Nation's Cities - May 16, 2011

8 NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
May 16, 2011

CDBG, from page 1
result, buildings and homes throughout
the area deteriorated and a number of
residents fled.
In 1981, a collective of actively
engaged residents, small business owners
and other key stakeholders formed a non-
profit, community development organi-
zation known as the Old North St. Louis
Restoration Group (ONSL). Initially,
members of this grassroots venture direct-
ed their attention toward restoring each
other’s homes.
The effort was so successful that in the
1990s the group received funding from
the city to hire a staff and plot a develop-
ment strategy for the entire neighbor-
hood.
Since that time, the group has made
remarkable progress restoring and repop-
ulating the community, which has expe-
rienced a 28 percent population increase
over the past 10 years.
According to Sean Thomas, ONSL’s
executive director, the organization’s
efforts represent a multi-pronged
approach fulfilling residents’ desires for
“a viable, sustainable, walkable, bikeable,
transit-friendly community to raise their
families and enjoy a high quality of life.”
He further explained, “We tackle a
variety of issues that demonstrate what is
possible in urban neighborhoods. This is
a pilot that could potentially be adapted
According to Sean Thomas, ONSL’s executive
director, the organization’s efforts represent a
multi-pronged approach fulfilling residents’ desires
for “a viable, sustainable, walkable, bikeable, tran-
sit-friendly community to raise their families and
enjoy a high quality of life.”
by other communities to offer better liv-
ing standards for all.”
Thomas said that the Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG)
program helped stimulate the neighbor-
hood’s revival and stabilize its growth
during a difficult economy.
“The community had bottomed out.
There were vacant buildings and homes
throughout the area. It took a lot of work,
but we slowly began to build new hous-
ing and rehab buildings. Now, people are
moving to areas where no one was living
10 years ago. We built it and they came,
literally,” he recalled. “We have greatly
appreciated access to the federal block
grant, which we’ve matched with a num-
ber of other resources.”
Working closely with their district’s
alderman April Ford-Griffin, the city’s
community development organization,
numerous other city agencies, and a non-
profit known as the Regional Housing
and Community Development Alliance,
ONSL has leveraged CDBG dollars with
state and federal sources and private loans
to finance a $35 million development
project. This series of renovation efforts
to improve Old North St. Louis have
included establishing a grocery co-op, a
farmer’s market and a community-wide
garden.

iConnect
Member-get-a-Member Campaign
GET NEW MEMBERS – GET GREAT REWARDS
NLC is rewarding our members for recruiting new members through our iConnect
Member-Get-a-Member campaign. The more you recruit between now and September
30, 2011, the greater the rewards! Members fill out the “referred by” portion of
the application and give it to the prospective new member(s) to complete – it’s that
simple. Winners will be announced at the 2011 Congress of Cities and Exposition in
Phoenix, AZ November 8-12.