nextSTL Takes Open/Closed “on the Air”

Today's St. Louis on the Air program focused on vacant property in St. Louis. I represented nextSTL.com and was joined in the studio by RJ Koscielniak, the person behind the Open/Closed conference concept, Audrey Spalding of the Show-Me-Institute and Otis Williams, Deputy Executive Director of the St. Louis Development Corporation, the organization that oversees the city's Land Reutilization Authority (LRA). The conversation proved to be an excellent starting point to further focus on the issue of vacant property in our city.

Summarizing the discussion and viewpoints in a short online article inherently leaves out the significant nuance offered by each of us, but I'll attempt to do just that. The Show-Me Institute completed extensive research, compiling information on the number of LRA properties, offers made on those properties and the LRA's response to those offers. If I may offer a simplified premise of the Show-Me Institute's conclusion, it is that the LRA is unnecessarily rejecting offers. The LRA's position? They have a responsibility to sell to the right person and have sold thousands of properties in recent years. nextSTL and Open/Closed seek to raise awareness of the issue, highlight successes and bring diverse voices to the table.