EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – What was once an empty field in East St. Louis will soon be transformed into a 20-home development.
Mayor Robert Eastern III worked alongside the faith-based non-profit organization Lansdowne Up to make the project possible.
“People said it couldn’t be done,” Eastern said. “There were a lot of things we had to face internally and externally to get this project up and running.”
At Monday’s ribbon cutting, there wasn’t much to see of the Lansdowne Park project. The project, located at 25th Street and Gross Avenue, is still in its early stages, with only one house partially built.
According to Kevin Green, Lansdowne Up’s Director of Administration, all homes will be finished by spring, with some being move-in ready early next year. Green said the development is getting people interested in moving back to the city.
“We also have former residents who have now retired, and they live in other areas of the country,” Green said. “We’ve been receiving phone calls from Seattle, Washington, from Washington D.C. from people who want to come back because they are excited.”
The homes will range in size from around 1600 square feet to 1900 square feet, with prices around $300,000 to $350,000.