Loading Content...
Affordable Housing in Kingsway West: LIHTC Impact and Demographic Shifts
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Loading Content...
Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
Kingsway West, a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, has a specific affordable housing landscape shaped by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. This program has funded 29 affordable housing units in the area, all of which are designated as low-income units. Based on the 2022 population of 2,132 and an estimated 817 housing units, the LIHTC-funded affordable housing comprises approximately 3.55% of the neighborhood's estimated housing inventory.
LIHTC-funded affordable housing has been present in Kingsway West since 1989, with the completion of the Project Re-Do II development. The most recent project, Highland-Newstead Combo, was completed in 2004, indicating a 15-year span of LIHTC investment in the neighborhood. The 1980s marked the beginning of affordable housing development in Kingsway West, with additional units added in the 2000s.
The neighborhood's LIHTC inventory consists of two projects: Project Re-Do II and Highland-Newstead Combo. Project Re-Do II, completed in 1989, provides 11 units, while Highland-Newstead Combo, finished in 2004, offers 18 units. The housing stock primarily consists of larger units, with 21 three-bedroom and 8 four-bedroom units across both projects. This distribution suggests a focus on accommodating families or larger households within the affordable housing inventory.
Over the past decade, Kingsway West has experienced significant demographic changes. The population has decreased from 2,894 in 2014 to 2,132 in 2022, a decline of about 26%. Despite this population decrease, the median income has shown a substantial increase, rising from $21,848 in 2014 to $38,091 in 2022, representing a 74% increase.
The racial composition of Kingsway West has remained predominantly Black, though there has been a slight decrease from 97% in 2014 to 90% in 2022. Concurrently, there has been a small increase in the White population from 2% to 6%, and the emergence of a multi-racial category, accounting for 3% of the population by 2022.
No new LIHTC projects have been developed in Kingsway West since 2004. The increasing median income and shifting demographics may suggest changing housing needs in the neighborhood, potentially influencing the lack of recent LIHTC developments.
Kingsway West's LIHTC-funded affordable housing inventory, while modest in size, has been a consistent presence in the neighborhood for over three decades. The existing projects focus on larger units, potentially catering to families. Despite the absence of new LIHTC developments in recent years, the neighborhood has experienced significant demographic changes, including a decreasing population, rising median income, and slight shifts in racial composition. These trends provide context for understanding the affordable housing landscape in Kingsway West and may inform future housing policy decisions for the area.
