When Nicholas Armstrong walks his block in Dutchtown, he sees signs of progress alongside reminders of how much work remains. After two years in the south St. Louis neighborhood, he’s watched long-neglected properties shape daily life — and seen how community-led efforts are beginning to shift that trajectory.
“Vacancy and blight affect everyone,” he said. “They pose health and safety risks, drive down property values, and take away what makes our neighborhood feel like a safe place to call home.”
Dutchtown is one of the St. Louis neighborhoods expected to benefit from a $250,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation to Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s Neighborhood Advocacy program. The initiative provides legal representation to neighborhood groups seeking to reclaim vacant or deteriorating properties — an urgent need in a city with nearly 9,000 vacant buildings, many concentrated in historically disinvested areas.
A neighborhood tool for tackling vacancy
Since its launch in 2018, Neighborhood Advocacy has partnered with more than three dozen neighborhood associations and local developers. The program has helped spur rehabilitation of 727 vacant housing units and supported more than $10 million in private investment…