Vacant Land

An early look at the Vacancy Strategy Initiative Report shows the number of vacant properties in the city decreased by 4% since 2018.

The Stable Communities STL pilot program used federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to hire contractors to repair vacant or neglected buildings and then pass on those costs to building owners

It’s a problem that metastasized over decades, making it unrealistic to expect a speedy solution to the roughly 25,000 vacant buildings and lots inside city limits.

The park replaces two previously vacant lots with a few disk golf cages, several metal flower planters, benches and sculptures from local youth artists.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given St. Louis $500,000 to remove hazardous materials from vacant properties.

Urban farmers are trying to buy vacant lots for their farms to bring fresh, healthy food and green space to their neighborhoods, but they face challenges in acquiring that land.

There are almost 25,000 vacant houses, commercial buildings and land plots in St. Louis, and about 60% are privately owned. Some nuisance properties can be a blight on communities, so neighborhood associations have been trying to acquire them or compel owners to fix them.

Community leaders in the Baden neighborhood of north St. Louis are going to court to claim vacant houses for potential new homeowners.

The nonprofit is also purchasing its first property in the next six months to transform into a park.

Thaddeus Gerdine maintains more than 60 vacant lots in the city of St. Louis. “They just seemed like no one was taking care of them,” said Gerdine, who…