Housing and Economic Development

Rehabilitating dilapidated houses, constructing new buildings and bringing services back into the neighborhood are the primary goals of EPDC’s housing and economic development program.

In the last 10 years, EPDC has helped to bring over $65 million dollars into the Emerson Park Neighborhood in the form of Metrolink development, new rental housing, and new for-sale housing.

Parson's Place Apartments

The Parson’s Place Project is the company’s largest success. Parson’s Place brought 276 apartments into the neighborhood along with new streets and beautiful landscaping. It is currently recognized as the largest private rental development built in East St. Louis in 30 years! To see some before and after pictures of the Parson’s place area, click here.



The success of Parson’s Place led the East St. Louis Housing Authority to invest in the Emerson Park Neighborhood as well. Their new project, Central City Homes, consists of 84 new apartments – both market rate and public assistance.

River City Place Phase I

In for-sale housing, EPDC partnered with Charles F. Vatterott Company to create the “River City Place” Development. These 12 affordable homes surround the Parson’s Place area and bring the first multi-unit for-sale housing project into the neighborhood in over 30 years. Several of these homes have been purchased by first-time homeowners whose children attend Tomorrows Builders Charter School. For pictures of these homes click here.

River City Place Phase II

For the second phase of housing in the River City development, EPDC teamed up with CDC Development Corporation. This phase will consist of another 12 homes in the heart of the Emerson Park Neighborhood. To learn more about this new development click here.

YouthBuild's Involvement in EPDC Developments

Additionally, EPDC’s YouthBuild trains local youth in construction so that they can build affordable homes from the ground up. This program allows youth to give back to their community while creating a strong housing stock in the neighborhood. To see examples of some YouthBuild homes, click here.

Upcoming Developments

While Construction on River City Place Phase II continues, EPDC is already planning the next developments. We are again working with C.F. Vatterott to build more homes in the neighborhood and have plans to continue our strong working relationship with CDC Development Corporation long after we complete our current development.

Thanks to EPDC, Sheron Stepney and her family own a home for the first time. The three-bedroom, single-family home has a full basement and is part of EPDC’s new River City Place development. “EPDC gave me an opportunity as a single-parent in a low-income family to become a homeowner,” says Sheron. “It gave me peace of mind and a feeling of stability, as well as the choice to reside in a well-kept environment.” Sheron works as a copy center operator for the East St. Louis Housing Authority. During the last 12 years, she has taken training courses on homeownership and financial management that allowed her to purchase a new home. Sheron’s 17-year-old son, William Stepney, attends EPDC’s Tomorrow’s Builders YouthBuild Charter School. Sheron says the charter school helps students find their identity, as well as gain hands-on experience toward future employment. “I got interested in the program because I see that it has decreased the number of youth hanging out on the street corners all day,” Sheron said. “It has definitely given our future generation hope.”

EPDC is an active member of the coalition to support workforce housing in the St. Louis metropolitan region. Click on the image below for more information: