SLDC Begins Recruiting Mortgage Lenders for Homebuyer Assistance Program, Introduces Two Loan Products for Businesses on 314 Day
St. Louis, MO (March 14, 2024) — In celebration of 314 Day, today St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) hosted an event with elected officials and community leaders to share updates on the Economic Justice Accelerator, which it launched on 314 Day in 2023. The Accelerator is designed to leverage public funding, private equity and philanthropic investment to sustain the Economic Justice Action Plan through and beyond 2026.
“It is a great day to celebrate community connections and collaborations that activate Economic Justice by opening the call for lenders to participate in bringing the dream of homeownership closer for St. Louis families through HomeSTL and introducing two new loans to help small businesses and non-profits ScaleUp and minority- and women-owned contractors and suppliers Mobilize,” said SLDC’s President & CEO, Neal Richardson.
To accelerate Economic Justice, SLDC is activating additional programs to transform economic development in the City of St. Louis. Today SLDC introduced three new products aimed at closing the wealth gap through homeownership and access to low-cost capital:
To make homeownership affordable for credit qualified first time homebuyers at or below 80% AMI purchasing a home in the City of St. Louis, in partnership with Stifel, SLDC has created a Homebuyer Assistance Program: HomeSTL. Today, SLDC announced it is seeking mortgage lenders to participate in the program. Interested lenders must apply and are encouraged to attend an Informational Webinar at 9:30 a.m. on March 28.
Register in advance for this webinar: https://stifel.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1EVVlBY8QBCfZNZqcdSd1Q
In preparation for the launch of HomeSTL, during the first quarter of 2024, SLDC has partnered with the Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and the Neighborhood Stabilization Division (NSD) to host homebuyer readiness education sessions. The sessions provided an overview of HomeSTL and focused on preparing future homeowners for a successful journey that is rooted in education, informed choices and sustainable homeownership practices.
HomeSTL Homebuyer Engagement
At today’s 314 Day event, SLDC’s SVP of Strategic Growth, Lance Knuckles, shared early details about SLDC’s planned collaboration with the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation, which raises funds to invest in solutions that drive equitable outcomes for all St. Louis Public School students, while recognizing and promoting excellence in the city’s public schools.
“To provide families with school-aged children in St. Louis greater access to information and understanding of the HomeSTL program and process, SLDC is excited to be collaborating with the Foundation to host more community information sessions about the HomeSTL Homebuyer Assistance Program,” Knuckles said.
The HomeSTL sessions will be co-hosted across the City. Dates, times and locations will be shared in the coming weeks.
ScaleUpSTL Business Growth Loans
To meet capacity building and cash flow needs of small businesses and non-profits, SLDC has invested $2.5 million to create a new loan that supports this growth and expansion: ScaleUpSTL. We have partnered with St. Louis Community Credit Union (SLCCU), in collaboration with the Small Business Empowerment Center (SBEC), to fund qualified entities operating within the City of St. Louis, with special emphasis on financing for qualified entities located in and/or serving the Southeast and Northern half of the City.
MobilizeSTL Contractor & Supplier Loans
To provide short-term loans to small construction contractors and suppliers serving as vendors to a major employer or on a construction project, SLDC has invested $2.5 million to create a new loan: MobilizeSTL. In partnership with Rise CDFI, MobilizeSTL will offer bridge loans to help improve cash flow while contractors/suppliers navigate the 30-60-90-day or more pay process and overcome other funding delays that come with participation in major projects.
Businesses and non-profits are invited to complete an interest questionnaire to begin the process of exploring their eligibility for ScaleUpSTL and MobilizeSTL when the loan applications become available.
Campus for Economic Mobility on MLK
SLDC’s 314 Day celebration was held at what is envisioned to become a Campus for Economic Mobility on MLK, a 150,000-square-foot industrial building on 15.39 acres acquired by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of the City of St. Louis (LCRA) — a development board staffed by SLDC — in October 2023. Richardson shared the vision for the facility as a beacon of change for North St. Louis, which once redeveloped will transform into an innovative transit-accessible workforce and training campus for manufacturing and other high-paying, in-demand careers.
Additional Program Updates
Since 2022, SLDC has obligated $109 million of ARPA funds in its stewardship to stand up 14 new products. Progress on a few of these programs were also highlighted, including:
North St. Louis Small Business & Non-Profit Grant Program
SLDC received an overwhelming 715 applications for the $37 million North St. Louis Small Business & Non-Profit Grant Program with requests of over $480 million. Since the October 30, 2023 deadline SLDC has been reviewing applications for completeness and geographic eligibility, releasing a detailed timeline of the grant program and process for evaluating applications in January 2024. As of March 8, SLDC has determined only 481 applicants are eligible for funding.
On February 15, SLDC’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to award grants to geographically eligible businesses and non-profits that submitted a complete application on time and who have completed capacity building activities offered through the program. SLDC is offering $2,500 for each business or non-profit that completes the Technical Assistance Academy and $2,500 for completing their business financial assessment, for a total of $5,000. We anticipate funding close to 600 applicants with these Capacity Building Grants, Grant agreements for the first round 50 Capacity Building Grants totaling nearly $200,000 will hit applicants’ inboxes today.
Beginning on March 6, SLDC began hosting in-person sessions with all applicants, offering one-on-one business document review, program/application status updates and next steps based upon where each applicant is in the process.
The 1:1 review sessions will continue through April 5, 2024. During these sessions, SLDC is working with eligible applicants to determine if they qualify to pursue additional grants beyond the $5,000 for capacity building. Additional grant options include:
Applicants opting into one of the competitive grant programs for Expansion and Community Enhancement/Facade must submit all documents by April 15, 2024.
These programs are funded wholly or in part with Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) passed through the City of St. Louis Community Development Administration (CDA).
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