JWC aims for community improvement in North STL

A new local organization is focusing on commercial real estate (CRE) as a way to support and enhance North St. Louis.

In July 2021, Ashley Rice and Sophia Patton founded and now serve as co-CEOs of the JWC (Jesus Wealth Community) Group, a “faith-based social enterprise with the passion for increasing wealth opportunities in underserved communities.”

“Our goal is to strengthen our commercial real estate presence with a focus on urban development. It’s a hybrid business and for-profit project. We are avid community builders and we welcome partnerships with nonprofit organizations and the commercial real estate sector,” said Rice.

Rice and Patton, both St. Louis natives, although Patton is now based in Dallas, created JWC to have a positive impact on the culture and community where they grew up.

“Our mission is to help people maximize their economic and social potential, which requires fighting systemic poverty,” said Rice. “We’re not trying to make a neighborhood ‘nice.’ We want to bring new life and business into underserved areas, starting at Delmar and Kingshighway and going north.”

The JWC Group partners with existing businesses to provide ATM merchant services to urban businesses and operate an online store that donates a portion of sales to nonprofits, and plans to “revitalize forgotten communities” through commercial real estate.

“We own the ATMs and are giving them to businesses for free with the option for revenue-sharing,” Rice said. The first ATM will be in place by November 2021.

The CRE division will start by buying properties in the target neighborhoods to bring in ventures that will support better living conditions —such as gyms, healthy grocery stores, pharmacy options and healthcare clinics.

“We want to see money flowing in so the neighborhood can profit,” Rice said.

Rice works full-time as a housing placement specialist with the St. Patrick Center, an agency in downtown St. Louis that helps homeless people find affordable living conditions. She is a member of the CREW Network-STL, Urban Land Institute-St. Louis District and Real Estate Development for Women of Color.

Patton has a background in insurance and has worked in commercial middle-market underwriting for the past decade.

“We are looking for commercial real estate partners and investors who understand our vision and mission,” Rice said.

The duo expects to see their first CRE projects launch by the end of 2022. For more information about the JWC Group, please visit thejwcgroup.com.

Urban League senior apartments, community center break ground in Dellwood

Last week, KAI joined the Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis to break ground on the organization’s new senior apartments and community center located at 9947 West Florissant in the City of Dellwood in North St. Louis County.

KAI is providing design-build services on the 40,000-square-foot facility which is expected to be complete by December 2022.

The $10 million, three-story building will include 44 resident units (40 one-bedroom units and four two-bedroom units), plus a community room on the main level for 12-15 people and a resident lounge with a kitchenette and restrooms. The main level will also include a private manager’s office, reception area, workroom and shared access to the community room.

At a time when the shortage of affordable housing in communities around the United States regularly makes the headlines, another less visible housing crisis is also intensifying, according to KAI CEO Michael Kennedy, Jr.

The number of elderly people with ‘worst case housing needs’—defined as renters with low incomes who do not receive government housing assistance and pay more than one-half of their income for rent, live in severely inadequate conditions, or both—is increasing rapidly. Nearly 10 million households with an occupant over age 65 spends more than 30 percent of their income on housing; roughly 5 million of those households spend more than 50 percent.

“The growth in the population of Americans aged 65 or older is projected to reach nearly 73 million in 2030, and more than 83 million in 2050, which means that senior households increasingly will be renters,” Kennedy said.

“Resources for housing and supporting our aging population are scarce in relation to the scope of the problem. To the Urban League and its board members and donors, the Missouri Housing Development Commission and Michael Gardner and his team at Gardner Capital, St. Louis thanks you; this community thanks you; and I thank you for partnering with KAI to bring seniors in this community this much needed project,” Kennedy said.

The Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis’ mission is to empower African Americans and others throughout the region in securing economic self-reliance, social equality and civil rights. The organization is committed to investing in the continued redevelopment of the West Florissant Corridor through Dellwood and Ferguson.

The goal of the development is to give seniors in Dellwood not only the opportunity to live in a brand new building but to also have easy access to many services and programs offered by the organization, including the popular Senior Empowerment Series.

Presenters at the groundbreaking ceremony also included Urban League president & CEO Michael P. McMillan; St. Louis County Executive, Sam Page; St. Louis County Council Chair, Rita Heard Days; City of Dellwood Mayor, Reggie Jones; and Missouri State Senator, Brian Williams.