ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- More details on Mayor Tishuara Jones' plan to invest $150 million of federal relief dollars on the city's northside.
St. Louis Development Corporation Director Neal Richardson says the goal is to boost neglected neighborhoods.
The idea: put one foot in front of the other.
"You can't provide someone with a job without providing them with quality housing," Richardson says. "You can't begin to revitalize commercial corridors without having the necessary residents in those neighborhoods to have access to quality jobs that create a disposable income for them to frequent those businesses."
Workforce development, then, is a big focus; training people for the jobs available in the area today. Richardson tells KMOX News one example is Gateway Global, a geospatial and information technology training campus coming to the northside near NGA's headquarters.
"The great thing about this is we leverage and strengthen the partnerships that are on the ground. Gateway Global is a prime example of how we're partnering with Black-led organizations that are promoting opportunities for our youth to have access into the geospatial industry," he says.
Part of the plan involves stemming population loss by helping low-income residents keep their homes in good condition with repair assistance and by helping seniors not fall behind on property taxes.
Vacant land would be cleared and cleaned, made ready for something new.
Richardson says city-owned, or LRA, properties would see "deconstruction and enviornmental remediation, so when a developer or homeowner is seeking to come into that neighborhood to build an infill house, the property is already remediated and they have a clean site."
Alderpersons and members of the city's finance board, or E&A, will have to sign off on the spending proposed in the "Roadmap to Economic Justice."