ST. LOUIS — The city has re-upped its commitment to a vacant property initiative at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, promising $200,000 over the next four years.
The ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ Development Corp. in February 2018 approved a $100,000 commitment to the nonprofit legal clinic as part of Mayor Lyda Krewson's focus on addressing the city's thousands of abandoned properties. That money helped fund the hiring of Peter Hoffman in April 2018. Hoffman led a similar vacant property legal effort in Kansas City — which provides $600,000 annually to a nonprofit legal clinic there for economic development and vacancy-fighting work — before coming here.
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Since then, Legal Services has brought on another attorney and hired a paralegal for the initiative and it's working with four major law firms who are donating pro bono work. Hoffman said the initiative has helped 12 community and neighborhood associations and opened 50 cases on their behalf using nuisance laws to spur absentee owners to clean up properties or transfer them to responsible owners. The program also helps families clean up land titles and prepare them for proper transfer to their heirs.
The SLDC board approved the new round of funding Thursday. "This has been a great partnership with Legal Services," SLDC Director Otis Williams said.
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri hired Peter Hoffman as staff attorney for the Neighborhood Vacancy Initiative
Jacob Barker
Reporter
