City of St. Louis Targets 11 North City Neighborhoods for Neighborhood Planning

As part of the City of St. Louis’s continued efforts to spur growth, reverse population decline, and help St. Louisans thrive, the City is seeking to bring in one or more experienced planning consultant firms to help communities develop plans to enhance quality of life and services for 11 North St. Louis neighborhoods. 

The neighborhoods that will be part of this specific project are College Hill, Fairground Neighborhood, Hamilton Heights, Kingsway West, O’Fallon, Penrose, Wells-Goodfellow, Academy, Fountain Park, Lewis Place, and Mark Twain I-70 Industrial.

“Like so many areas in St. Louis, these neighborhoods have a lot of history and active residents who have created unique communities,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “But there are also real challenges, like an aging housing stock and lack of services, caused by decades of disinvestment. Creating these neighborhood plans is a foundational step to ensure that all of our neighborhoods in St. Louis can succeed and that your zip code doesn’t determine your opportunity.”

Community members will encouraged to collaborate with City staff and consultants to develop neighborhood plans built on the needs and efforts of residents. The community will take part in establishing short- and long-term goals around housing, economic development, safety, youth activities, transportation, community assets, sustainability, and urban design.

Both the community and contractors involved in these projects will have the exciting opportunity to shape a combined 140 acres of land in the Mark Twain I-70 Industrial neighborhood, which is extremely well-situated for retail and other commercial uses. Included in that is the 47-acre Army Reserve Center site, which may have potential for future residential use. 

Among the key deliverables for contracted firms will be community-wide engagement, analyses of existing conditions, implementation matrices, final plans, and conceptual drawings. Plans should be ready for adoption by late 2026.

“These neighborhood plans will help to proactively guide development that benefits all of our residents and community members,” said Don Roe, executive director of the City’s Planning & Urban Design Agency. 

This effort is part of the Planning and Urban Design Agency’s Neighborhood Planning Program, PlanSTL, to create and adopt neighborhood plans for all 79 neighborhoods as supplements to the Comprehensive Plan. Planning efforts are underway in 14 neighborhoods, including The Ville, Greater Ville, Kingsway East, Mark Twain, Walnut Park West, Walnut Park East, Baden, North Pointe, JeffVanderLou, St. Louis Place, Old North St. Louis, Hyde Park, Carr Square and Columbus Square. This work is funded in part through the Economic Development Sales Tax passed by voters in the city in 2017. 

The request for proposals opened on Feb. 10 and will close on March 12. Those interested in attending an optional pre-submittal Zoom meeting at 3 p.m. on Feb. 20 can register here. More information, along with the full RFP, is available here.

To learn more about PlanSTL and the current planning work across the City, visit hub.planstl.com.