on the 2700 block of N. 14th and nearing completion on the 2600 block, that means our leasing agents at Cohen-Esrey are actually showing apartments and signing leases with people who are taking advantage of the opportunity to live in the heart of Old North at Crown Square.  Give them a call today if you don’t want to miss your chance.

6) Work is in progress making it possible for the return of the street to the 2600 and 2700 blocks on N. 14th Street!  This is the part that is largely hidden behind the construction fences, but rest assured that it’s actually coming soon, thanks to the hard work of our partners at the Regional Housing & Community Development Alliance (RHCDA) who have been navigating the complexities of a myriad of regulatory agencies and funding sources.  Stay tuned for more on that topic in a future post.

7) The opening of the Urban Studio Cafe.  The cafe has been warmly received by the community and has turned into a favorite neighborhood gathering spot for residents and outsiders who want a quick cup of coffee, a wireless signal for some web-surfing, a sweet pastry or a nourishing sandwich or cup of soup.

Acquisition and stabilization of endangered historic buildings by ONSLRG.  Earlier in the year Old North St. Louis Restoration Group acquired 8 vacant and deteriorated buildings from the City’s Land Reutilization Authority (thanks to support from Alderwoman April Ford Griffin) with the goal of stabilizing them so that they could survive long enough to be acquired and rehabbed by others.  Since then, ONSLRG has succeeded in selling 2 of them to rehabbers, has started exploring plans for redevelopment of 2 others and contracted with E.M. Harris Construction Company to carry out urgen stabilization work at the remaining 4.

9) Completion of historic rehabs at several owner-occupied properties.  While ONSLRG is investing funds to make it possible for future rehabs, several rehabbers have completed (for the most part) on major efforts to preserve and rehab formerly abandoned buildings.  Two of these, 3240 N. 19th Street and 1303 North Market, were featured at ONSLRG’s Annual Old North St. Louis House Tour in May.

3240 N. 19th Street has enjoyed a remarkable comeback from its previous condition as an empty shell missing its back wall.The former charcoal warehouse on the 1300 block of North Market has a new life as a cool, loft-like home.

10) Acquisition of other vacant properties and start of rehabs by individual rehabbers.  The work has only just begun at several other vacant buildings, but individual rehabbers in different parts of Old North are currently in the midst of bringing new life to long-neglected properties on Palm, Benton, North Market, and Monroe, among others.  One of these buildings, at 1307 Benton, is in the able hands of James Cox, right on the heels of getting a ”Most Enhanced” Award from Landmarks Association in May for the home he and his wife, Luz Maria Evans, rehabbed on Hebert.

1307 Benton in the midst of a major makeover.

11) Continued stream of volunteer help.  Much of the successes over the past year would not have been possible without the thousands of hours of help from volunteers - from within the neighborhood and from outside friends, relatives and supporters.  Sometimes these volunteers come as individuals, such as Brian Krueger, who helped out with many different tasks throughout the year, from staffing a table at the North City Farmers’ Market to planting, weeding, and harvesting in the 13th Street Community Garden; on other occasions, we get volunteers by the busload, including SLU Law School orientation service day students (thanks to Kathleen Parvis) and other students recruited and coordinated by New City Fellowship Church.

12) Ongoing support and attention from outside groups.  We also benefit from a broad range of outside groups who help share the Old North story by bringing their members or the general public in for tours and presentations.  This past year was much busier than previous ones, with numerous local groups, such as the regular visits from the Rehabbers Club and Metropolis, educational tours guided by local historian NiNi Harris, and the monthly bike rides coordinated by Bike St. Louis during the summer months; out-of-state visitors, including Iowa State University architecture students; and some foreign interest this years with visits from delegations from as far away as Russia and Thailand (thanks to UMSL). 

Thanks again to all who have made 2009 such an eventful and exciting year!

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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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Now’s Your Chance to Become a Part of “One of the Country’s Best Revitalization Stories”

Recently we used this space to celebrate the achievements in preserving and breathing new life into historic buildings throughout Old North (see post from July 4) - and once again, Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC, picked up the message and shared our story with the rest of the world.

Kaid Benfield's latest blog post about Old North St. Louis on July 6 draws the attention of his readers to the progress at Crown Square.

In previous posts over the past year or so, Benfield, the director of NRDC’s Smart Growth Program, has referred to Old North as “one of the country’s best revitalization stories” and described the neighborhood as “the very antithesis of sprawl.”

Now YOU can get in on the action, become a part of the community, and keep the neighborhood’s momentum going all at the same time.  Last week the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group released a Request for Proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of six (6) vacant, historic buildings in the North Market area of Old North St. Louis.   The full details of this RFP can be found in the Rehabbers page of the Real Estate section of the ONSL.org website, where you can download the RFP and see a listing and photos of all of the properties:http://onsl.org/rehabbers/.

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group purchased these properties from the City of St. Louis with the purpose of stabilizing them before they deteriorate any further or completely collapse.  Since the ideal scenario would be to get these properties into the hands of legitimate rehabbers who have commitment and resource to preserve the buildings, ONSLRG would like to give rehabbers or developers the chance to purchase them before ONSLRG spends significant funds on stabilization.  If serious offers do not get submitted by August 14, ONSLRG will begin work on the buildings and offers to purchase after that date will be expected to cover those stabilization expenses.

With this offer, you can get a limited edition Old North historic property and customize it to create your dream home.   The following buildings are just three of the historic properties available through this RFP:

The building at 1312 Warren is in the Crown Square redevelopment area and is sandwiched between two other buildings that have already experienced complete historic rehabs.

The little building at 1217 North Market should be small enough to make it more manageable and affordable for an individual rehabber. The house is between a new North Market Place home and one of the nine buildings part of the North Market Place Apartments development that won a "Most Enhanced" Award from Landmarks Association a couple years ago.

At first glance, the building at 1300 Monroe may seem a bit challenging, but we have plenty of experienced rehabbers in Old North who can share their expertise and make referrals to reputable contractors. Besides, this building features a nice view of the Arch, straight down 13th St., and was featured in the New York Times a few years ago.

To learn more about these properties and the process for making an offer for one or more of them, download the RFP from the Rehabbers page.  If you would like to make an offer or have questions after reviewing the information included in the RFP, call ONSLRG’s real estate development coordinator, Karen Heet, at 314-241-5031, or send her an email - karen@onsl.org. 

If you’re not up for taking on a rehab project, you can still help out by sending ONSLRG a contribution to help cover the rather hefty costs of stabilizing these buildings.  For this option, call executive director Sean Thomas at 314-241-5031 or send him an email - sean@onsl.org.

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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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Heidi & Ben: Another Old North Success Story in Progress

Above: Heidi & Ben Sever along with Nate & Kathy Sprehe at the Sept. 30 Crown Square meeting.

If you ever start losing faith in the prospects of revitalization in places like Old North St. Louis, just strike up a conversation with some of the people who are in the midst of establishing a new home in Old North. The passion, energy, and vision of these folks will remind you why Old North continues to attract creative people who are willing to roll up their sleeves to make something really cool and restore the beauty to long-neglected properties.

Case in point: Heidi & Ben Sever, who will be moving into Old North from Webster Groves when they finish rehabbing a historic building in the northwest corner of ONSL. Ben is an attorney, and Heidi is a stockbroker-turned glass beadmaker and jewelry designer (check out her handmade glass beads and jewelry by clicking HERE). Just over a month ago, the Severs closed on their purchase of a vacant shell that had been a problem property for at least a dozen years and sitting in the city’s inventory of Land Reutilization Agency (LRA)-owned properties for the past seven years.

If you don’t get a chance to meet them or see the building they’re rehabbing in person, you can visit the Severs’ website, http://www.3walls.net/ to gain some insights into who they are and some images of their phenomenal rehab project on N. 19th Street. In addition to sharing their experiences and lessons learned in the process of bringing a forsaken piece of real estate back to life, Heidi puts in some nice plugs for the neighborhood (”You have got to check out this community!”) and their new neighbors:

On that work day alone, 12, yes TWELVE! (I counted each one) different neighbors came over to introduce themselves and welcome us to the neighborhood. Seven of them, yes, 7!!!, stayed an hour to several hours working right along with us doing demolition and trash removal. Yucky, tiring, dirty work. What a way to say ‘Welcome to the Neighborhood’!

Long before their home is ready for occupancy, Heidi and Ben have established themselves as good neighbors, as well. They come out to neighborhood meetings and help out at neighborhood clean-ups (see Ben below helping clear a vacant lot this past May).The Severs are now part of a growing list of people who are redeveloping LRA properties in Old North and demonstrating how revitalization happens. We still have a good number of LRA buildings in Old North ready for new owners and ONSLRG has staff ready to help. Give Karen Heet a call at 314-241-5031 or send her an email (karen@onsl.org) to learn what’s available and how to get in on the excitement.

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A Day of Hope and a New Challenge

Saturday was a day full of mixed emotions, from the energy and excitement of prospective rehabbers at ONSLRG’s Rehabbers and Developers Fair to the sadness and frustration upon learning that a serious fire was consuming the core of the former 4th Baptist Church building on Sullivan & N. 13th Street. By the end of the day, we were reminded that Old North is now enjoying a tremendous rebirth precisely because the community continues to attract new waves of people from far and wide, reflecting diverse backgrounds and different walks of life but sharing a desire to take on something that others had given up on and possessing a vision to make it their own. And as many long-time residents and newcomers alike have expressed to us, what they love about ONSL is the strong sense of community - and the type of warmth, generosity and kindness expressed during difficult times. All of that was evident on Saturday.

Despite the troubles in the real estate and financial markets well beyond Old North, the Rehabbers and Developers Fair still attracted a healthy attendance and a good amount of interest from many who couldn’t make it on Saturday. The attendees received a welcome from ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa (in the photo at right), who shared some of the reasons why he is happy to be a resident of ONSL. Other speakers included Laura Costello, director of real estate for the St. Louis Development Corp., who discussed the process for acquiring LRA properties in Old North; Rick Horn (in the photo at the top of this post), who described how a 203k purchase-rehab loan works; Judy McDaniels from Lead Safe St. Louis; and developer/contractor Kevin Dickherber, who completed a rehab project in ONSL after attending our Developers Fair in 2005.

After all of the talking, attendees took a short walking tour to see some of the LRA properties available in Old North. Along the way, two of ONSL’s recent purchasers of LRA property, Viveca & Graham (seen below), opened up the formerly vacant garage that they are transforming into their home and Graham’s sculpture studio.

If you want to learn more about what was discussed at Saturday’s program or to pick up some of the materials distributed there, contact Real Estate Development Coordinator Karen Heet at the ONSLRG office (314-241-5031) or via email: karen@onsl.org.

4th Baptist Church Building Fire

Meanwhile, we expect to find out more this week about the extent of the damage to the 4th Baptist Church building. As of Sunday evening, most of the exterior walls were still standing, but much of the inside was completely destroyed. Neighbors and members of the congregation rushed to the scene but could only watch as firefighters attempted to bring the fire under control and keep it from spreading to nearby buildings. The congregation has not used the church building for several years now because the costs of the buildings repairs and maintenance were beyond the budget of the 4th Baptist community. Nevertheless, Pastor Richard Taylor, his family, and members of the congregation continued to hold out hope that they would find a way to preserve and restore the buildiing to its former glory. The fire on Saturday dealt a severe blow to those hopes.

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3 Days & Many Sides of a Comprehensive Revitalization

The past few days have offered glimpses into several aspects of the comprehensive revitalization under way in Old North St. Louis.

A crucial piece of the positive transformation of Old North St. Louis into a dynamic and sustainable neighborhood involves the residents working together to address and resolve the types of issues that affect all communities. ONSL takes this approach through a number of community-building events and activities which allow residents to get to know and build relationships with each other and through Quality of Life meetings held roughly every other month.

On Thursday evening, residents and stakeholders of the neighborhood gathered at North Market Apartments community space for the February Quality of Life meeting facilitated by North Market Place homeowner and ONSLRG’s newest Board member, Kathryn Bentley. Those in attendance heard from Kabrina Forrest, Coordinator for the Family Court Juvenile Division’s Neighborhood Accountability Boards, an innovative, community-focused response to juvenile delinquency. Kabrina reported that ONSL doesn’t have enough incidents of juvenile delinquency to qualify for a new N.A.B., but residents can support and become a part of other Boards that have been established in other neighborhoods. Also on the agenda were updates from the residential and commercial leasing agents for Crown Square, and a report from Kathy Woodard, the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Officer assigned to ONSL.

Above: Kabrina Forrest discusses Neighborhood Accountability Boards

On Friday and Saturday, the focus shifted to attracting new residents to add to the neighborhood’s diverse and active population. With an open house for new and rehabbed homes for sale on Friday evening, and an open house for rehabbed apartments at Crown Square on Saturday, ONSLRG continues to support efforts to offer housing options for anyone desiring to be a part of the community, regardless of their stage in life and position along the economic spectrum.
Above: visitors to 1412 Hebert admire the kitchen.

Another key component in ONSLRG’s rebirth is strong leadership by residents of the neighborhood, and that was evident over the past few days, as well, with Board members out in force at all three events, to meet their neighbors, greet prospective residents, and share their enthusiasm for the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board Member Nate Sprehe & his wife Kathy stopped by several of the open houses to show their support.


Below: CAMCO leasing agents Todd Whiteaker and Valerie Henry showed prospective renters around 1314 Warren while ONSLRG Board Secretary Johnnie Owens and member Kathryn Bentley were on hand to answer questions about the neighborhood.

Above: ONSLRG Board President Tino Ochoa and newest Board member Kathryn Bentley outside 1314 Warren.

Below: Karen Heet, ONSLRG’s Real Estate Development Coordinator, greeted visitors at the apartment at 1310 Warren and answered questions about the neighborhood and the Crown Square development.

Below: ONSLRG Board Treasurer Phil Valko stopped by to see the apartments and put in a few good words about the community.

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Crown Square Open House Saturday

You are cordially invited to an Open House of the first Crown Square Apartments to be completed and available for rent.

This Saturday, March 1st, from noon to 2 pm, 1310 Warren and 1314 Warren will be open to the public. Come be part of this momentous event!

Crown Square, the redevelopment of the former 14th Street Mall, is recreating the “town center” of the community with 80 historic loft, apartment and “live/work” units, and 33,000 square feet of commercial space on the former pedestrian mall and adjacent streets.

The $35 million comprehensive revitalization includes the re-opening of 14th Street from Warren to St. Louis Avenue, re-connecting this local commercial district with the surrounding neighborhood. The development will also include the installation of new street and pedestrian lighting, public green spaces and landscaping, and a “transit plaza” that will facilitate ease of use and transfer of vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, and public bus transportation. The development will enhance the “walkability” of the neighborhood and solidify the goal of maintaining economic diversity in the community.

The redevelopment of the former 14th Street Mall area will complement other rental and homeownership developments that RHCDA and Old North St. Louis Restoration Group have recently completed in the neighborhood, all of them contributing to neighborhood residents’ vision of a true mixed-income sustainable community.

For more information on residential leasing options, contact Todd Whiteaker at CAMCO at (314) 220-3432 or todd@cam-co.com.

For more information on commercial leasing options, contact Susan Sauer of Duffe-Nuernberger Realty at (314) 571-7654 or susan_sauer@sbcglobal.net.

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