Can community nonprofit Invest STL help Black residents in St. Louis’s West End and Visitation Park neighborhoods build enough wealth to stave off the forces of gentrification? One census tract in the neighborhoods shows a 396% increase in white residents since 2010. Meanwhile, in two other census tracts, the population of Black residents has decreased by 30%. A spike in investor-owned properties is also underway.
Invest STL was established in 2022 with the goal of being out of operation by 2042. The nonprofit organization invests in St. Louis neighborhoods like the West End and Visitation Park to help build community longevity and combat displacement.
Episode two shares the testimony of Scott Shelton, who has spent nearly his entire life in St. Louis. He describes his childhood experiences of gentrification, the current shape of his neighborhood and how he hopes Rooted can help maintain his community.
This project is a collaboration between KBIA and DETOUR Magazine. Music for New Neighbors is by Luvxrei.
Ron Stodghill: Hey, I’m Ron Stodghill, founder of DETOUR, a travel magazine that tells stories at the intersection of race and place.
This week on New Neighbors, lifelong St. Louisian Scott Shelton will be sharing his story with producer Kiana Fernandes. As he grew up, Shelton says many of his friends ended up leaving their original neighborhood because of gentrification. His family, too, eventually left their original home on Waterman Boulevard.
Scott Shelton: I think our house appreciated about – almost 400%. So, they decided to sell, take the money. So, I wasn’t happy with that. Because I wanted the house, you know, hey, I’m next in line to get the house.
Kiana Fernandes: At the Waterman house, Shelton was within biking distance of his grandparents and uncle. He says his parents got him into sports at the age of six, and that was how he stayed connected with the friends that moved away. He says the increased tax base in that neighborhood was what pushed his friends’ families out.
Shelton experienced that price hike himself after college.
Scott Shelton: Back then O’Fallon Park, it’s the place to be. So, I moved to O’Fallon Place Apartments in my early 20s. It was nice but quickly changed and after my first year of living there, they told me that my rent was going up. I didn’t like that. I said, “I’m gonna do this every year, this is not beneficial. So, I need to invest in a home.”
Kiana Fernandes: Shelton has now lived in the same home for 25 years. He’s renovated the house to get it in better condition and says he’s seen an uptick in that same kind of property and community care within his neighborhood.
Scott Shelton: I’ve seen a lot of neighbors, I guess, taking pride in their property. Taking care of the property, the upkeep. There are – I guess we went through a stage where everyone was doing it and then it kind of went down. We started seeing vacant properties and then it started coming back.
Kiana Fernandes: Shelton says there has also been an increase in community political involvement. He says he sees the community getting its voice heard, and has seen more people helping each other out. But, it doesn’t feel quite like the sense of community he remembers from his childhood.
Scott Shelton: Here it’s not as prevalent because a lot of the neighbors have moved. We still have some, and it’s still prevalent amongst the ones that are still here. Sometimes some of the new neighbors are kind of off to themselves, so we welcome them to get to know us.
Kiana Fernandes: One day, while Shelton was doing yard work, he received a phone call from the someone involved with the Rooted project. He says he took the caller up on the offer to take part in a survey.
Scott Shelton: I think it’s very beneficial. Because I was visiting Atlanta. They had something very similar where elder members of the neighborhood had a difficult time maintaining their residence because of the tax base. And I can see that happening here. So, they did something similar. I think it’d be – it’s a great idea to do this because we have to respect our elders and take care of our rich history. To pass them and displace them in their home, it’s not a good thing. You know, hopefully this program here helps keep a lot of residents in their homes, provides them the opportunity to pass it down.
Ron Stodghill: That was Scott Shelton, a Rooted applicant, discussing gentrification in St. Louis during his childhood and today. Next week, New Neighbors will hear from another Rooted participant, Starlynn Stinson.
New Neighbors interviews were conducted by me, Ron Stodghill, and Alicia Haywood, and recorded by Invest STL’s Michael Pagano. You can find more Rooted episodes at KBIA.org. This episode was produced by Kiana Fernandes. See you next week.
Reporters, Sarah Parisien, Wendell Shepherd, Adam Ryerson, Sophie Carite, Emmaline Luetkemeyer, Kyli Williams, andEmily Boyett contributed to this project.
