CDA 2020-2024 Impact Report: Neighborhood Beautification Partnerships

This article first appeared in the CDA 202-2024 Impact Report (April 2025), a comprehensive look at five years of housing, community development, and neighborhood revitalization efforts in St. Louis. To learn more about CDA’s programs, investments, and impact citywide, read the full report here.

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Neighborhood Beautification Partnerships

Vacancy Collaborative

The City of St. Louis has roughly 24,000 vacant parcels, including 9,000 vacant buildings. Of these, LRA owns roughly 8,500 vacant parcels and 1,167 vacant buildings. The Vacancy Collaborative (VC) was established to address the blight which represents a threat to the health and safety of residents, drains city government of resources, and depresses property values. Since 2023, CDA has been funding the VC’s Vacancy Strategy Initiative (VSI) to develop and implement a whole of government assault on vacancy. The VSI is anchored by three core pillars to ensure a community driven and data informed approach:

• Community Engagement & Intergovernmental Coordination: The VC facilitates monthly working group meetings including both public and private partners, as well as quarterly community convenings.
• Metrics, Mapping, and Cost Analysis: Data-driven decision-making ensures that interventions are both efficient and effective. VSI, in collaboration with the St. Louis Regional Data Alliance, is enhancing public-facing tools to track vacant properties, city expenditures, and the financial toll of vacancy. Key initiatives include: Building Interventions Map; Demolitions Map; and Cost of Vacancy Analysis Dashboard to quantify vacancy-related costs including lost property value, tax revenue shortfalls, and public service expenditures.
• Vacant Lot & Building Management & Redevelopment Strategy: Building on data insights and community feedback, the VC has created a Building Intervention Suitability Index which aggregates over a dozen variables to identify priorities for demolition and rehabilitation. The VC has also established a policy working group, which helped advocate for a recent charter amendment enabling more progressive fines on vacant property, and is now considering various options to expand funding for vacancy and housing initiatives. The VSI will produce a comprehensive report in 2025 summarizing its findings and recommendations.

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Public Art

In 2023 and 2024, CDA partnered with RAC to create the St. Louis Mural Project (STLMP). Funded through ARPA for the Arts and managed by RAC, the STLMP illustrates the City’s love of public art and the creatives who bring it to life. In 14 wards, 28 murals, all created by St. Louis artists were selected through an open and competitive process. CDA has also partnered with Urban Strategies, VIA Partnership, St. Louis Art Place, Delmar Main Streeet, and 4TheVille to develop and install public art across the city.

CDA presents a ceremonial check to 4theVille to create a pocket park next to the new mural dedicated to Tina Turner at 4157 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in the Ville neighborhood in November 2024.

Urban Agriculture

CDA has funded the following organizations to develop and maintain gardens across the city: Seed St. Louis; Operation Brightside; Seeds of Grace Lavender Farm; GRO District Gardens; Gravois Park Block Link Orchard;Be Well Cafe Farmers Market; Hope in the Ville Community Garden; Dutchtown Main St. Virginia Community Garden.

CDA staff visit Hope in the Ville's community garden that will feed neighborhood residents. 

Lot Maintenance

CDA has funded the following organizations to cut grass and maintain vacant properties across the City: Forestry Division; Land Reutilization Authority; Revitalization of Baden Association; Lewis Place; North Newstead Association; SLACO ,and Old North St. Louis Restoration Group.

SLACO Keep it Clean volunteers in May 2024

Green Infrastructure

CDA is working with the following partners to develop green infrastructure solutions to help heal the city’s relationship with water and prevent flooding: Metropolitan Sewer District; US Army Corps of Engineers; St. Louis County; Missouri Department of Conservation; Green City Coalition; ICF; Great Rivers Greenway; Forest ReLeaf; Greenprint Partners; Arbolope; Kwame Building Group; GISolutions, and Geosynthetics. (Learn more about our Disaster Recovery)

About the Community Development Administration (CDA): The CDA serves as the City of St. Louis' hub for federal, state, and local funds, implementing the Mayor's economic justice agenda. By funding public and nonprofit entities, the CDA supports a wide range of initiatives, including public services, affordable housing development, blight eradication, and other community development activities.