Hard to Say Goodbye
When TGNCDC purchased 3600 Bamberger in 2015 it was known as “the drug house on the corner.” The property had 117 calls for police service over 3 years for drug sales, assaults, and four calls for “shots fired.” 3600 Bamberger was an obvious target for our first property in The Wedge, the area located south of Gravois, north of Chippewa, and west of South Grand, because of its high profile corner location and nuisance issues. This property and our tenants have been the anchor for our redevelopment efforts in The Wedge for the past six years.
In October of 2015, after some renovations and tenant screening through HomeScreen, new tenants started moving into 3600 Bamberger including Jessica.* Jessica stayed with us as we set up a police substation in her building and worked to abate nuisance behavior on the block. She saw calls for service drop 71% in the first year. Jessica stayed with us as we purchased and rehabbed 11 other buildings with 40 rental units in the Wedge. Jessica stayed with us as we formed a partnership between HomeScreen and Prosperity Connection and took advantage of their free financial coaching. Now, bittersweetly, Jessica is moving on. She has purchased a house for herself and her family, one of her long-term goals.
At TGNCDC, our mission is to make sure our tenants are supported and feel like valuable members of our community. Jessica has been a prime example of how our mission comes to life through our tenants. We will miss her! Please read the statement below from Jessica about her time as our tenant.
When I moved to St. Louis I found myself in the classic slum-lord situation. They wanted all the money with none of the maintenance. After the first year they raised my rent and I thought “okay, that sucks”, but rolled with it. Over that year they would just show up and do things to my place without notifying me and my presence was not needed. Coming home to stuff being moved around, messes made, to find someone has finally fixed a drippy faucet months after you sent the maintenance reports was unsettling. The following year they raised my rent again and so I decided it was time to move on from the unkept building I found myself in. A friend approached me and introduced me to TGNCDC. When they showed me the place I was soon to reside in it was like all of my hopes and dreams were coming true. The place had the right price, the right location from work, and gave peace of mind, with a police substation below my building.
To say they are an excellent company to rent from could only be an understatement from my perspective. If it was broken they promptly fixed it, and did it with excellent communication. Often telling me the day before so I could have the opportunity to make a mad dash to clean around the house so I wouldn’t be ashamed. They are what one would expect from a rental agency but are hard to find.
The thing that makes them exceptional is how they are there for you on another level. When the Ferguson Riots came to my neighborhood they reached out to make sure I felt safe. When life had ups and downs they were there for me. They would connect with me. They didn't abuse or betray my trust. When Covid-19 left me out of work for several months they were ready with programs to apply for rent and necessities assistance. Including them walking me through how to apply for food stamps.
When my parents started feeling unwell I started to pressure them to move next to me. My step-father is disabled and on parole and could not move to my state without an address to go to. I talked to them and they allowed me to put my address as his landing spot. Over a year later I got a call telling me my step dad was going to be paroled to me in two weeks. Two weeks was not enough time to find a place for myself and my step dad. So I went on the process of buying a house. They were more than patient during this rough transition. Letting my step-father stay there while I made ready the house. They also referred me to electricians and contractors that I felt I would need, being a first time home buyer. It was in no small part due to TGNCDC that I was able to get the house. They never once raised my rent. The money I would have spent on the trajectory that my previous rental company was charging equates to a large part of my down payment.
Leaving my apartment is by far the hardest part of my move. It feels like losing a part of myself. Although the door on that part of my life is closing as I walk through to the next adventure, I foresee myself missing that apartment throughout time. A place that wasn’t just my apartment, it was my first home.
If you would like to support TGNCDC’s efforts to create more safe, stable housing in the Wedge, please donate!
