Photos by R.J. Hartbeck
Realtor.com recently hailed St. Louis Art Place Initiative as starting a “Midwest housing revolution” for local artists.
“Traditionally, artists move into underinvested neighborhoods, add cultural value, and are subsequently priced out when market-rate developers swoop in,” the story reads. “The St. Louis Art Place Initiative is rewriting that script by helping local artists buy the homes they live and work in.”
Here’s a quick recap of the story:
The Vision
The foundation was brought together by three organizations: the Incarnate Word Foundation, the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, and the Regional Arts Commission.
“For us, artists contributing to the wealth of a neighborhood, but then being the first to be displaced from that neighborhood, is exactly the trend that we are attempting to supersede,” Kaveh Razani, a real estate development consultant for St. Louis Art Place Initiative, told Realtor.com.
The Outreach
To kick-start the project, API partnered with the city land bank to acquire 24 parcels within a 4-by-1-block radius in the Gravois Park neighborhood. From there, the organization partnered with Habitat for Humanity as its main development partner.
Photo by R.J. Hartbeck
The Building Phase
Currently, API has three units under construction and plans to break ground on another three by year’s end, moving steadily toward its ultimate goal of building 18 affordable homes in the neighborhood.
How to Buy
To qualify for one of these homes, API has set up an application where artists connected to the community must fill out their financial information. Once applicants qualify, they are provided with all of the necessary resources to become successful long-term homeowners.
“We really believe that arts-based community development is actually one of the best tools in the toolbox for creating change in St. Louis right now,” said STLAPI executive director Jennifer Allen. “There’s all of these social, economic, and, quite honestly, mental, and spiritual benefits to having art and artists in your community.”
Read the full story on Realtor.com here.
Photo by R.J. Hartbeck