ST. LOUIS — St. Louis city and county need to develop about 35,000 affordable apartments for lower-income people, according to a study by the nonprofit group Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis.
The gap between supply and demand is affecting renters with annual income no higher than $22,400 who make up about 27% of all renters. The region is short 28,000 one-bedroom units, 7,000 two-bedroom units and 1,900 bedroom three-bedroom units with gross rents under $549 per month, the study found.
That means people with lower incomes have to pursue apartments with rents up to $999 per month that are affordable to households at higher income levels.
The finding is part of a report card that gave the city and county a grade of "F" in affordable housing for Black households, renters and people with the lowest income. St. Louis-based nonprofit The Deaconess Foundation contributed $20,000 for the report, which was done for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Coalition.
“This speaks to the need, and now that we have this base level of what the market could support, then we can fill in the gaps with financing and other support that affordable housing development needs,” said Cristina Garmendia, principal and founder of St. Louis-based URBNRX, which was the lead consultant on the study.
Based on all households in St. Louis city and county, the report card assigned a "C" grade for affordable housing, with 71% paying less than 30% of their income on a house or apartment.
The area median income for a three-member household is $75,600 in the 12-county St. Louis metro area. AMI is the middle point of incomes in a region.
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