Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Webster Groves land trust pitches permanently affordable homeownership, announces first house
Loading...
Summary
Kathleen Vivins of the Webster Groves Community Land Trust told the committee the group’s model buys land and sells homes with a 99‑year ground lease to keep prices below market; the trust plans to list its first house in early summer and aims for roughly two homes per year.
Kathleen Vivins, a 27‑year Webster resident and representative of the Webster Groves Community Land Trust, told the Old Orchard committee that rising home prices are pushing working middle‑class residents — teachers, nurses and firefighters — out of the city.
Vivins described the community land trust (CLT) model: the nonprofit acquires the land and sells the home to a household under a long ground lease, keeping resale prices below market so successive buyers can afford to live in Webster Groves. She said the trust typically targets roughly 80% of market price through a 99‑year lease and that the approach allows households to build equity while preserving long‑term affordability.
The trust, she said, has been organized for five years and will put its first home on the market in early summer after repairs paid for by volunteer labor and local donors. Vivins told the committee that, in the meeting transcript, median Webster home prices were stated as "around $4.75" and that a teacher’s median salary was cited as $72,000; she added that a household would need "at least $120,000" to afford the median price as described in the discussion. Vivins said the group will prioritize applicants by financial need and ties to Webster Groves and, because the trust currently has only one home, planned to choose the first household by lottery if multiple qualified applicants apply.
Vivins asked for awareness, local partnerships and donations, saying every dollar the nonprofit receives goes toward purchasing and maintaining homes that will remain permanently affordable. She said the trust’s executive director is Farrell Carfield and that the organization hopes to scale to roughly two homes per year as funds permit.
Committee members asked about outreach, fundraising and application timing; Vivins said applications are open for the first home and directed interested residents to the trust’s website (wwgclt.org) for details. She offered to meet with committee members and business owners who want to display postcards and help spread the word.
The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; members thanked Vivins and moved on to the business portion of the agenda.
