A Nabe Changes

A torrid market for City real estate and changing demographics pose a challenge for some current residents: staying in the old neighborhood after you’ve out-grown your current home can be tough.

Here’s one solution:

Vatterott, Rowles Homes, and Greater Missouri Builders are moving forward with their plans to develop the ex-SLPS nursery site in Ald. Fred Heitert’s 12th Ward into 125 new single-family homes, townhouses, and condominiums. These plans, which include a significant number of homes, are a big improvement over the development plan originally proposed by Lawless Homes, which emphasized condos, rather than single-families.

The new homes, two blocks from Carondelet Park, will provide opportunities for growing families to remain in this attractive neighborhood, while the senior condos with underground parking will provide opportunities for empty nesters to remain in their beloved Immaculate Heart of Mary parish without the burdens of snow shoveling, grass cutting and gutter cleaning.

Meanwhile, the City’s development staff continues to schedule meetings with groups of prospective applicants for the Healthy Home Repair Program. The program offers a mix of grants and loans for home maintenance and essential repairs to residents willing to invest time in learning home ownership skills and financial management. In addition to emphasizing remediation of housing maintenance code violations, the program also teaches residents about the importance of making existing homes lead safe.