Building a Sustainable Neighborhood, 1999-2002

Building a Sustainable Neighborhood, 1999-2002

Through the use of strategic community planning, urban design, community organizing and adult education, EPDC has an impressive record of accomplishment. Since 1999, the Emerson Park community has experienced many positive changes with the help of the Emerson Park Development Corporation. But to keep things in perspective, Ella Rush points out that “we’ve come a long way, and this did not happen over a year or two.” The more recent successes are the fruits of planting a solid foundation for these projects to rest upon, which has taken over fifteen years of hard work. Some of the more recent accomplishments include an expansion the EPDC staff, regional recognition, and development of a sustainable neighborhood revitalization plan. EPDC also continues to envision the future with resident and community empowerment as a centerpiece.

Incubator: A New Community Building

In 1999, the EPDC began leasing a former Small Business Incubator and the former Vanilla Company from Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House for the purpose of creating office space for several community organizations. EPDC moved their operation from the basement library in the Neighborhood House to a building just outside the Emerson Park neighborhood, what residents refer to as the “incubator.” In 2000, EPDC added five YouthBuild instructors, and move enabled them to work more effectively.

In six years, the EPDC budget jumped from $35,000 in 1995 to $1.3 million in 2000. EPDC has nine paid staff members whose work ranges from community organizing and housing assistance to counseling and general office duties. More specifically, EPDC has a full-time executive director, office manager, five YouthBuild instructors, one GED staff person and one community organizer. The GED staff’s salary is paid for by South Western Illinois College and the community organizer’s by Sustainable Neighborhoods Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance. In addition, the board of directors was expanded from four to thirteen members in March 2000.

Today, the incubator is used to run the day-to-day operation of EPDC and serves as a community center for local residents. In addition to space for EPDC offices, there is a computer laboratory, a dance studio, an after-school activity center, the Carpentry Pre-Apprenticeship Program and classrooms for the YouthBuild program. Eventually, EPDC would like to see a new youth and family development center in the Emerson Park neighborhood.

Second Neighborhood Revitalization Plan

In 1999, the EPDC board decided it was time to create another neighborhood plan because the one drawn up in 1990 had become out of date. The plan was based on input from community meetings and the data from surveys and interviews carried out in the neighborhood. UIUC students conducted a neighborhood physical assessment survey of land-use and infrastructure as well as interviewed over one hundred residents and thirty community and business leaders. Between September and December of 1998, residents worked to develop the neighborhood plan. Cathy Klump, a former planning student at the University of Illinois, helped finalize the written document as part of her Master’s Project.[1]

As part of developing the new plan, Emerson Park residents participated in a “Cognitive Mapping Exercise” with the assistance of planning and design students from the university. The residents identified the most important features of the neighborhood using photographs and color markers on large maps. The cognitive mapping exercise was the first step in the SWOT analysis -- a technique used to identify neighborhood strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

The top ten neighborhood strengths included the following: 1) location and access to jobs and services, 2) strong sense of community, 3) improved services, 4) availability of neighborhood-based social services, 5) presence of numerous religious institutions, 6) new housing investment, 7) reasonably priced and publicly controlled land for redevelopment, 8) presence of neighborhood-oriented businesses, 9) availability of buildings for rehabilitation and 10) the presence of an effective community development corporation (EPDC). The top ten neighborhood weaknesses included: 1) population loss, 2) extensive housing deterioration, 3) weak municipal housing demolition program, 4) drug related crime and prostitution, 5) lack of municipal investment in street and infrastructure maintenance and repair, 6) lack of living-wage jobs, 7) limited neighborhood-based retail, 8) lack of animal control, 9) lack of activities for children of all ages and seniors and 10) high-priced utilities.

The rationale behind the new plan included updating Emerson Park’s goals to reflect changes in the neighborhood such as the MetroLink station and Parsons Place, as well as developing a strategy for implementation of those goals. The finished plan contains six target area objectives and several strategies for achieving Emerson Park’s goals for the future as articulated by the residents. The strategies include focusing on economic development, housing improvement, crime prevention, human services, zoning, land use and municipal infrastructure improvements, and community organizing.

Parsons Place

Emerson Park is growing their first sustainable neighborhood with Parsons Place. In 1999 EPDC finalized a development plan for new housing in Emerson Park with McCormack Baron and Associates, utilizing a tax credit deal to keep the units affordable. The Parsons Place development includes financing approximately $1 to 1.5 million from the Enterprise Community, the Enterprise Zone, the Economic Development Administration, tax increment financing, the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the Danforth Foundation. Sun American Bank and AFL-CIO Investment Trust will carry the first and second mortgages respectively. The development is the first major housing project in East St. Louis in twenty years.

Parsons Place, a $21 million development of town homes and apartments, includes a mix of market-rate and low- and moderate-income subsidized units. The project is a 174-unit multi-family rental apartment development, located across the street from the new MetroLink station in Emerson Park. “We are really hoping to change the face of what people see as they drive by the city,” states Ms. Forby. The new development replaced 47 acres of weeds and burned-out houses. Parsons Place now serves as a new neighborhood gateway from I-64. Henry Peete, the current vice president of EPDC, now believes “a lot of people who moved away from Emerson Park want to come back.” Mr. Suttle, Sr. adds, “It’s the die-hard folks like me who were determined to stay here and try to bring the city back to life, because it was truly dying.” Parsons Place may be the catalyst for bringing residents and economic development back to Emerson Park.

The first of three phases was completed in December 2001 and is currently being leased. This housing development was a huge success for the EPDC. It provides safe quality housing options located close to transportation and is a well spring for pride and forward momentum. The new housing will nearly double the neighborhood’s population, adding 800 to 1,000 people.

As a co-general partner of Parsons Place, EPDC recently received approximately $300,000 for their operating expenses. The EPDC board has started to use the community room in the Parsons Place project for their monthly meetings, enabling new residents to more easily be involved in the neighborhood organization.

YouthBuild

The new housing is not the only project contributing to the growth of the sustainable neighborhood; the YouthBuild program is also an important component. YouthBuild is a five-faceted program that provides pre-apprenticeship construction trades training, GED classes, leadership development, counseling and job training to assist high-risk youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Program participants enhance their skills as they construct and/or rehabilitate affordable housing for low- and moderate-income persons.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation awarded EPDC with a $50,000 grant to develop the YouthBuild proposal and in October 1999, HUD awarded EPDC with a $300,000 YouthBuild grant. Many community partners contributed to the program as well. McCormack Baron and Sun American Bank matched the grant with $100,000. St. Clair County and the City of East St. Louis have contributed $150,000 and $60,000 respectively for the YouthBuild students to rehabilitate a three-unit building in Washington Park. In addition, EPDC is working toward the creation of a charter school in East St. Louis with commitments from HUD and the Deaconess (Hospital) Foundation. The school will house the YouthBuild program along with EPDC and Neighborhood House offices.

EPDC is positioning the YouthBuild students to become young ambassadors who can spread the success stories to all parts of the city to further aid in the revitalization of Emerson Park and of East St. Louis. Having won the HUD Best Practice Award in 2000, it is apparent that these students are truly excelling in the program.

Regional Recognition

The positive work of the Emerson Park Development Corporation is not just recognized in Emerson Park, but has recently been recognized throughout the metropolitan area of St. Louis and at the national level. The Danforth Foundation designated the Emerson Park Development Corporation as a Sustainable Neighborhood in 1999 and partnered with them in the development of Parsons Place. EPDC was the only neighborhood given such a distinction on the Illinois side of the St. Louis suburbs. This recognition has helped EPDC to continue to bring new resources into East St. Louis, such as the recent donation of Little Tykes playground equipment that will be installed by YouthBuild students, Emerson Park residents and UIUC students in May of 2002.

EPDC has also been designated as a part of the Greater St. Louis Regional Empowerment Zone. Through this program, EPDC was awarded $1.1 million for infrastructure improvements including streetscape development, building demolition, sewers, water services, street paving and fencing for the Parsons Place development. Focus St. Louis “What’s Right with the Region” recognized EPDC’s commitment to promoting stronger communities in 2000, and at the national level EPDC received a HUD Best Practice Award for YouthBuild in 2000. It is the impressive shop that they run and the mental toughness program of YouthBuild that inspired the recommendation for the award.

With all of these great things happening, it is no wonder that Emerson Park was recently added to the NeighborWorks Network, an organization that provides a variety of programs and activities designed to address the demands of their local neighborhoods. Some of these programs include developing multi-family housing, initiating revolving loan funds for housing rehabilitation, sponsoring youth neighborhood beautification, and developing resident leaders. This is a huge step for the EPDC because they are now a part of a national network that will give them access to sources of information and training.

Future Goals

EPDC has come a long way since its inception in 1985. Today, EPDC finds itself in a position for redevelopment and positive change. In the future EPDC would like to expand employment and business opportunities for the residents of Emerson Park, encourage reinvestment in new housing and construction, reduce the incidence of drugs and crime, and improve the overall quality of life in the neighborhood by empowering residents and responding to the unmet needs of the youth and of all the families in the neighborhood. Specifically, EPDC has outlined the following as their primary goals for the future:

· Expand employment and business opportunities for local residents through training, education and new economic development.

· Encourage reinvestment and expand affordable housing options for renters and owners through rehab and new construction.

· Reduce the incidence of drugs, violent crimes and prostitution, while improving community-police relations.

· Respond to the unmet needs of youth and their families and empower all residents.

· Create a district land use pattern that facilitates growth in housing and retail uses and improves the quality of the local infrastructure.

· Empower and involve more residents in the EPDC and strengthen the sense of pride and community in the area.

The future of this area as a sustainable neighborhood and community is looking bright: Parsons Place will provide quality housing to suit the needs of both long-time and new residents, the MetroLink light rail station will add much needed car counts and people to attract viable businesses and opportunities to further aid in the sustainability of Emerson Park, YouthBuild will further develop leaders both young and old to help revitalize the region, and the NeighborWorks network will increase housing options and conditions in East St. Louis. Ella Rush says she’s excited about the future of Emerson Park. “When you see things that are going on in your neighborhood . . . and you see progress, everyone wants to be a part of it.”

A truly sustainable community is comprised of sustainable neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are areas that are successful in raising caring, responsible and healthy children and adolescents. They also support the diverse makeup of families and care for all individuals, families and elderly persons because they are a part of the neighborhood and community. Mr. Peete adds, “Before I leave I would like to see this city back together . . . Emerson Park will be one of the richest parts of East St. Louis. It will be.” Emerson Park, along with the rest of East St. Louis, hopes new economic growth and prosperity will come soon.

The remaking of Emerson Park is a work in progress and residents feel they are moving toward positive change. Emerson Park’s future looks bright because EPDC holds a winning combination of assets and relationships: integration into a network of local and regional institutions and organizations, access to funding and technical support, ability to leverage the political system and, most importantly, a strong community-based planning process.

[1] In June 1999, Ms. Klump was hired as the director of the Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center, where she provided technical assistance to EPDC. For example, NTAC collaborated with EPDC in proposal writing and assisting with ESLARP outreach weekends. Emerson Park has seen over 2,500 student volunteers since 1990.