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St. Louis Board of Aldermen approves redevelopment plans for a Negro Leagues museum

A Black man in a blue suit stands in front of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City.
Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, stands in front of the organization's flagship museum in Kansas City. The organization is attempting to create a satellite museum in north St. Louis.

Development of a St. Louis Negro Leagues baseball museum in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood of St. Louis took a big step forward on Friday.

The Board of Aldermen approved a redevelopment plan and blighting study for the $17.6 million project that includes the construction of 34 senior housing units and retail development.

In a September aldermanic committee meeting, developer Guyton Harvey said the project would be a boon for the community.

鈥淚t should be a catalyst for a lot of constructive development in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood,鈥 Harvey said at a Housing, Urban Development and Zoning hearing. 鈥淎side from construction jobs, it will have some permanent jobs that will definitely contribute to the fabric of the community.鈥

Board members voted 13-0 for the plan. The first phase of the development focuses on the museum, which will be located at the former United Railways substation on North Spring Avenue and will be a satellite location of the Kansas City Negro Leagues museum.

The southern fa莽ade of 2423 North Spring Avenue in north St. Louis.
St. Louis Development Corporation
The southern fa莽ade of 2423 N. Spring Ave. in north St. Louis. The property could soon be home to a Negro Leagues Baseball Museum expansion.

The plan includes up to 15 years of tax abatement and makes use of a property that was once a Land Reutilization Authority building and has been designated as a historic landmark that qualified for historic tax credits.

鈥淪t Louis is my home, and I love the city, and I love north St Louis, that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 from,鈥 Guyton said in September. 鈥淥ne of my objectives is to, you know, provide, you know, some type of substantive opportunities.鈥

Phase two focuses on developing the senior housing units.

The bill is the latest in a series of city efforts to rebuild north St. Louis. It comes months after Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a bill allowing redevelopment plans and blighting studies across Jeff-Vander-Lou, St. Louis Place and Carr Square neighborhoods. The ordinance allows the city to utilize eminent domain and compel owners to sell private property with the goal of improving neighborhoods.

Alderwoman Laura Keyes, who sponsored the bill to approve the project, has said the project could help revitalize the area.

鈥淲hen my family moved to that part of the 11th Ward, every good and service that you needed you could walk to,鈥 Keys said in September. 鈥淥ver the years, to watch the steady decline and disinvestment, and now we鈥檙e at a point where we can begin to see some light coming through the cracks and I am very, very excited.鈥

Chad is a general assignment reporter at 漏 2024 外网天堂.