St. Louis moved more than 120 tornado-damaged properties into its demolition pipeline using $10 million in state funding from Senate Bill 1, the city announced Monday. Thirty-six demolitions are underway or completed, with the remainder expected in coming months. The state legislation, enacted in late 2025, allocated $100 million for tornado relief and created a funding pathway for structures that fall outside federal disaster relief programs. The May 16, 2025 tornado damaged or destroyed over 5,000 structures and caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damages.
Federal Emergency Management Agency programs exclude properties that were vacant or condemned before the tornado, as well as commercial properties and those owned by LLCs. Roughly three-quarters of the 120 properties in the state-funded pilot were already vacant and condemned before the storm. About half of the demolitions are involuntary condemnations. Mayor Cara Spencer’s administration unsuccessfully pushed the federal government to expand eligibility, and the city said without the state pilot program, such properties would remain significantly damaged…