“If not us, who?” This is a question we frequently ask ourselves when looking at potential redevelopment opportunities. One goal is to strengthen markets to a point when outside developers are incentivized to make investments in renovating properties. However, in some cases and in already strong markets, we take on long vacant properties with complicated pasts and uncertain futures. We understand what it means to live next to or on a block with a blighted property where grass is tall, break-ins are common, and the nuisance is real. 4063 Potomac Ave sat vacant and boarded up on a quiet Tower Grove South neighborhood street for over a decade. The home went to tax sale multiple times, each time the buyer walked away from the property due to a tangled web of title issues due to a bankruptcy and unengaged mortgage holder. TGCDC identified the problem property and contacted Legal Services of Eastern Mo (LSEM). We filed a lawsuit in City court and obtained the right to make improvements to the property to address years of building code violations. Once we completed the exterior repairs, and additional court proceedings were held, TGCDC was given title to the property to complete the full renovation. The property was recently finished and sold to new homeowners. Without TGCDC’s intervention and our partnership with LSEM, 4063 Potomac would continue as a neighborhood nuisance and eventually lost. Now we have a tax generating, renovated home and new stakeholders in our community.
