2020 Annual Report- Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation

After seven years of planned, focused, and intentional community development work as a merged organization, Tower Grove Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation (TGNCDC) continues to positively impact St. Louis City and the neighborhoods of Shaw, Tower Grove South, and Southwest Garden through real estate and related services. As our board member Jillian Guenther stated at a recent board meeting, “Community Development Corporations must evolve into entrepreneurial and mission-driven business activities and not rely heavily on grants to continue the important work.” While 2020 has been challenging, TGNCDC has continued and grown our work through persistence in three defined areas:

HomeScreen Tenant Screening
Real Estate Development- For Sale and For Rent
Other real estate related activities such as energy efficiency work, project management/consulting, creating a community resource guide and landlord training/rehabber training seminars.

HomeScreen Tenant Screening and ARCH by HomeScreen

Year to date, TGNCDC and it’s HomeScreen Tenant Screening Program processed 2,617 applications. We have processed 25% more applications compared to 2019 and we expect to hit a 3,000 goal by the end of the year. We have also made 378 referrals to Prosperity Connection to help HomeScreen applicants access free one-on-one financial coaching.

TGNCDC received funding via CARES Act Grant to Employment Connection to create a database (ARCH by HomeScreen) for landlords to list homes for at-risk populations through our HomeScreen application. We currently have 1007 active landlords and 4751 active units in our system. The new database will be launched by December 31st. TGNCDC is working with a variety of nonprofits and landlords to ensure the database meets all stakeholder expectations. We’re very excited about what the completion of this project will mean for HomeScreen and how it will help local nonprofit social service providers secure housing for their clients. A huge thanks to Equifax for helping fund the creation of the HomeScreen software. Without it, we would not have been in a position to receive funding for the new property listing database.

Real Estate Development

4900 Gravois- Crossroads Senior Living at Bevo Mill

20-1103 Crossroads Senior Living Rendering.jpg

Our 2020 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) application for the Crossroads Senior living at Bevo Mill has been completed and submitted to the Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) for consideration. In 2020, TGNCDC accepted a generous donation of the project site from Midwest Bank Centre and now owns 100% of the ground. The project is 53 units of senior housing including onsite support services. The existing bank location has moved across the street and TGNCDC incorporated a commercial space in the new building design for future community development operations or a small business to locate in the commercial district. We’ve made adjustments to our project that will help the competitiveness of the application. We also received support letters from all the area stakeholders including East West Gateway. LIHTC awards will be announced in December 2020.

Here is an article from STLTODAY about the project.

3639-41 Hydraulic Ave Affordable Housing Development

One of our most impressive projects to date, 3639 41 Hydraulic was a long vacant drug house with squatters. With the owner abandoning the building, Bank of America foreclosed and became an important partner to approve our purchase of the property for $10,000. We thank them for their belief in our organization. Over years of decline, the building needed over $30,000 in masonry work and piering. This renovation also included new mechanicals, wall repair, a new roof, new decks, new doors, updated baths and updated kitchens, and more! TGNCDC spent in excess of $160,000 on the renovation. In addition to Bank of America, TIAA Bank and PNC bank helped with grants to eliminate the property as vacant and to stabilize it to prevent further quality of life issues for neighbors and the neighborhood. In addition to the community development revitalization work that the newly enhanced building brings to the block, it also created 4 new affordable apartment units that are rent for $575 per month. Thanks to First Bank for financing the project.

Saint Louis Market President for Bank of America, Marilyn Bush, stated, ”What a transformation! You’re doing incredible work for our neighborhoods. I’m grateful for all you’re doing to create positive change and so glad that we’re connected.”

Other Activities

Energy Efficiency Project at 3732 34 Bamberger Avenue

The 3732-34 Bamberger project started in 2019 with an energy assessment by Ameren, which resulted in recommendations for improving the building’s energy performance and rebates available from the utility company for each measure. Next TGNCDC applied for and was awarded a grant from US Bank Foundation specifically to help cover the costs of this project.

The energy improvements include new central air conditioning and furnace motors, replacing all lighting with LED bulbs, faucet and shower aerators, programmable thermostats, filling all holes and cracks on ductwork with mastic, and replacing windows with energy star thermal windows. The project cost was estimated at just over $31,000. Ameren rebates are expected to be $11,000 and the US Bank grant will cover the remaining $20,000. TGNCDC is covering staff time to manage and implement the project, along with benchmarking the building energy use before and after the improvements.

Energy savings are estimated at $1,575 annually, which will result in savings for our tenants. Further this project will improve the indoor air quality, enhance tenant comfort by reducing drafts, reduce maintenance calls, and reduce the carbon footprint of the building.

We appreciate Ameren and US Bank for making this project possible!

Nuisance Property Lawsuits

In 2018, TGNCDC coauthored “A Guide to addressing and eliminating vacancy in the City of Saint Louis” with SLU Law Clinic. A part of the guide highlights Nuisance Property Lawsuits as an additional tool to pressure property owners to sell or renovate long-vacant properties. Over the last several years, this tool has proven to be one of the best ways to create positive change.

From Peter Hoffman at Legal Services of Eastern MO:

Community development organizations like TGNCDC have special legal tools under Missouri law to help address vacant nuisance properties. TGNCDC is at the forefront of using those legal tools through their partnership with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri's Neighborhood Vacancy Initiative. In 2019, TGNCDC was the first organization in the St. Louis area to successfully use Missouri's Abandoned Housing Act as a revitalization tool - redeveloping the long vacant and deteriorating property at 3964 Parker Avenue (shown above).

Legal Services also assisted the Tower Grove Heights Neighborhood Association to compel an absentee property owner to make repairs on a long-vacant eyesore on Humphrey Avenue.
Currently, TGNCDC and Legal Services are collaborating to tackle six more vacant nuisance properties on Arsenal, Hydraulic, Alfred, DeTonty, Potomac, and Chippewa.
"In some ways, our Tower Grove cases are some of our most challenging. Because the values in the neighborhood are pretty good, Tower Grove is fortunate to not have as many vacant nuisance properties as other neighborhoods - but when the property is deteriorating, we're often sorting through a mess of title problems or dealing with land speculators and absentee shell corporations who only exist on paper. But that's why these legal tools exist - to allow groups like TGNCDC to get these issues in front of a Judge and ask for relief. Through this partnership we're able to find these really troubled properties and set them on a path to be productive and safe again." - Peter Hoffman, Managing Attorney, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.

Saint Joseph Housing Initiative
”Saint Joseph Housing Initiative (SJHI) is a new nonprofit organization with a mission is to create vibrant communities through affordable quality housing where low and moderate income families can thrive, prosper and build wealth.” TGNCDC is a partner with Saint Joseph Housing Initiative to assist with identifying and negotiating properties to develop, creating proformas, determining market feasibility, project management, consulting, and general cheerleading. TGNCDC has assisted with the development of six renovation projects over the last 18 months. As our core service areas have improved, TGNCDC is starting to identify other areas where our expertise and available capital can be deployed. Our relationship with SJHI has opened our eyes to the need for housing related activities in Dutchtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

Check out the promotional video!

Development Facilitation

One great example of our development facilitation work is 3719 Bamberger. Our neighborhood stabilization work relied heavily on marketing vacant and abandoned properties to reputable developers by highlighting market strengths, attractive housing stock, the people, the community, and the location. We also educate developers on the cost to construct, sales prices/comps, tax abatement opportunities, and the State and Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit programs. 3719 Bamberger was long vacant and owned by an out of state “investor.” After being discouraged by the lack of progress, TGNCDC bought the property. We rebuilt 60% of the front façade and added a TPO roof with a cost of over $20,000.

Once we completed the improvements, TGNCDC marketed the property to investors who have successful developments in the immediate area. Jeff Sutton, from Bloomsdale Investments, LLC, took on the project and promised a beautiful renovation. While the project took longer than he expected, he delivered! The building is two 2 bedroom units with beautiful finishes. He invested over $165,000 in the renovation, after the 35,000 we invested (purchase and improvements), and his son did some of the work himself. 3719 Bamberger is successful, in part, because of our initial investment and the real estate market in the area justifying the additional investment to complete the rehab. No tax abatement was used and no historic preservation tax credits were available in this part of the neighborhood. Rents will be in the $800-900 range per unit.

Other addresses we are assisting with are:
4525 Flad- Burned out vacant property
4603 Cleveland- Long vacant LRA owned land
2817 and 2821 S. Kingshighway Vacant

LandLord and Rehabber Training

For the Northside and South Side collaborative programming, we had 475 total attendees for the two in-person & seven Zoom sessions. North Newstead and the Vacancy Collaborative were each paid to help develop the programs and to facilitate the events. These seminars are paid for through a small grant from the Community Development Administration and are FREE training sessions open to all landlords, property managers, developers, and interested parties. Look out for our 2021 schedule coming out soon!

2020 Schedule

Tues Jan 28
Missouri Landlord/ Tenant Law

Tues Feb 25
Creating a Performa and Finance Options When Comps Are Unavailable

Tues Mar 24
Best Practices to Stabilize a Rental Business

Tues Apr 28
Key Elements to Identify a Rehab Opportunity and Evaluate Costs

Tues Jun 23
New Construction on a Vacant Lot

Tues Jul 28
Scope of Work Development and Working With Contactors

Tues Aug 25
Does My Project Need a Permit?

Tues Sept 22
Missouri and Federal Tax Credits and Tax Abatement

Tues Oct 22
Nuisance Abatement and Evictions

Deferred Maintenance Improvements

Tower Grove Neighborhoods CDC spent a great deal of time in 2020 addressing deferred maintenance items including multiple apartment renovations, new roofs, new fences, exterior and interior painting, masonry work, landscaping, and mechanical upgrades to our affordable rental portfolio. In total, we’ve spent well over $100,000 in general maintenance repairs to our rental properties in 2020. This work will ensure the buildings are properly maintained going forward and relieve pressure on future leaders to pay for needed repairs.

InvestSTL Collaboration

In 2018, TGNCDC, Dutchtown South Community Corporation, Lutheran Development Group, and DeSales Community Development created and committed to a memorandum of understanding around defining, with each of our expertise, actions for implementing important parts of the Gravois Jefferson Neighborhood plan. In 2020, all four entities and other stakeholders participated in CURE racial equity training and action plan development for future goals. One activity we believe is of great importance is an Acquisition Fund to provide real estate investment and development opportunities to minority investors and contractors while removing them from some of the worst actors in the neighborhoods. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together!

Covid -19 Response
TGNCDC, through our relationship with Prosperity Connection and Red Dough, provided $32,100 in rental subsidy relief to about 20% of our tenants residing in our 82 unit affordable housing rental portfolio. We also assisted landlords in our HomeScreen tenant screening program with 29 referrals for $39,917 in additional rent subsidies to help tenants stay in their homes and get back to work. Finally, TGNCDC provided $775 in food gift certificates to 15 tenants ($50 to 1-3 person households and $75 to a 5 person household) for emergency grocery purchases. And we are supporting 11 tenants with applying for and receiving CARES ACT rental funding. Most of those applications are pending.

Malissa Cleary, Tenant at 3728 Bamberger:

“The red dough rent loan (became forgivable) was one of the only ways I was able to pay rent at the beginning of the pandemic. It gave me peace of mind during a very unsecure time, as my employer is a small business and was unable to pay us for a month and a half. “

Jezebel Voule Tenant at 3600A Bamberger

“When I applied for the emergency rent loan I had already used what little savings I had to get by. So whether or not the loan was approved for forgiveness I was in need of rent either way. An act of desperation many Americans as well as the world also found themselves in. When the opportunity presented itself that I could go back to work that is when I really appreciated the loan because it gave me an opportunity to catch up in life (on a monetary level) than being a sinking ship for the rest of the year. Thank you so much for the rent loan forgiveness! “

Conclusion

Nonprofit and successful community development work doesn’t happen without a committed board of directors. We thank them for their time and effort to help St. Louis City neighborhoods. In 2020, we lost one of the greats! Our dear board member and friend, Floyd Wight, passed away April 26, 2020 at his home in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. He will be missed as a fierce advocate of City living and attracting investment into our neighborhoods. He was a leader, gentle and kind. His impact will never be forgotten and his legacy will live on in our work. Below is a photo of Floyd receiving the Community Builders Award for Excellence in Resident Leadership. Our board has agreed to name our conference room the “Floyd Wright Community Room” where his contributions to community development will always be remembered.

“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence,” stated Colin Powell. Thanks to our dedicated staff for working through a difficult year. TGNCDC will continue to invest back into neighborhoods and support neighborhood revitalization for years to come!

Thanks for reading.

Floyd Wright- TGNCDC Founding Board Member and Long Time SW Garden Neighborhood Association leader