Downtown East St. Louis Choice Neighborhood
Finding footholds for family vibrancy and neighborhood connectivity in an economically challenged neighborhood
The East St. Louis Housing Authority and Urban Strategies received a HUD Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant in 2018 for Samuel Gompers Homes and Downtown East St. Louis. UDA is leading the physical components of the Neighborhood and Housing plans, engaging with the residents, and designing the Transformation Plan document. Difficult but necessary conversations about race set the tone for the process, while COVID-19 has deepened needs. A community park, new housing, education partnerships, and a cultural corridor celebrating sacred sites and the arts provide antidotes to vacant buildings and land, limited resources for investment, and drastic inequities. The community is working hard and UDA is working in support of the community partners to bring equitable investment to East St. Louis.