St. Louis has won a $29.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant, a prestigious measure, was announced by Julián Castro, HUD Secretary, who came to St. Louis to present the award. He made the presentation to Mayor Francis Slay in the Near North Side, which is one of the neighborhoods that will benefit from the grant.
The Choice Neighborhoods grant program is designed to help local agencies assist struggling neighborhoods that include distressed HUD-assisted or public housing. The grant aims to help by transforming the entire neighborhood.
In the case of the Near North Side, the transformation includes building a new community center, as well as creating about 700 affordable housing units. The plan also aims to increase home ownership, provide micro-lending opportunities, and promote education, health, social services, public safety, neighborhood enhancements, entrepreneurship, and job training.
Over the last two years, the city administration, along with McCormack Baron Salazar and Urban Strategies, held over 100 meetings with a wide variety of concerned parties, including residents, to devise a plan and secure investments for the area given the grant.
As Mayor Slay and Secretary Castro noted, the involvement of residents of the Near North Side themselves was a vital component in the success the city had in winning the grant.
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