Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Urban Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Aldermen, residents warn vacant schools will depress neighborhood property values; committee discusses zoning reuse
Summary
Speakers told the committee that past school closures left vacant, deteriorating buildings that depressed property values and that the city should plan zoning and redevelopment strategies—possibly mixed-use or affordable housing—to reduce harm from future closures.
Multiple witnesses and committee members raised the long-term neighborhood consequences of school closures and urged early planning for the reuse of vacant school buildings.
The sponsor told the committee the city already has vacant school buildings that reduced property values and said she was concerned about an additional "22 more schools" being closed without a plan for those buildings. Committee members discussed early conversations with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) about zoning changes to make future vacant schools more easily redeveloped into mixed-use or family-affordable housing.
"Empty buildings and devastated neighborhoods," the sponsor said, summarizing the core concern about closures. Committee members asked staff to pursue coordinated zoning and redevelopment conversations so that, if closures occur, buildings would be better positioned for adaptive reuse rather than long-term blight.
