New Spirit in St. Louis: Historic Hotel Revived by Salvation Army

By Caitlin Jones
September 14, 2010 1 min read

Tax Credit Advisor — September 2010 — In the late 1920s, the hotel business in downtown St. Louis near the Union Station was bustling. Ten majestic new hotels along Market Street catered to businessmen and other weary travelers arriving from the nearby train station. One was the Robert E. Lee Hotel, designed by Kansas City architect Alonzo H. Gentry and completed in 1928 by the Robert E. Lee Hotel Company, a chain. Rising 14 stories, the Renaissance Revival style structure boasted interesting architectural details. Today, after varied uses and a $14 million gut rehabilitation, the sole survivor of the 10 hotel buildings has been resurrected as affordable “workforce apartments” for low-income residents, including those laboring at service jobs nearby in the rejuvenated central business district. The new development, called The Railton, was sponsored by the St. Louis-based Midland Division of the Salvation Army, a large international nonprofit organization which provides emergency disaster services and operates dozens of programs to help individuals gain or regain self-sufficiency. Funded entirely by equity generated by federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits and low-income housing tax credits, the project was developed by the St. Louis Equity Fund and a consultant, on behalf of the Salvation Army. Read More…

Breaking Ground

Jennifer Leimaile Ho, Minnesota Housing Commissioner and Incoming Chair of National Council of State Housing Agencies

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 10 min read

Earlier this fall, Jennifer Leimaile Ho was elected chair of the National Council of State Housing Agencies’ (NCSHA) 2025 Board of Directors. Ho is the Commissioner of Minnesota Housing, having been appointed by Governor Tim Walz in January 2019 and reappointed in 2023.

“Business as Usual”

Leaders in Equity Express Optimism Despite an Uncertain Future

Abram Mamet • December 1, 2024 9 min read

Any outside observer may assume some unease amongst the low-income housing industry. Buffeted on the one hand by residual stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic and on the other by the uncertain prospects of an incoming federal administration keen on cutting spending and shrinking government programs, the affordable housing landscape is experiencing an inflection point.

NCSHA Recognizes Stand-Out Affordable Housing Programs and Initiatives

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 7 min read

This fall, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) recognized 17 programs offered by state housing finance agencies across the nation that creatively developed tools to tackle their communities’ affordable housing challenges.