Rebuilding St. Louis: A “Greater” Dutchtown Introduction

A view towards St. Anthony of Padua Church from the roof of the Grandview Arcade as seen on May 12th 2026.

As goes Dutchtown, so goes the entire City of St. Louis.

It’s a realization that was revealed to me when I was being shown multiple projects underway as part of Lutheran Development Group’s (LDG) and RiseSTL’s “Marquette Homes” project in the Greater Dutchtown area on the Southside. 

And it makes a lot of sense too when you think about it. 

Dutchtown, and neighboring Gravois Park, are near the top of the densest neighborhoods list in the City of St. Louis (11,000 and 10,100 per square mile respectively totaling nearly 20,000 residents combined or rouhgly 7.1% of the City's population) and have the highest concentration of children in the City. They’re also some of the best preserved neighborhoods, although decay has been showing more in recent years, and continue to offer an affordable entry for those looking to buy a home that’s move-in ready or to make their own. Not to mention Gravois Park being home to the cultural hub of Cherokee Street.

Groups like LDG recognize the importance of trying to catch these neighborhoods from falling from their current prominent position. Without them, the roadmap to rebuild St. Louis in a sustainable way becomes much more difficult. But we’re seeing efforts by non-profits, like Rise and LDG, starting to snowball to where private investors and owners are acquiring multi-family and single-family properties, fixing them, and either occupying or renting spaces to new families at market rate prices while the non-profits take control of the more affordable housing aspects. 

But one thing the non-profits can do, that the private folks can’t always do, is preserve architecture that dominates, and represents, Dutchtown and Gravois Park. No where is that clearer than in their endeavors across the neighborhoods, which include a mix of rehab and new construction properties, and marquee projects such as the redevelopment of the Grandview Arcade and the reconstruction of the 3-story building at 3305 Meramec Street.

Over the next few posts, I’ll be spotlighting Lutheran Development Group and RiseSTL’s “Marquette Homes” development and sharing the importance of the different components. The endeavor is worth a three part series.