Building a stronger St. Louis, one person at a time
Home Buyer Assistance
Up to $50,000 in first-time home buyer assistance
First-Time Home Buyer Assistance
HomeSTL provides down payment and closing cost assistance. Qualified applicants may receive assistance, a permanent interest rate reduction, prepaids and principal reduction (no cash back to borrower).
Eligibility:
- Must be first time homebuyer (not have owned or co-owned a home in the last three years)
- Household income limit cannot exceed City of St. Louis 80% AMI
- Buyers must meet credit and income qualifications of program
- Complete an approved homebuyer education course
- Must meet lender’s qualifications
- Secure pre-approval with eligible mortgage lender
- Purchase an owner-occupied, single family home within the City of St. Louis
Learn more and apply on St. Louis Development Corporation's (SLDC's) HomeSTL program page.
Small Business Loan Fund
950 Businesses and Counting Get Low-Interest Loans
Small Business Loan Fund
This $2.5 million loan fund provides much-needed working capital to help small businesses and nonprofits grow. The city’s economic development team, St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), is especially looking to help minority, and women-owned businesses, who often struggle to secure traditional bank financing. If you know a business or organization ready to grow, this might just be the help they need.
Eligibility:
- 2 years in business (with corresponding tax returns)
- Owners of more than 20% of the business are U.S. citizens or legal residents
- Not filed for bankruptcy in the last (3) years
- Never defaulted on a government loan
- Can provide Balance and Profit & Loss sheets to detail cash flow
Learn more and apply on St. Louis Development Corporation's (SLDC's) Loans & Grants page.
Healthy Home Repair Program
Healthy Home Repair Program
Does your home need an important repair? Are safety issues worrying you, but the cost is out of reach? Enter the Healthy Home Repair program – your home’s superhero. We will hire the crew to check the issue, bring in the fix-it squad, and guess what? It’s all 100% covered. Let’s turn that worry into a win! We’re building a Stronger Stl one home at a time.
Eligibility:
- City homeowner for more than two years
- Less than 80% of Area Median Income
- Your city real estate taxes are current
Learn more and apply for the Healthy Home Repair Program.
Nothing But Nets
Basketball League Delivers Competition and Life Coaching
Nothing But Nets
Nothing But Nets is the place to be at 9 p.m. on weekends! The league provides a fun, safe place to come together at the Wohl Rec Center. Former Cardinal Ritter Head Coach and Hall-of-Famer Preston Thomas brought the idea to the city as a way to pair coaching with mentoring. Each player arrives 30 minutes before their game to get expert help on resumes, health insights, job mentoring and life skills. It’s more than a game; it’s players and coaches helping each other.
The next season opens in July 2024. Check back here for registration links.
Road Improvements
Safer Streets and Intersections Straight Ahead
Road Improvements
Safer Intersections and All-New Streets Are Straight Ahead
More than $40 million in road improvements are set to get underway in 2024. In addition to paving the entire length of Kingshighway, Jefferson, Union, Goodfellow, and Grand, the city will deliver new traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures at the most dangerous intersections to slow down speeding cars and make streets safer for everyone no matter how they get around.
If you'd like to learn more, read the full article about these road improvements.
Youth Outreach and Crime Reduction
Meeting Kids Where They Are
Youth Outreach and crime Reduction
With funding for nine different community outreach groups, the city is taking a new approach to violence prevention. In place of the common practice of arrest and incarceration, these teams of interpreters work in neighborhoods to break the cycle of violence. Their approach seeks to turn down the heat in conflicts and get vulnerable teens the services they need, including: housing, addiction treatment and mental health services.
To find resources for temporary housing and mental healthcare, or to view our open RFPs related to youth outreach and crime reduction, visit our Office of Violence Prevention page.
High Speed Wifi in All Rec Centers
High Speed Wifi in All Rec Centers
Drop in any city rec center and you’ll find all-new high speed WiFi in each location. Whether you and your family want to kick back and play some games or dig into homework or email, our city’s rec centers are now even better places for our community to gather.
New Affordable Housing
New Affordable Housing
This year the City is investing more than $18 million in new affordable housing projects, funded through the American Rescue Plan and other affordable housing programs. That totals more than 952 new affordable housing units that residents can soon call home. Building communities and helping our neighbors find safe, affordable housing is one way we are building a Stronger Stl.
Take a look at some of the new American Rescue Plan-funded developments underway throughout St. Louis on the City’s Community Development Administration page.
To explore affordable housing programs in St. Louis, visit SLDC’s Resources page.
Frequently asked questions
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a $1.9 trillion federal aid package passed by Congress in March, 2021 to provide financial aid to families, governments, businesses, schools, nonprofits and others impacted by the pandemic.
The City of Saint Louis was awarded $498 million in recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. These funds represent a lifeline for thousands of families in our city who have been deeply impacted by the pandemic and resulting economic crisis. You can see how ARPA dollars are being distributed on the ARPA Funding Tracker.
Visit our American Rescue Plan Resource Guide. This is a one-stop shop where you’ll find all the programs currently available to you and your family. It includes instructions on how to apply.
Learn how to receive ARPA funding to power up your business or non-profit on our For My Business page.
Tens of thousands of families have benefitted from programs including direct cash payments, job training, health resources and free transportation. Explore available programs for you and your family.
All funds must be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
Here is a list of our current and past RFPs.