2018 was such a good year for quality housing and development, it was hard to keep the list at 20 favorites.
I was paging through my photos taken last year and can’t believe I missed a key project, St. Ferdinand Homes II. I’m going to correct this oversight by adding it as a bonus project to the full list of 20 (+1)…
This project is located near the corner around Sarah Street and St. Ferdinand Avenue on the border of the Ville and The Greater Ville Neighborhoods.
“St. Ferdinand Homes II is the next phase of development by non-profit housing developer Northside Community Housing, Inc. (NCHI). This new and full rehab construction development is ideal for individuals and families seeking a growing residential community that is easily accessible to community centers, historic sites, and major St. Louis thoroughfares. Phase II is located on the 4000 block of St. Ferdinand Avenue, and the 2400 and 2500 blocks of North Sarah Street.” (source)
NCHI is doing great work, bringing over 300 homes including 163 rental units, 123 lease to purchase homes and 15 homes for sale. They also assisted in turning 14 vacant lots into community gardens.
The groundbreaking for this project took place in November, 2017, but the construction and rehab work really became noticeable this year.
Per Rise STL, who is consulting on this project:
“St. Ferdinand Homes II continues the revitalization of the Ville and Greater Ville neighborhood, replacing 13 derelict buildings and multiple vacant lots with 9 new buildings and 3 rehabbed buildings. Rise is providing consulting assistance to NCHI for the project. The development will consist of 36 new and 7 fully renovated mixed-income apartments and townhomes along with a new street front office space. NCHI is collaborating with the Metropolitan Sewer District to incorporate onsite green infrastructure and rainscaping features as part of MSD’s Project Clear initiative. NCHI has developed 301 rental, lease-purchase, and for sale homes, including 87 homes adjacent to St. Ferdinand Homes II.”
Here’s some of the handsome rehab work and new homes. These photos are several months old now, so I’m sure more progress has been made. Go check it out, this is exactly the kind of good development we need.
Not sure why the setbacks didn’t match the older housing stock, but the area currently has variable setback distances from the sidewalk, so you gotta choose one. I would have preferred the new construction be pushed toward the sidewalk, but I’m nit picking here.
A google streetview image shows just how badly infill is needed and how important the anchor corner buildings are to provide a reminder that you are still in St. Louis.
Image Source: Google Street View
This is a fantastic project.
