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Smart Growth

Old North St. Louis: Sustainably Developing a Historic District

Rendering of Old North St. Louis redevelopment conceptThis rendering shows how a new, activated community gathering space could enhance the identity of the Old North St. Louis neighborhood and strengthen connections to downtown by transforming its southern edge into a gateway.Old North St. Louis is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, less than 1 mile north of downtown. Beginning in the 1950s, this once-thriving neighborhood experienced decades of disinvestment and abandonment, resulting in a landscape of both vacant and occupied buildings interspersed among vacant lots. With the neighborhood's ideal location and abundance of potential, the city of St. Louis asked EPA for technical assistance to develop a vision for the neighborhood that would guide new growth and development in a manner that protects, preserves, and rehabilitates its historic character while incorporating environmentally sustainable features that enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors.

Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, the neighborhood's nonprofit revitalization organization, hosted a three-day workshop that engaged residents, stakeholders, city officials, business owners, and community members to refine goals and explore options for redevelopment. This report documents the outcome of that process and provides a comprehensive vision for sustainably redeveloping Old North St. Louis.

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