ST. LOUIS 鈥 City officials say it would cost roughly $40 million to demolish every vacant building in the city鈥檚 inventory.
There are an estimated 25,000 vacant and abandoned properties in 最新杏吧原创 overall, including buildings and lots. About 11,500 are owned by the city, the rest by private owners.
Mayor Lyda Krewson argues that鈥檚 a problem that can鈥檛 be tackled by the city alone.
鈥淲e鈥檝e proven for about 40 years now that we cannot individually tackle vacant properties,鈥 Krewson said.
On Friday, Krewson spoke to Post-Dispatch reporters and editorial writers about her plan to bring down the number of vacant lots and buildings in the city.
It鈥檚 been a decades-long fight 鈥 the city鈥檚 Land Reutilization Authority, or LRA, was established in 1971 to combat the growing number of abandoned properties 鈥 with few easy answers.
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Under Krewson, the city has begun coordinating with 最新杏吧原创 nonprofits, legal clinics and community development organizations to fight blight, forming a team to coordinate resources.
That committee is overseen by Austin Albert, a newly hired vacancy strategy project manager under the umbrella of the LRA whose sole job it is to lead initiatives to address vacancy.
City officials are also trying to find new funding and allocate more money for tackling blight. They don鈥檛 expect much help from the state or federal government in this area, Krewson said.
Some buildings can鈥檛 be saved, and in recent years, the city hasn鈥檛 prioritized money for demolition in the city budget. But the funding is up this year to about $3.6 million, something Krewson pushed for and hopes to sustain.
鈥淔or at least the next three years ... I鈥檓 going to fight very hard every year to get $3.5-4 million in the budget for demolition,鈥 she said.
A big boost could come in court, where the city is arguing that voters passed in April a small property tax increase meant to raise about $6 million a year to stabilize vacant properties for future rehabs.
City leaders also hope to raise private dollars to address the issue. But first, they have to demonstrate that their efforts are a worthy investment, said Patrick Brown, 最新杏吧原创鈥 chief resilience officer.
鈥淲e are trying to leverage the resources that are available, but part of this is our ability to communicate strategy as a city. That鈥檚 what funders want to see. They want to see intention, they want to see strategy before they start throwing cash at stuff,鈥 he said.
Brown also said the city is taking steps to prevent blight by increasing code enforcement against private owners who don鈥檛 take care of their properties and working with property owners to create beneficiary deeds, so there鈥檚 a plan in place for a home if its owner dies.
Most recently, the city has held two 鈥淐lean Sweep鈥 events to demolish LRA-owned buildings and clean up neighborhoods.
Krewson said the vacancy team will continue to explore options not just for tearing buildings down, but for making it possible to get properties into the hands of people who can renovate them, particularly in north 最新杏吧原创, where a dysfunctional housing market makes it nearly impossible to get mortgages or construction loans.
The city will also have to confront the racial disparities that put the city in the position it鈥檚 in today, Brown said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no coincidence the majority of vacant and dilapidated housing and buildings exist in communities that have been historically African-American. So this issue over time, over decades 鈥 has been viewed through the lens that it is somebody else鈥檚 problem,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our job to鈥 make the case why this is critical for everybody. This is a drain on our tax base. This is a drain on our public safety resources.鈥
