51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� City officials, under fire for their handling of a beleaguered north 51黑料 grant program, are preparing to send as much as $2 million in new grants to 159 businesses and nonprofits that lost out in the program鈥檚 first round.

Some of the entities only exist on paper.

Corner Man Boxing Museum and Gym has neither a museum nor a gym.

Cliff鈥檚 3rd Chance House, for homeless veterans and people getting out of prison, has no houses for them.

Series of J Acquisitions wants to build a health hub but lists its address as an empty lot, its grass growing knee-high.

Still, each was put in line for a $12,500 consolation prize from the city鈥檚 economic development agency. And each became the latest potential problem for a high-profile initiative tasked with pumping $37 million in federal pandemic relief money into struggling areas of north 51黑料.

When city officials announced this second round of grants, they promised that nobody would get the money if they weren鈥檛 operating or hadn鈥檛 paid their taxes. But when the Post-Dispatch looked into more than a dozen of the entities, some listed addresses that led to vacant lots. Some had originally asked the city for millions of dollars but had no means to build their dreams. Several owed thousands of dollars in property taxes.

Officials with the city agency, the 51黑料 Development Corp., emphasize that the grant awards are not final. They have reviewed more than 700 applications, met with 500 applicants and ranked hundreds of projects on how well they would serve the community. But they are still conducting 鈥渧iability assessments鈥� to ensure everyone in line for money is real, operational and in good standing with the tax collector.

鈥淭his program is far from being complete,鈥� SLDC chief Neal Richardson said in a statement Friday.

But critics noted that SLDC has been reviewing applications for years now. At least some of the new grants are going to businesses and nonprofits that didn鈥檛 get money in the first round because they scored too low. The city has so far declined to release applications.

Alderwoman Cara Spencer, an SLDC board member who is also running for mayor, said SLDC should at least know who has paid their taxes at this point.

Spencer, who voted against authorizing the new grants, said she has little faith in future vetting.

鈥淚 have no reason to believe,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hat SLDC can suddenly become capable of doing the right thing.鈥�

Earlier this summer, when SLDC announced the first round of grant winners, officials expressed high hopes: Mayor Tishaura O. Jones talked about the cash as a way to restore vibrancy to forgotten corridors and offer opportunities to people left out for decades.

But last month, Post-Dispatch reporting raised questions about SLDC鈥檚 vetting: One winner had its offices in Shrewsbury. Two were based in vacant buildings. And three awards, worth nearly $1.3 million, were intended for entities with ties to the family of Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard, who sponsored the grants bill and sits on the board of SLDC.

Nevertheless, SLDC pressed forward with the new grants.

Richardson, the SLDC chief, told board members the money would give previously unsuccessful applicants something in return for their efforts.

鈥淚 think this will help us continue to build that trust as we continue to stabilize these businesses and work through this process,鈥� he said at a September meeting.

Alderwoman Sharon Tyus, who represents a swath of north 51黑料, said SLDC board members should be ashamed of themselves for authorizing the awards before vetting was done.

鈥淵ou should not be voting for something you don鈥檛 know about,鈥� she said.

鈥業鈥檓 doing all this with no cash鈥�

Among those put in line for $12,500 is an entity called Corner Man Boxing Museum and Gym.

Jerron Sutton, the owner, has an idea for a museum, one that would highlight 51黑料鈥� boxing heritage as the home of pugilists like heavyweight champion Leon Spinks, and a gym to teach the sport to the next generation.

His application lists his sister鈥檚 house in the Hyde Park neighborhood. He said he鈥檚 been working on finding a home for the museum.

But Sutton, who works as a builder and handyman, said he needs at least $2.5 million to buy property, build it out and hire employees to help him run it. And he doesn鈥檛 have it.

鈥淚鈥檓 doing all this with no cash and trying to get a good start,鈥� he said.

He wasn鈥檛 sure what he would do with the consolation prize.

鈥淭here鈥檚 not too much I can do with that,鈥� he said.

Series of J Acquisitions lists an address in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood, on 51黑料鈥� western border.

It is an empty lot. The grass is overgrown. A thicket of what looks like prairie grass sits on its eastern flank. City records indicate there hasn鈥檛 been a building on the site in nearly 20 years.

De鈥橪acey Robinson, Series of J鈥檚 owner, has plans for a health hub, offering dialysis, imaging and pharmacy services.

It would have underground parking and a cafe. There would also be room for short-term rentals and staff areas.

鈥淲hen people have aches, pains,鈥� Robinson said, 鈥渢hey can go there.鈥�

Robinson asked SLDC for $14.5 million for the build-out 鈥� $12.5 million more than anyone else has gotten thus far 鈥� to no avail.

She said she鈥檚 talking to other investors to get backing for the project, but there鈥檚 nothing concrete.

鈥淎t this moment, that鈥檚 still a bit of a gray area,鈥� she said.

She said she could use the cash to pay her design team and purchase the land, though. And she said she鈥檒l get the project done eventually.

鈥淚 know I can,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I will.鈥�

The website for Cliff鈥檚 3rd Chance House Inc. says it provides human and social services to homeless veterans and people getting out of prison, most notably transitional and affordable housing. It even provides online applications to fill out.

But it owns no property in the city. An address listed on the website leads to a mail-forwarding business. And the phone number on the website greeted callers late last month with a brief message: 鈥淭his is a non-working number.鈥�

Founder Vickie Forrest, interviewed recently at her home, said she had hoped for $560,000 from the city.

鈥淢y plan was to get like five buildings and rehab them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our goal.鈥�

When that began to look unlikely, she revised her request to $250,000.

鈥淗ousing is expensive,鈥� she said.

鈥楾hey鈥檙e pulling my chain now鈥�

Jewelanda Hodges, founder of nonprofit The Remix, said she鈥檚 been looking for a place to open a thrift store since before the pandemic.

A few years back, someone gave the nonprofit a white brick structure on Delmar Boulevard, at the northern edge of the Central West End.

But vines climb the front wall. Siding is peeling off. Windows are boarded up. It needs more than $12,500, she said.

鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 even get an architect with that,鈥� Hodges said.

She said the money could go to a pilot literacy project she鈥檚 working on, though. She said volunteers have developed some software that could help kids learn to read, and she sees potential. She鈥檇 like to hire a part-time employee to work with them.

There are other needs, too, though. The Delmar building is $5,000 behind on property taxes.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to pay it off at the end of the year,鈥� Hodges said.

Leon Bell has tax troubles, too.

Bell applied for $1.8 million to fix up low-income housing his small nonprofit, called the Pruitt-Igoe Development Corp., controls in the 51黑料 Place neighborhood.

鈥淧eople are living in parts,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut they need major repair.鈥�

But all nine homes the nonprofit owns are three years behind on taxes, which could trigger a tax sale.

Bell says the $15,000 balance isn鈥檛 his fault. He said tax credit investor 51黑料 Equity Fund, which partnered with Pruitt-Igoe on building rehabs 30 years ago, needs to pay. He鈥檚 sent invoices but hasn鈥檛 received a response.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e pulling my chain now,鈥� Bell said.

The Equity Fund did not respond to requests for comment.

Special Tymes Banquet Hall, on Natural Bridge Avenue, sits behind a 10-foot fence that surrounds it and the parking lot.

The owner, Carlton Washington, applied for $100,000 to fix up the building and patch some leaks in the roof. The smaller grant won鈥檛 cover it, but he said anything helps.

鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 working with nothing,鈥� he said.

Still, Washington, too, owes the city 鈥� at least $18,000 in property taxes on the land where the business sits.

Washington said he ran into hard times during the pandemic.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just one of those things, man,鈥� he said.