Housing authority developer wins committee approval to vacate streets for Clinton Peabody redevelopment

Stephanie Ko, developer with Preservation of Affordable Housing, and Naysha Tobias, a St. Louis Housing Authority representative, told the Public Infrastructure and Utilities Committee on June 11 that the Clinton Peabody public-housing site will be redeveloped in multiple phases and requires street vacations and right-of-way changes.

Ko said her nonprofit was selected in 2022 to lead a master redevelopment plan and that the first financed phase would deliver 89 of a projected 350 units and feature modern architecture, a central park and improved street alignment. The redevelopment requires vacating a zig-zag section of LaSalle Avenue between St. Ann and Dillon and a right-of-way vacation on Dillon Avenue to standardize setbacks and avoid irregular building lines.

The nut graf: Ko said the street vacations are part of a broader design to remake an isolated public-housing site into a connected neighborhood with predictable street lines and improved sightlines; the city would re-dedicate the realigned streets to the public after construction, with anticipated re-dedication around 2027.

Ko provided a timeline showing demolition for the first phase could begin as early as July pending environmental and zoning approvals, with construction of phase one targeted to start in early next year. She said the development team has engaged residents and stakeholders to craft the plan, that residents asked for new construction rather than refurbishment, and that the first phase is fully financed.

The committee had no public comment. Aldermen praised the pace of work and the developer’s outreach. Board Bills 26 and 27 were moved and passed out of committee with due-pass recommendations; committee procedures used previous-roll approvals with no recorded objections reported in committee minutes.