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Like most, if not all older American cities, St. Louis faces continuing challenges because of its aging, often poorly maintained infrastructure. Unmet maintenance and repair needs create visual blight and cause inconvenience. They are also potential threats to public health and safety. Usually the cost of repair, particularly for water and sewer facilities is substantial and results are largely unseen, either underground or in a remote treatment facility. As a result, it can be difficult to generate support or a sense of urgency concerning measures that would assure adequate revenues for routine maintenance.
In addition to these problems, new Federal environmental rules mandate even higher standards for water and sewage treatment than are presently possible to achieve with existing facilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires local government to make their streets, parks, and buildings accessibly to those with disabilities, adding substantial new improvement costs.
The City has made some progress in recent years in compiling a comprehensive list of capital improvement needs and priorities. While funds for this are limited, the City is at least able to address its needs strategically, and can prepare proposals quickly should funds become available.
What follows is a brief review of the major categories of infrastructure and the most significant improvement projects planned for the near future.
I. Transportation
Unlike many large cities across the country, or even other jurisdictions in the region, the City of St. Louis is responsible for maintaining all of its roads with the exception of interstate highways and a few arterial streets designated as State routes.
With downtown St. Louis the dominant employment center in the region, as well as the focus of convention and visitor attractions, City streets are subject to high levels of vehicular traffic, a significant portion of which originates outside of its boundaries. Yet the City assumes the burden for maintaining these streets which experience more vehicular trips per day than do many state roads in less populated areas.
Adding to the maintenance burden is the area's climate. The region's location in the Midwest subjects it to a number of weather systems and, at times, wildly fluctuating temperatures. Historical records indicate that on any given day, a sixty degree difference exists between record high and low temperatures for that day. Unlike many eastern cities, the multiple freeze-thaw cycles in the winter and intense summer heat increase maintenance needs for City streets. St. Louis' clay soils are also more volatile in their expansion and contraction capabilities during weather extremes.
The St. Louis transportation network also contains numerous bridges and viaducts, most constructed before 1940. Within the past ten years, several of the most distressed structures have been rebuilt, including the Eighteenth Street Bridge, the Fourteenth Street Bridge, the Kingshighway Viaduct, and the Union Boulevard Viaduct. The 1993 flood damaged several viaducts over the River Des Peres, and repairs to these are underway.
The most recent review of capital facility needs prepared by the City's Department of Streets and Traffic estimated the cost of the most critical viaduct and bridge replacement needs at $95.5 Million. Of 22 bridge segments identified, eight are given a Priority #1 rating. These include the Eads Bridge, Aresenal Street Viaduct, Broadway Bridge over the River Des Peres, Chouteau Viaduct, Kingshighway/Penrose Park Bridge, Morganford/Fairview Bridge, Natural Bridge Viaduct, and the Southwest Avenue Bridge over the River Des Peres.
For repairs to arterial streets, prepared cost estimates for priority improvements total about $9.2 Million. Other street improvement needs include street widening and reconstruction for $35 Million, and alley improvements and reconstruction, with no cost estimate available.
With the success experienced by the Metrolink light rail system as it completes its first year of operation, plans are continuing for a multi-modal regional transportation center. This facility holds great potential for uniting mass transit, auto, and rail traffic at a strategic location within the City. Preliminary costs are estimated at $44 Million.
II. Public Right of Ways
The City is blessed with sidewalks, affording pedestrians a degree of protection not found in may suburban neighborhoods. They are legally the responsibility of the property owner. With age, many in the City have cracked or succumbed to upheavals or settling as the result of tree roots or ground shifting. When repairs are delayed, a danger to pedestrians becomes a legal liability for the property owner, and the City as well. The City has been subjected to numerous claims for injuries reported to have occurred on City sidewalks.
Nevertheless, sidewalk repairs are expensive, especially for many elderly single persons. They also contribute to visual blight in the neighborhood's appearance.
For the past eighteen years, the City has provided some relief for sidewalk repairs with the 50/50 Sidewalk Program. As the name implies, the City carries out the repair, and bills the property owner for half of the cost. In neighborhoods undergoing extensive renovation, usually under the auspices of a developer, the City has provided new sidewalks as part of an overall street repair program.
In addition to sidewalks, the public right of way environment includes curbs and gutters, trees, lighting, and amenities such as benches, planters, fountains, decorative lighting and gates. Curb and gutter replacement are frequently part of street reconstruction. Often trees are planted at the same time. Much reconstruction occurred in the early 1980's as part of an effort to support on-going redevelopment. Also, decorative features were installed which now require on-going maintenance on the part of the City.
The 1994 statement of capital needs identifies curb reconstruction as a priority, but does not as yet have cost estimates associated with it. Street lighting improvements are presently estimated at $7 Million.
III. Water
Like other components of the City's infrastructure, as well as similar facilities in other metropolitan areas, the water treatment and distribution network is characterized by older, obsolete facilities, particularly with distribution. Many of the city's water mains are nearly 100 years old and frequently deteriorate where two lengths of pipe are joined together. Water leaking from the main underground can undermine other utility networks, especially aging sewers, and can precipitate collapse of an entire street.
On top of the problems of maintenance, existing treatment procedures may not be sufficient to kill a whole range of bacteria which can cause illness and death. In Milwaukee in 1992, nearly 50 people were killed by a bacteria introduced into the drinking water. At present, City treatment and detection methods have been shown to be effective against this bacteria.
The Safe Water Drinking Act imposes new federal regulations for reducing or eliminating 21 contaminants, such as lead and copper. Today's treatment methods do not address these types of pollutants. The City of St. Louis Water Division estimates that it will need as much as $200,000,000 to comply with these new rules.
IV. Storm Water and Sanitary Waste
Unlike much of its suburban counterparts, sanitary waste and stormwater run-off share the same collection system in the City. Often during heavy downpours sanitary sewage is released into area creeks (primarily River Des Peres in the city) untreated, which then carries it into the Mississippi River. New clean water mandates require higher discharge standards for treated sewage and for eliminating untreated discharges entirely.
The problems with untreated sewage discharge are being addressed with the construction of pumping stations at several points along the Mississippi to divert water to a treatment facility. All of these recent and proposed measures cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and are being financed with a bond issue secured by increased user charges.
Another problem encountered is non-point source run-off. During heavy rains, massive quantities of water are dumped into sewers from roads, parking lots, and frequently in the city, roofs. Neighborhoods in Walnut Park and along South Grand Boulevard have experienced severe sewer back-ups as a result of overload on the sewer during heavy rains. MSD has carried out some spot improvements to alleviate some of the problems with storm water and sewer backup in these two areas.
V. Parks and Community Facilities
Previous generations of St. Louisans could be proud of the legacy of their park system, with an inventory of over 80 parks of all sizes and descriptions. Today almost every St. Louis resident is within walking distance of one or more of these parks.
With St. Louis' population loss and subsequent budget cuts, deferred maintenance and repair have rendered many of these facilities, especially playgrounds, unusable. Recent trends in design of children's play structures have put safety in the forefront. New playground equipment is extremely expensive, and surfaces such as pea gravel and bark chips require on-going maintenance.
In 1977 and 1978 the federal government provided a needed infusion of funds to upgrade many of the city's parks. Many of these improvements are now in need of replacement. Help from the State of Missouri is not likely to be forthcoming. For 1994, only $410,000 was available for the entire state through the Land and Water Conservation Funds, which provides grants primarily for new facilities that relate mostly to active recreation.
The City's thirteen recreation centers are heavily utilized. They represent the City's first line response to the growing number of youths from single parent or two working parent families in need of supervised activity after school or during the summer.
While they have great budgetary needs, these recreation centers can play an important role in building self confidence that often comes with participation in team activities. These facilities could also be used in conjunction with community schools to provide the structure needed by many youths who now look to gangs for support and encouragement.
Capital improvement needs for the City's parks have been estimated at $53 Million, excluding the cost of sewer repairs. The recreation centers have priority needs of about $3.8 Million.
VI. Municipal Buildings
As with many other City facilities, including schools, community centers, and parks, major municipal buildings, including City Hall, the Municipal Court Building, and the Civil Courts Building were among the finest in the nation and represented a commitment to excellence on the part of City leaders.
City Hall is probably the most historic and architecturally significant. However, today's standards of comfort and convenience, not to mention changes in the function of the workplace pose special problems for this and other buildings. Fortunately, these facilities are generally in very good condition structurally. Yet their mechanical systems are inefficient and expensive to operate. Given the cost of replacement, repairs and modifications are made on an ad hoc basis. In the late 1970's federal funds were available to replace windows in City Hall and other buildings which resulted in some energy efficiency.
Priority capital improvement costs for the City's municipal buildings are estimated at $28 Million for the Civil Courts Building, $18 Million for other City Buildings.
Concerns about personal safety and the ability to protect private property threaten to derail the City's efforts to attract and retain families and businesses within its borders. Further, the perception of high levels of crime is borne out by statistics which show crime, particularly against persons, has increased dramatically in the past five years. The rising crime rate, committed by ever more youthful offenders, has dealt setbacks to some of the successes achieved in the early 1980's. Even more frustrating, the criminal justice system and the juvenile justice system cannot cope with the large number of offenders. Overcrowded prisons force the release of many who are not ready for the outside world. Root causes are many and obvious.
The need to view crime prevention partly as a function of equipping young children with the values and skills with which to be responsible, learn and seek employment as they mature, is widely understood. However, the discussion preceding the passage of the most recent federal crime legislation illustrates a lack of consensus on the best way to accomplish this. What is clear is that punishment, in the form of incarceration, at the end of the criminal justice cycle is less effective and extremely expensive.
What is also clear is that personal safety is one of the most important criteria for individuals, families, and businesses in deciding where to locate.
A survey conducted in December, 1992 by Area Development Magazine reports that a low crime rate in the most important quality of life factor in determining corporate locations. A low crime rate was considered more important than such other community assets as good public schools, low housing costs, cultural amenities, weather, health facilities, and good colleges and universities.
In another 1992 survey of City of St. Louis home buyers, more fully detailed in the CHAS, crime was listed as a major concern among buyers with household incomes of $60,000 or less. For those earning over $60,000, the issue of safety and security was superseded by the attractiveness of the neighborhood and the amenities it offered.
This section takes a look at current crime levels, trends from previous years, and the nature of the crimes committed. It then reviews what response is being made, principally on the part of the St. Louis Police Department to protect its citizens and their property.
Unfortunately, the total crime rate for the City increased considerably. The area of greatest concern, violent crimes against persons, has increased to 22 percent of all crimes in 1992, up from 17 percent in 1982. Aggravated assaults increased most, up 3,552 incidents, or 77 percent according to a study done for the United Way.
From 1987 to 1991 homicides increased 70 percent from 153 to 260. The number of homicides for 1992 and 1993, 267 and 274 respectively, broke the long standing record of 266 set in 1970. The City's murder rate of 1 for every 1,500 residents is the third highest of all major U.S. cities, behind Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia. The proliferation of a wide array of assault weapons and handguns complicates the task of law enforcement in combating acts of senseless violence.
In other categories of crime, the City of St. Louis led the nation in the amount of arson committed, is second in assault, and third in robberies. The City is 23rd in the nation for rape, and the number of rapes committed during the first six months of 1994 is down 4 percent for the same period in 1993.
As a cause and also companion to crime, illegal drug traffic continues to be a roadblock in the City's efforts to curb criminal behavior. From 1990 to 1992, the number of those arrested who tested positive for drugs increased. According to the United Way study, in October of 1992, 72 percent of females and 67 percent of males arrested in the City showed evidence of using one or more illegal drugs. In the same month, 15 percent of the juveniles in detention tested positive for drugs.
Given on-going and increasing factors which contribute to crime, including high poverty levels, large numbers of single parent households, low educational achievement and literacy, and drug and alcohol abuse, it is likely that crime rates will continue to escalate.
While crime is not only the responsibility of the St. Louis Police Department, they have pursued a number of programs aimed at crime prevention and criminal apprehension.
Perhaps the best known program is Community Oriented Problem Solving, or COPS. The intent is to make officers a consistent, visible presence in the community. They are encouraged to develop a rapport with residents, especially young people.
They are viewed as approachable, with the hope that this increased accessibility will open lines of communication that can reduce the likelihood of criminal activity in the first place. It is also hoped that residents will have sufficient trust in the officer to cooperate when crimes do occur. Unfortunately, the reluctance of many to testify for fear of retribution is understandable.
Another initiative is the Violent Crime Task Force. Here the objective is to focus on the known troublemakers in a given area and create a presence that may prevent criminal acts. The Task Force is considered an unconventional approach because of its autonomy. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, members develop their own investigations and are allowed to focus entirely on reducing the threat of violence from those who are most likely to cause it. A list of the 100 most violent people has been compiled. While 41 have been arrested, all but four were caught during routine police work.
Recently, several neighborhoods in the City approved special property tax assessments that would pay for additional police officers to patrol their neighborhoods. Clearly, residents in these areas believe the survival of their neighborhood as well as their investment in their property depend upon maintaining adequate security.
While the presence of a large number of officers on the street may or may not have a direct impact on reducing the crime rate, it is clear that they enhance the perception of safety. Certainly the need to improve the perception and the reality of personal safety in the City is a prerequisite to the success of any redevelopment undertaken in the City of St. Louis.
It is essential that the City of St. Louis provide quality educational opportunities for its citizens of all ages, household types, and economic status. The education delivery system is the backbone of the City's ability to empower itself to address a variety of social and economic problems and plan for its future. It is a fundamental asset to the community at many levels:
School districts across the nation confront a withering array of challenges to their ability to provide quality elementary and secondary education to their students that will prepare them for higher education, technical training, or meaningful employment.
1. Parental Involvement
In past generations, the need to obtain a good education and perform at one's highest level was solidly reinforced in a supportive home, usually a two parent, environment. Frequently parents today are too busy with their jobs, or in the case of one parent families, overwhelmed with the burden of caring for the family, to provide support. Broken homes or domestic problems can frequently affect a child's ability to focus on learning. Teachers regularly complain of parents missing consultation appointments and otherwise ignoring attempts to establish communication with a child's home.
2. Cultural/Societal Attitudes Toward Academic Excellence
Unfortunately, students who do perform well are often subjected to teasing and put-downs by their peers. Today's media environment and the prevalence of television may reduce concentration abilities and present a picture of mediocrity at best, and violence at its worst.
3. Violence
As the experience of the St. Louis public schools will attest, violence has become a major impediment to learning. Teachers are often defenseless in assuring the safety of their students. Beginning with the Fall, 1994 school year, all City public schools are equipped with metal detectors, easing some of the concern about the prevalence of dangerous weapons in school.
Outside of the classroom, gangs often make students unintended victims as they carry out transactions and settle scores in the midst of a criminal justice system unable to cope.
4. Aging Physical Plant
Most of the City schools were built in the 1920's. At the time they were completed, they were architectural gems, and provided state of the art facilities for the educational environment of that time. The City School Board has made a massive investment in many of its facilities over the past twenty years. Yet, compared to their suburban counterparts, many are woefully inadequate, lacking air-conditioning and numerous physical plant amenities to which students in outlying areas have grown accustomed.
Given declining enrollments for the past fifteen years, about 25 of these schools have been closed. These buildings can threaten neighborhood security. They remain a burden to keep secured and protected from advanced deterioration from vandalism and weather.
These buildings will always generate excessive demands for maintenance, repair and operation, and will continue to exert undue cost pressures on the School Board's limited financial resources.
5. Voluntary Inter-District Coordinating Council
While a comprehensive assessment of the region's busing program has not yet been made, some conclusions about its accomplishments have been offered. For the most part, City students who attend St. Louis County schools appear to have benefited from the availability of a higher quality of education as well as association with students from a different socioeconomic background.
For those students not attending county schools, many of the problems generated by a financially and socially depressed educational environment have not improved.
Further, as individual neighborhoods search for ways to reinforce families, the concept of a neighborhood school comes into sharper focus as an importance resource. The City's community schools now operate somewhat independently of the school in which they are located, often in a separate facility on that campus. There may be growing sentiment to expand the role of the public school as the center for a host of neighborhood functions. In fact, many St. Louis schools presently offer extended hours of operation and assistance.
Whether the concept of a neighborhood school, with the extra budgetary responsibilities it would entail, conflicts with the goals of the InterDistrict Coordinating Council remains to be seen. It has achieved notable success with its magnet school program, which will be examined in following sections of this chapter.
A. High School Graduates
For the 1991-1992 school year, the overall drop-out rate was 19 percent, compared to 6 percent for the State of Missouri. This figure has increased significantly over the past ten years from 11 percent in 1984.
In some individual schools, a much higher percentage of students drop out.For who do finish high school, the extent to which they are prepared to compete with their suburban peers in college or technical school is open to question. A recent article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported a slight improvement in SAT scores during the 1993/1994 school year, but that City students still lagged behind state and national averages. For example, City of St. Louis scores were 384 on the average for the verbal section and 401 the mathematics section. Nationally student averages for these two areas were above 420 and 460 respectively.
In 1990, of all City residents over the age of 25, only 63 percent had high school diplomas. This compares to the national figure of 75 percent. Among Blacks, 44 percent of persons over 25 did not have high school diplomas.
Areas where a high number of persons have graduated from high school are located in the southwestern portions of the City, with a few scattered pockets located north of Forest Park.
B. Higher Education
Areas where over 50 percent of the population has attended some college are concentrated in the central corridor and along an axis formed by South Grand Boulevard, for several blocks to the east and west.
For those public school students that do finish high school, 80 percent go on to some form of higher education, compared to the statewide average of 64 percent.
C. Current Enrollment
At the present time, 42,619 City of St. Louis residents are enrolled in schools in the City. This compares to 42,506 students in 1990. The number of students in 1991 and 1992 declined somewhat, but rebounded to their present level in the 1993/1994 school year.
From 1990 to 1993 the number of St. Louis County residents attending City schools has increased from 778 to 975. The number of City residents attending schools in St. Louis County ranges from 13,440 to 13,746 in that same three year period. Figures for the 1993/94 and 1994/95 school year were not available from the Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council.
Parochial and private schools in the City and the region as a whole have traditionally provided a popular alternative to public education. Indeed, the largest provider of elementary and secondary education in the region is the St. Louis Archdiocesan Schools. They operate 196 schools with an enrollment of more than 59,000 students.
Overall, private schools in the city, consisting of parochial schools for the most part, report an enrollment of 15,238 students for the 1992/93 school year. This figure represents 27 percent of all school age youths for that year.
D. Cost
In 1990, $243,377,000 was spent on public elementary and secondary education in the City of St. Louis. This amounts to a per pupil expenditure of $5,890 per student per year, the highest per pupil commitment of all counties in the MSA. The average per pupil expenditure for the region was $4,560.
The Magnet School Program operated by the Voluntary Interdistrict Coordinating Council has been successful in attracting suburban students to the City by offering a variety of educational curricula designed to appeal to special learning interests. Admission to the Magnet School Program is achieved through a lottery system, which at the same time assigns priorities to potential candidates based on such factors as race, home school district, and previous enrollment. Every year more students want to enroll than there is space available to accommodate them. Waiting lists exist for most schools.
The Magnet Program is unique in many ways. Pre-school programs are in great demand because of their facilities and creative learning approaches. They also offer flexible before and after care arrangements, meals, and transportation. Once accepted into the pre-school, a student is likely to continue within the magnet system if desired.
Among the most popular secondary programs is the Gateway Military Academy. Located on a portion of the former Pruitt Igoe public housing site, this school attracts the highest proportion of suburban enrollment. A new facility is under construction to accommodate this growing enrollment.
A new Math and Science Magnet School is targeted for construction on a site adjacent to the new Science Center opposite Forest Park. Obviously, these students will have ready access to a wide array of facilities and instruction.
The 19 percent of City school students, or about 8100 of the current year's enrollment, who may not complete high school face a future filled with problems in maintaining employment, poverty, and social alienation. It is estimated in a study for the United Way that they are six to ten times more likely to be involved in crime.
At the present time, many high school drop-outs (and sometimes high-school graduates as well) face intractable hurdles in catching up to the point where they are ready for job training. While renewed emphasis and policy initiatives in recent years have focused on job training, particularly as a prerequisite for receiving public benefits, most such programs require a level of math and reading ability that does not exist with many of today's youth. Frequently in the City available funds for job training cannot be spent because of a lack of qualified candidates.
There are no short cuts to preparing young people for a job market which increasingly challenges an individual's skills and abilities to adapt to changing career environments. Inadequate schooling entails significant costs to society in the form of retraining, job losses as companies move to take advantage of better labor pools, or public assistance.
Substantial successes achieved in the magnet program should encourage City residents, institutions, the Board of Education, and others to continue to insist on providing the best system of education possible to all of its residents.
In reality, these various elements do not operate with the perfect balance necessary to produce full production, employment and high living standards for all, all at the same time. In the City of St. Louis, a variety of indicators are available which demonstrate the nature and extent of strengths and deficiencies in the economy. The deficiencies are not unique to this City, and to a large degree reflect problems occurring at the national and state level as well.
This section will examine indicators for a number of categories that provide a window on the St. Louis economy. These include figures on total employment, as well as employment by industry class and average wages. It will also examine retail sales trends in the City and office occupancy levels for the downtown. Both indicators will be compared to the region.
Finally, the most immediate outcome of dysfunction within any of the economic components is insufficient jobs, lower wages, and reduced household income levels. These problems in turn result in poverty conditions which compound the difficulties confronted in addressing economic issues. Because of this, family income and levels of poverty are discussed in this section as well.
Despite a number of economic difficulties, the City can be proud of lasting achievements during the past five years. Each of the following developments generated a substantial number of construction jobs, and will provide on-going opportunities for those in the growing service sector.
A. Kiel Center
The most recent accomplishment is the opening of the Kiel Center sports complex. This project involved demolition of a major portion of what used to be known as Kiel Auditorium and a rear parking lot for a major expansion of the facility to accommodate as many as 21,000 spectators. The 12 story high center, with adjacent parking, cost $135,000,000 to build. Construction required 21 months to complete. Financing came from a combination of public and private sources. Most of the private funding came from the 21 largest corporations in the St. Louis area.
With the opening of the new Kiel Center, the Arena on Oakland Avenue was closed. Its fate is uncertain as the City seeks proposals for the redevelopment of the entire 26 acre site.
The most popular activity, at least in terms of ticket sales, is expected to be St. Louis Blues hockey games. Saint Louis University will also play basketball at the facility. A number of concerts by a diversity of performers is also scheduled there.
B. Convention Center Expansion and Stadium
The jewel in the crown of the St. Louis convention and visitor industry is the recently expanded Cervantes Convention Center, renamed in the process to America's Center. This facility now offers exhibition space of 360,000 square feet, function space of 105,000 square feet, and a fully equipped executive conference center. As a result of this investment, visitor spending in the region is expected to more than triple from $66.0 million to nearly $200 million annually.
The facility will now have the capability to host two large scale groups simultaneously, each with its own entrance and exhibit and function space. Large exhibit halls in a variety of configurations can seat up to 14,000 people.
Construction is fully underway on the next phase of expansion, a 70,000 seat exhibition center or "domed stadium."
C. Metrolink Light Rail System
Metrolink began operation in the fall of 1993 and has exceeded ridership expectations ever since. Light rail should provide a boost to downtown in easing congestion, especially during mid-day, as well as assist business travelers on one day in-and-out business excursions. Total construction cost was estimated at $313 Million.
Its early success has prompted residents of St. Clair county to pass a tax measure supporting an expansion to Scott Field. Interest in other routes has been expressed on the Missouri side of the river as well.
Metrolink has the potential to symbolize the success that can be achieved when individual units of government work together. It can promote the idea that ultimately no section of the region is immune from the good or bad fortunes of any other.
A. Employment/Labor Force
Table 8 illustrates levels of employment and unemployment in the City of St. Louis from 1990 to 1994:
| Category | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
| Labor Force | 178,385 | 178,561 | 173,667 | 172,069 | 178,120* |
| Employment | 163,713 | 161,951 | 159,652 | 156,097 | 164,273 |
| Unemployment | 14,672 | 16,610 | 14,015 | 15,972 | 13,847 |
| Rate | 8.2 | 9.3 | 8.1 | 9.3 | 7.8 |
From viewing the table, unemployment rates have hovered between 8.1 and 9.3 percent for the period 1990 to 1993. While the partial figures for 1994 paint a somewhat positive picture of increasing employment, the cautionary note from DES indicates that it may not directly compare to previous years. These labor force statistics also represent those people who are reported as actively looking for work. Those whose unemployment benefits have expired and are termed "discouraged" are not counted by DES.
Nevertheless, despite a number of corporate downsizing, plant closures and layoffs over the past few years, total employment levels have not shown any erratic fluctuations from one year to the next.
Table 9 illustrates the composition of the labor force by selected industry type. Figures represent annual averages.
| INDUSTRY | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
| Manufacturing | 48,063 | 45,941 | 44,332 | 44,119 |
| Non-Manufacturing | - | - | - | - |
| Agriculture | 421 | 427 | 379 | 410 |
| Construction | 7,769 | 6,870 | 6,308 | 6,219 |
| Trans/Pub Utilities | 23,324 | 23,251 | 22,063 | 21,844 |
| Trade-Totals | 50,592 | 47,378 | 46,181 | 45,542 |
| Trade-Wholesale | 17,855 | 16,161 | 15,707 | 15,165 |
| Trade-Retail | 32,737 | 31,216 | 30,474 | 30,376 |
| FIRE | 22,819 | 20,829 | 21,569 | 21,345 |
| Services | 78,777 | 77,376 | 78,868 | 82,579 |
| Government | 46,434 | 45,935 | 45,904 | 45,660 |
| TOTALS | 278,347 | 268,256 | 265,793 | 267,902 |
The City experienced slight fluctuations in a number of industry categories from 1990 to 1993. However, the trend was downward overall. The exception is the services sector. Here, employment has increased by 3,800 people, or 5 percent, in a three year period.
Table 10 depicts average weekly wages paid for these categories.| INDUSTRY | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | % CHANGE |
| Manufacturing | 631.67 | 676.44 | 711.45 | 731.00 | +16 |
| Non-Manufacturing | 468.80 | 491.63 | 520.04 | 527.56 | +12 |
| Construction | 608.27 | 631.26 | 1,124.46 | 1,117.30 | +84 |
| Trans/Pub. Utilities | 704.00 | 736.30 | 628.97 | 644.43 | -09 |
| Wholesale Trade | 595.68 | 597.63 | 632.80 | 643.47 | +08 |
| Retail Trade | 264.56 | 286.93 | 311.52 | 325.67 | +23 |
| FIRE | 549.99 | 575.47 | 644.03 | 642.53 | +17 |
| Services | 416.92 | 441.86 | 473.40 | 474.50 | +14 |
| Government | 538.57 | 558.78 | 550.97 | 580.62 | +08 |
It appears that with several exceptions, wages increased at rates that ranged between 12 and 17 percent for the period 1990 to 1993. More sizable increases appear in the retail trade sector. Here wages, the lowest of the categories examined, increased 23 percent over the period. In the construction industry, wages increased from $608 to $1,117, or 84 percent. This gain may be attributable in part to large construction projects such as the expanded convention center, light rail, and Kiel. These projects probably required specialized skills paying higher wage rates.
Still, weekly wages of $325 in the retail trade sector translate to an annual income for one person of $16,935, not including any adjustments to income. HUD guidelines specify that very low income single households have adjusted incomes of $15,300 or less. Low income levels are $24,450 and less. For a single parent supporting one or more children, these wage levels would not be sufficient to meet family needs.
The services sector is the second lowest industry in terms of weekly wages. The DES also tabulates total annual wages paid in each of the sectors. While employment in the services sector is 64 percent greater than the 48,000 employed in manufacturing, there is a much smaller disparity in the total annual wages paid in these two sectors. Annual wages for services is $1,707,904,104, and for manufacturing is $1,578,721,566. Or, total wages for services exceeds that of manufacturing by only 8 percent.
While the services sector has provided some safety net for those experiencing layoffs and downsizing, their overall wage levels will need to improve substantially if they are to provide the discretionary income families need to continue to stimulate the economy.
The impact of the increasing employment levels in the service and retail trade sectors can be viewed by figures for household income.
B. Household Income
According to the 1990 Census data, the City's median income is $19,458 for households and $24,274 for families. These are considerably lower than the incomes for the region, at $34,210 for households and $38,146 for families. Among households in the City, four out of ten are considered to be very low income, according to the HUD definition, which means that their incomes are fifty percent or less than the regional median family income. Another two out of ten are in the low income category, within the HUD defined income levels of between 51 and 80 percent of the regional median family income.
Minority households are the least affluent in the City by a wide margin, with over half in the very low income category. White households have about of third of their number in this same category. Overall, nearly three-fourths of Black households are considered to be low income, or very low income by HUD.
In non-Black households, the largest source of income is from wages and salaries. On the other hand, Black households receive less than half of their income from this source. The Black households account for seventy five percent of their financial resources from Welfare/Social Security and Food Stamps. White households exceeded Blacks in the number that received income from Social Security and pensions, which could be expected given their higher than average age.
For the City overall, the number of households receiving income from wages and salaries, social security and pensions, welfare /SSI, and interest and dividends dropped. The most substantial decrease, 44%, was for households receiving interest and dividends.
For Black households, income increased over the period 1987 to 1991 from private business (50.0%), interest and dividends (10.7%), rental income (48.0%) and, most of all, from alimony and child support. Income from food stamps increased by only 3 percent.
For Whites, large increases came from private business income. All other income sources declined with the exception of alimony and child support (9.7%) and food stamps, which had a substantial increase of 16.7%.
From these figures, it appears that despite fairly stable levels of employment, income from real wages for both Blacks and Whites have declined. While much of this decline can be attributed to an aging population entering retirement, it is interesting that almost all other income sources are declining as well. The major exception is that of income from private business, which has more than doubled since 1987.
C. Downtown Office Space Occupancy
Those employees in the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sector and to some extent in services, retail trade and others form the base for the region's office market. The largest concentration of office space and employment is in downtown St. Louis. While its percentage of all space in the region has declined, it still holds a prominent role in the state of health of the overall office real estate market.
As important, market forces shaping occupancy levels and rents for office space play a critical role in the survival of many of downtown's older historic buildings. Given the size of many of these structures, when one building encounters difficulty in leasing the ramifications are felt throughout downtown.
Consistent with the gradual if sometimes faltering economic recovery experienced nationwide, office occupancy levels have slowly improved in the St. Louis region since 1989, when vacancies reached a peak. Downtown St. Louis has benefited from this recovery and there are notable successes in some areas. However,it still encounters problems with high vacancy rates in its older buildings and negative perceptions that result from this lack of activity.
For purposes of this discussion, office space in downtown is divided into a number of categories. The A category is generally the newest, constructed mostly in the 1980's, and contains a high level of amenities. It also commands higher rents. The A group contains such buildings as the MCI Building, Gateway One, Boatman's Plaza, Edison Brothers. Some buildings constructed in the 1970's also are in this category, including the Equitable Building, 500 Broadway, and Mercantile Tower.
Class B space is comprised of a much wider range of buildings, most of which were built in the 1960's. However, it also includes newer buildings such as Convention Plaza I, II, and III and older buildings, such as the Railway Exchange Building. These buildings are divided into two sub-classes, B-1 and B-2, with B-2 being older, having fewer amenities, or lower levels of tenant finishes.
Class C offices were built primarily in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. These include the Chemical Building, 705 Olive, and Merchants Laclede. These buildings have been updated on an incremental basis over time, and have rent levels that reflect these conditions.
Other categories examined include a select group of renovated buildings, Laclede's Landing, and offices west of the downtown core, in the vicinity of Union Station.
Occupancy levels for the Downtown overall are estimated at 74 percent, compared to 84 percent for the St. Louis region. This figure has remained fairly stable for the last five years. However, a greater degree of fluctuation exists within the various classifications of office space.
As it has for the past several years, the Metropolitan Square building with 933,600 square feet continues to affect overall occupancy levels as tenants relocate into it from other downtown locations. Occupancy levels in the Class A buildings remain strong, at about 89 percent. Asking rents for this category range from $12.50 to $25.00 per square foot. The older Class A buildings command somewhat less rent at the lower end of this range.
While occupancy levels in the Class A and B-1 buildings remain strong, the B-2, C, and Renovated classes have borne the brunt of the recession and overbuilding in the late 1980's.
Class B-2 occupancy levels reached an all time low of 34 percent in January, 1994. Since 1989, about 515,000 square feet of space has been vacated, leaving a total inventory of vacant space in this class of 660,000 square feet. Several factors have contributed to this substantial increase in vacant space. First, when the Robert A Young building opened in 1992, federal employees previously in the 210 North Tucker Building were relocated into the Young Building. As a result, about 340,000 square feet of space was added to the vacancy level in this class. Second, as the May Company centralized some of its operations in the Railway Exchange Building, it was removed from the inventory of space available for lease. The Railway Exchange Building has traditionally enjoyed strong levels of occupancy, and removing it from the B-2 class resulted in an inventory weighted with buildings with high vacancies. Asking rents for class B buildings range from about $7.00 to $13.25 per square foot.
While the Core-renovated sector held its own for most of the period 1989 to 1994, occupancy levels decreased to 60 percent in 1993. This class contains such buildings as Hadley Square, the Valley Building, the Lammert, and the Frisco Building. In 1994, occupancy has increased to 64 percent.
Occupancy levels in the Class C buildings continue to drop, and are presently estimated at 49 percent. Rents for this sector are between $7.00 and $12.50, but mostly under $10.00.
Laclede's Landing occupancies have fallen from 89 percent in 1989 to 75 percent in early 1994. Asking rents have also fallen and are now in the $6.00 to $10.00 range. Occupancy levels appear to have stabilized in the last two years.
The most encouraging signs of activity are found in the West of Core segment. It includes several new and rehabilitated structures in the Union Station redevelopment area and near the A. G. Edwards campus. Here a substantial amount of new space has been absorbed, over 300,000 square feet. Occupancy levels are among the highest in the region, about 98 percent. Asking rents are also the highest, in the range of $17.00 to $22.00 per square foot.
In order to obtain the highest levels of occupancy possible, leasing agents use a variety of incentives to attract tenants. In the past five years, agents reported using free rent, reducing the asking rent and giving discounts from the asking rent, paying moving costs, upgrading tenant finishes, and other measures. They report that in the past year, with the exception of the C buildings, the use of free rent has dwindled. Also, the amount of the discount from the asking rent is not as great as in previous years. Most discounts are in the 10 to 15 percent range, as opposed to the 15 to 25 percent range of a few years ago. These trends reflect an improving picture overall for downtown office space. Yet, the problems with vacancies in older buildings are likely to continue.
D. Retail Sales
During the 1980's St. Louis achieved major successes in expanding retail sales within its boundaries. The opening of Union Station and St. Louis Center in 1985 gave the downtown a needed infusion of retail space and a host of job opportunities as well. St. Louis Center is experiencing serious difficulty in attracting and keeping tenants. The "up-scale" third level contains the most vacant space as many of these tenants opened new outlets in the recently expanded St. Louis Galleria.
Overall, however, despite its declining population and problems with maintaining strong household income levels, retail sales have remained fairly stable. The following table tracks total retail sales in the City from 1990 to 1993, and compares them to the region as a whole.
| AREA | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 |
| MSA | 17,226,344 | 18,177,891 | 18,310,538 | 20,827,638 | 23,306,484 |
| City | 2,184,981 | 2,395,030 | 2,410,317 | 2,723,287 | 2,943,671 |
| % of City to MSA | 13% | 13% | 13% | 13% | 13% |
| % City Pop. to MSA | 16% | 16% | 15% | 15% | 15% |
As seen in this table, retail sales in the City have increased in proportion to retail sales increases for the region as a whole. City sales represent about 13 percent of total regional sales from 1989 to 1993, somewhat less than the 16 percent share of the region's population. Much of this stability can be attributed to increases in the mid to late 1980's. Also, the redevelopment of the Scullin Steele industrial site for a "power discount shopping center" has probably helped maintain these figures.
Nevertheless, whole areas in the northern part of the City continue to be underserved with a lack of retail facilities to meet basic food and merchandise needs as well as more discretionary eating and drinking and furniture and appliance establishments. Efforts in this area have focused on developing several sites, including the former Sears site at North Kingshighway and Page, and a site at Natural Bridge and Union across from the redeveloped General Motors facility.
From this brief review of various aspects of the St. Louis economy it is apparent that the major difficulty facing the City is the inadequate income, on the part of a substantial number of St. Louis households, for meeting basic needs.
Although more people are employed in the growing service sector, often their wages are sufficient to meet their needs or to look for some measure of prosperity in the near future.
It would appear that a major focus of the City's economic strategy should be to, wherever possible, upgrade individual and household earning capabilities. This has implications for the City's educational delivery system as well as for its business retention and attraction strategies.
Given the complexity of the St. Louis economy, it is important to monitor various indicators carefully in order to best allocate scare resources. Such subjects as industrial space inventories and absorption, worker productivity, and many others deserve on-going analysis.
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