Over the course of a year beginning in June 2008, a 'mysterious holding company' named Urban Assets bought 240 parcels across a five-mile swath of the north side of St. Louis. Since then, it's just let them decay.
"Rotting vacant buildings and scofflaw speculators are nothing new on the city’s north side, where decades of population loss have left some blocks more than half-empty and thousands of once-grand brick homes to rot," observes Tim Logan. "But city officials and neighborhood activists say they’ve never seen anything like Urban Assets, which bought up property in a flurry in 2008 and 2009, made no improvements and left tax bills unpaid and court summonses unanswered. Now this summer, their properties have started to hit the auction block for the unpaid taxes, but buyers are few, and most appear bound for the city’s already-swollen bank of property no one wants."
"The whole situation highlights the struggle the city faces in maintaining its valuable, but too-often-vacant, century-old red-brick building stock, and of pushing owners to take care of their property without pushing so hard they walk away."
FULL STORY: Mysterious firm bought more than 240 city properties, then did nothing
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The Dark Side of the Rust Belt Revival
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Legal and community groups in St. Louis align to curb ill-effects of the city's many vacant properties.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
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Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service