ST. LOUIS, MO – October 13, 2026 (STL.News) St. Louis – Housing Bills – St. Louis lawmakers are considering two affordable-housing redevelopment proposals totaling about $34.1 million that could preserve and rehabilitate 128 residential units across three city neighborhoods.
The legislation would support renovations to 36 existing buildings in the Tiffany, St. Louis Place, and Old North neighborhoods, combining private investment, affordable housing tax credits, and proposed property tax incentives.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee is scheduled to consider the proposals on Tuesday, October 13 (today), beginning at 11 a.m.
The measures aim to address affordable housing needs by rehabilitating existing residential properties rather than relying exclusively on new construction.
However, both bills remain in the legislative process. Neither proposal should be considered final approval for construction, financing, or tax incentives.
Two Housing Projects Total $34.1 Million
The two proposals involve different neighborhoods, redevelopment budgets, and apartment configurations.
Board Bill 47, introduced by Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, concerns the Tiffany Scattered Sites II Redevelopment Area.
The proposed project would renovate 21 buildings in the Tiffany neighborhood and provide 60 affordable residential units with configurations ranging from one to three bedrooms.
The estimated redevelopment cost is $15.4 million.
Board Bill 57, introduced by Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, concerns the St. Louis Place and Old North Scattered Sites Redevelopment Area.
The proposal involves renovating 15 buildings with 68 affordable residential units, ranging from one to five bedrooms.
The estimated redevelopment cost is $18.7 million.
Together, the projects would require about $34.1 million in investment across 36 buildings, averaging roughly $266,400 per residential unit.
That calculation reflects total redevelopment costs divided by the proposed number of apartments. It does not represent the expected market value of individual units or the amount of public subsidy per apartment.
Tiffany Neighborhood Could See 60 Renovated Units
The Tiffany proposal focuses on a neighborhood near several major St. Louis institutions, including Saint Louis University and surrounding medical and educational facilities.
Rather than developing an entirely new residential complex, the proposal would rehabilitate existing buildings scattered throughout the neighborhood.
This scattered-site approach allows redevelopment to occur across multiple properties instead of concentrating all investment on a single block.
The proposed apartments would range from one-bedroom to three-bedroom configurations, potentially accommodating individuals, couples, and families with children.
Rehabilitating existing buildings can also preserve established residential streetscapes while addressing aging infrastructure, deteriorating interiors, and deferred maintenance.
The city’s legislative description identifies the project as the Tiffany Scattered Sites II Redevelopment Area and calls for approval of a redevelopment plan and blighting study under Missouri’s Chapter 99 redevelopment framework.
A blighting designation is a legal component of certain redevelopment proceedings. It can provide a basis for incentives intended to address qualifying property conditions.
Such a designation does not mean that every property or residence in the surrounding neighborhood is deteriorated.
The proposed $15.4 million project would depend on a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and other public and private financing.
St. Louis Place and Old North Target Family Housing
The second proposal would affect St. Louis Place and Old North, two historic neighborhoods north of downtown.
Board Bill 57 proposes rehabilitating 15 existing buildings into 68 affordable residential units.
One notable distinction is the proposed apartment sizes.
The project includes units ranging from one to five bedrooms, offering housing options for larger households that may struggle to find suitable affordable accommodations.
Larger family-sized apartments can be particularly important in neighborhoods where housing choices are limited by the condition of existing buildings, the availability of financing, and the cost of rehabilitation.
The proposed $18.7 million investment would address properties in two neighborhoods that have experienced periods of disinvestment and redevelopment.
Old North has a long history of neighborhood preservation and revitalization efforts, while St. Louis Place contains a mixture of historic residential properties, vacant parcels, and redevelopment opportunities.
Rehabilitating existing buildings could help maintain neighborhood character while returning deteriorating residential properties to productive use.
However, the proposed number of units should not automatically be interpreted as 68 newly created apartments. The legislation describes renovations of existing buildings, and the available legislative summary does not establish how many apartments are currently occupied, vacant, or otherwise unavailable.
That distinction matters when evaluating the project’s eventual effect on the city’s total housing supply.
Proposed Tax Abatements Would Last 15 Years
Both housing bills include a proposed 15-year property tax abatement structure.
Under the plans described in the city’s legislative records, the projects would receive abatements calculated using the assessed value of incremental property improvements.
The proposed structure includes:
- A 90% abatement of the assessed value of incremental improvements for the first 10 years.
- A 50% abatement of the assessed value of incremental improvements for the following five years.
The abatements would not necessarily eliminate all property taxes associated with the affected properties.
Instead, the proposed incentives would reduce taxation on qualifying improvements under the terms ultimately approved.
Property tax abatements are frequently used in redevelopment projects where rehabilitation costs and projected rental revenue may make conventional financing difficult.
For affordable housing projects, that financial challenge can be significant because rent restrictions may limit the income available to repay construction loans and cover operating expenses.
Supporters of redevelopment incentives generally argue that reducing initial property tax expenses can help make otherwise financially difficult projects feasible.
The public finance question is whether the resulting rehabilitation, housing preservation, and neighborhood improvements justify the temporary reduction in tax revenue.
The summarized redevelopment costs alone do not establish the exact fiscal impact of these two proposals.
A complete assessment would require the current assessed values, projected post-renovation assessments, applicable tax rates, and other financial assumptions.
How Affordable Housing Tax Credits Work
The proposed projects also anticipate using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, commonly known as LIHTC.
The federal program is a principal financing mechanism for affordable rental housing development and preservation in the United States.
Developers receiving qualifying tax credit allocations can generally use those credits to attract equity investment from investors seeking federal tax benefits.
That investment helps reduce the conventional debt needed to finance a development.
In exchange, qualifying developments must meet income eligibility, rent restrictions, and other program requirements.
For rehabilitation projects, tax credit financing can be particularly useful when buildings require extensive repairs but the anticipated rents cannot support the full cost of construction.
The St. Louis proposals contemplate combining tax credits with additional public and private financing.
However, the legislative summaries do not establish that all financing has been secured or that the projects have received every approval necessary to proceed.
The committee would need to confirm the specific income limits, monthly rents, tenant eligibility requirements, and affordability periods through the applicable financing and regulatory documents.
Third Bill Addresses Additional Redevelopment Sites
The committee is also scheduled to consider Board Bill 70, introduced by Alderman Michael Browning.
Unlike the two proposals identifying 128 affordable apartments, Board Bill 70 concerns a redevelopment area involving properties at 1070-1092 South Kingshighway Boulevard, 4575 Oakland Avenue and 4580 Chouteau Avenue.
The legislation seeks approval of a Chapter 99 redevelopment plan and site study.
According to the city’s legislative summary, the measure would permit tax abatements of up to 10 years at 90% for qualifying market-rate projects and up to 15 years for projects using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
The proposed legislation also specifies that the bill would not authorize eminent domain within the redevelopment area.
This distinction matters because redevelopment legislation can include several legal powers, including property acquisition, financial incentives, and land-use approvals.
Board Bill 70 does not establish a specific number of additional affordable housing units in its published summary.
Therefore, its potential housing contribution should not be added to the 128 apartments identified in the Tiffany and St. Louis Place/Old North proposals.
Why Rehabilitation Matters for St. Louis
St. Louis faces a complicated housing challenge involving the condition of its existing building stock, affordability, neighborhood disinvestment, and uneven redevelopment activity.
Some neighborhoods contain aging residential buildings that require substantial investment to remain habitable or return to productive use.
Other areas have seen stronger development activity, raising concerns about rising housing costs and the availability of affordable rental properties.
Rehabilitation programs can address part of this challenge by preserving existing buildings.
Compared with building entirely new developments, rehabilitation may let developers retain established neighborhood architecture and use existing streets, utilities, and surrounding infrastructure.
However, rehabilitation is not automatically less expensive than new construction.
Older buildings may contain outdated electrical systems, deteriorating plumbing, structural problems, environmental hazards, or other conditions that increase renovation expenses.
These uncertainties help explain why affordable housing rehabilitation projects sometimes require complicated financing arrangements.
For St. Louis, the larger policy question involves balancing neighborhood reinvestment with the financial costs of redevelopment incentives.
The proposed $34.1 million investment represents a substantial commitment to the affected properties, but the eventual benefits will depend on successful financing, completed renovations, long-term maintenance, and compliance with affordability requirements.
What Residents and Taxpayers Should Watch
Several questions remain important as the legislation moves through the Board of Aldermen.
One is whether the apartments are actually affordable.
A development described as affordable housing may serve households at different income levels depending on the tax credit program, financing agreements, and applicable restrictions.
Another consideration is whether existing residents would need to relocate during rehabilitation and, if so, what protections or assistance would be available.
The publicly summarized legislation does not provide enough information to determine whether temporary or permanent displacement would occur.
Residents may also want to know which properties are included, the anticipated construction schedule, and how the developers intend to maintain the renovated buildings over time.
For taxpayers, the financial structure deserves attention.
The proposed 15-year abatements could support redevelopment by reducing future tax obligations on qualifying improvements. At the same time, those incentives would affect the amount of property tax revenue collected during the abatement period.
The ultimate financial impact depends on property-specific assessments and the final terms of the approved redevelopment plans.
Committee Review Is the Next Step
The Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee is responsible for reviewing legislation involving housing, redevelopment, zoning, and related neighborhood development issues.
Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard chairs the committee, with Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier serving as vice chair.
The October 13 agenda includes Board Bills 47, 57 and 70, along with opportunities for public comment.
Following committee consideration, legislation may advance for additional action by the full Board of Aldermen.
Committee consideration alone does not make a bill law.
The city’s legislative records reviewed for this report list Board Bills 47, 57, and 70 as assigned to committee, with no final passage established.
The outcome of the scheduled October 13 hearing had not been confirmed at the time of this report.
Affordable Housing Decisions Could Shape Neighborhoods
The proposed developments show how St. Louis is using existing housing stock, federal financing programs, and local tax incentives to address neighborhood housing needs.
If the projects move forward as proposed, 36 residential buildings could receive major renovations, with 128 apartments designated for affordable housing across Tiffany, St. Louis Place and Old North.
The combined investment would total about $34.1 million, excluding any additional redevelopment that Board Bill 70 might eventually produce.
The proposals also raise broader questions about the cost of preserving affordable housing, the appropriate use of public incentives, and how the city measures the long-term results of redevelopment programs.
For residents of the affected neighborhoods, the most immediate considerations are the condition of the buildings, the affordability of the renovated apartments and the effect of redevelopment on surrounding properties.
For city officials, the challenge is determining whether the proposed financing arrangements provide sufficient public benefits to justify the incentives.
The next stage of legislative review will help determine whether these projects move closer to implementation.
Until the required approvals and financing arrangements are completed, the $34.1 million investment and 128 affordable units remain proposed redevelopment plans rather than finished housing improvements.
Read St. Louis Local News at STL.News
