Long-Awaited North St. Louis Business Grant Will Help Revive Historic Community Center
Date Posted: May 26, 2026
Posted In: News, Projects,
From St. Louis Public Radio: A historic community center in St. Louis’ Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood is a step closer to a rebirth, thanks to long-awaited funding from the ARPA-funded north St. Louis grant program.
“It’s remarkable. It really is,” said Jerryl Christmas, president of the Sigma Legacy Foundation, the charitable arm of the historically Black Phi Beta Sigma fraternity in St. Louis. “I try not to get too excited about it, but it really is a great thing.”
The George Washington Carver House, named for the agricultural scientist and inventor, offered job training and other social services at the corner of Cardinal and Bell avenues until its closure in the mid-1990s. The foundation acquired the building in 2016 and spent about $150,000 to stabilize and secure it and keep the property mowed and the trash picked up.
The foundation first applied for funding from the North St. Louis Small Business and Non-Profit Grant Program in 2024. It plans to use the $600,000 to restore the north half of the building for use as a community gathering space.
“That’s the biggest thing, to get in here and get operational,” Christmas said. “I think once we get here and operational, and the work that we know that we can do, it’ll be much easier to get the additional funding for the other half.”
The St. Louis Development Corporation, which manages the grant program, expects the funding to be distributed by the end of May.