Clinton-Peabody entering a new phase of history
by Alvin A. Reid - The St. Louis American
"One of the city’s oldest and most historic public housing developments will soon be reborn and redeveloped into a model community which will include 350 new mixed-income apartments and affordable homes.
Construction is set to begin on the new Clinton-Peabody public housing community after The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) recently awarded nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) $3.5M in tax credits.
It includes a combination of federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and of Missouri Affordable Housing Assistance Program tax credits.
Promised before the change in administration, the federal government has pledged $3 million in funding for the development, which was constructed in 1943 and is showing its age.
The first phase of the Clinton-Peabody Redevelopment is in partnership with St. Louis Housing Authority (SLHA), Clinton-Peabody residents, and the Clinton-Peabody Tenant Advisory Board.
In November 2022, the St. Louis Housing Authority joined with residents and community stakeholders in selection of Chicago-based POAH to lead the resident-centered redevelopment, which will also feature a reconfigured street grid, renovated Al Chappelle Community Center and new central park.
Importantly, this is not a gentrification project, according to stakeholders.
Current Clinton-Peabody residents will have the opportunity for new housing in the redeveloped community. Temporary onsite transfers of residents began in 2023, as preparation for the redevelopment began.
“After 56 years living at Clinton-Peabody, it’s more than a home to me,” said Pamela Emrick, a Clinton-Peabody resident and Clinton-Peabody Tenant Advisory Board president.
“To others it may just be public housing, but it’s more than that, because we all became a family..”