Clay, Page, Griffin Announce Redevelopment Agreement to Save Affordable Housing in Wellston, Missouri

Clay, Page, Griffin Announce Redevelopment Agreement to Save Affordable Housing in Wellston, Missouri

Over 200 units and 25% of the Population of Historic Black Suburb in St. Louis County Saved from Removal

ST. LOUIS, MO – Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page, Wellston Mayor Nate Griffin and local officials announced today that a master development agreement has been signed to renovate and redevelop over 200 affordable housing units in the City of Wellston that had previous been slated for demolition.

Congressman Clay, who worked closely with Senator Roy Blunt, and HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson to save the affordable housing units said that this agreement represents a new beginning for Wellston, MO, a historic Black community located just outside the limits of the City of St. Louis.

In remarks at today’s press event, Congressman Clay said in part:

“Today’s victory for these tenants, and for this historic community, is the result of a bipartisan effort over the last two years that refused to let Wellston die.

The people who live in this neighborhood are hard-working citizens who not only deserve safe and affordable housing;

They deserve the same services and amenities that anyone else would expect in a stable neighborhood…

I’m talking about shopping, transportation, accessible community healthcare and a job that they can support a family with.

Those are the things I have always fought for and will continue to advocate for in the future.

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The most important thing that I want you to understand is that problems of inner-city development aren’t caused by the people who live here.

They’re caused by a fundamental failure of policy and development planning that wrote off predominantly Black neighborhoods as not worthy of investment and economic infusions of services and jobs.

That was federal policy for decades, and the vestiges of that discrimination live on today.

Which is why I have fought so hard against redlining in mortgages, appraisals, insurance and deliberate discrimination by some urban planners.

And that battle is far from over.

Today’s victory for Wellston affirms my vision that great developers want to work in Black communities.

And that enlightened local leaders are ready to work with them to make transformative change a reality.

The $30 million redevelopment agreement includes a provision that will create a new nonprofit that will eventually own all the renovated units.  It is a remarkable step forward for the good people in Wellston and could not have been achieved without close, bipartisan cooperation to fight to save affordable housing.

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