tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8826793.post7998149065735429069..comments2023-10-02T08:28:06.724-05:00Comments on Ecology of Absence: Congressional Field Hearing Examines North St. LouisMichael R. Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17262548806079447404noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8826793.post-18851314907646888962008-03-13T10:54:00.000-05:002008-03-13T10:54:00.000-05:00Good article. Wonder what Waters is thinking when...Good article. Wonder what Waters is thinking when she says St. Louis has "low development costs"? That statement is patently incorrect. <BR/><BR/>St. Louis is an old industrial city. Abandoned properties carry high costs for redevelopment. LRA lots typically come with a legacy of hidden underground costs. <BR/><BR/>Couple the high cost of development with low market values, and development challenges are more than perception. They are very real.<BR/><BR/>The other ongoing myth is that North City is being shortchanged in terms of federal spending. Want to see big investments of federal funds in St. Louis?<BR/><BR/>Check out Homer G. Phillips, new construction in the Mark Twain and Walnut Park neighborhoods, the West End area of the 26th ward and many others.<BR/><BR/>Our city's North Side is seeing tremendous growth. A tour of progress on the north side is as possible as one of decay.<BR/><BR/>A great example of federal funding in North City is the HOPE VI work of McCormack Baron Salazar happening north of Powell Hall at the old Blumeyer site. The project is a classic public/private partnership. <BR/><BR/>It has received $40,000,000 in federal funds and is a national success story about revitalizing an obsolete high rise public housing complex into a mixed income, urban neighborhood. <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.hud.gov/local/mo/news/blumeyer090903.cfm" REL="nofollow">Blumeyer</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com