European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doilis Magazine Lynn and Jay Giardina in front of their renewed optimism in new York Gary Settle renovated townhouse right in the old Soulard Market Section of troubled f by Nathaniel Sheppard new York times Ive years Nelson Laffey and his family moved from a Small town of 700 people to it did not bother him that other people were moving out of the City at a near evacuation when you see a you take advantage of it and dont worry if nobody else i was Able to get More space in a Nice Vintage Home for a better Price than for a Home in the i feel Good about the City and dont think were fighting a losing despite Laffeyy recent demographic data show that Louis has lost residents and businesses Over the last 20 years at a rate if not slowed or will make the City a ghost town by the year although there appears to be no serious concern that this will City planners and officials acknowledge that the City s problems Are serious and and that downtown redevelopment another of which was announced in May have Little effect on the founded by the French in 1763 As a fur trading Post on the Mississippi River just below the Mouth of the became a prosperous River port in the 19th Century As the Gateway to the in recent for the most its own residents and businesses have filed through the making Louis one of the nations most distressed the cites population has declined by almost from a Peak or in when it had half the population of the nine county metropolitan area of which it is a to in the 1980 in the last 10 Louis has dropped from 18th to 25th in Popula Tion rank among the nations the City is trapped in a destiny partly of its own in the Louis was the Center of a flu in the City decided that it did not want to share the costs of providing services for people living in Louis county and other outlying so it seceded and established a 61squaremile area Independent of the As the City it found in by the Mississippi to the East and the county to the South and this was a major obstacle to keeping businesses that need space to Stephen a researcher for the regional com Merce and growth said that in for Louis county had businesses that employed people in it had Busi Nesses that employed in 1970 Louis had businesses and pm but by 1978 those figures had dropped to businesses and in an Effort to bring businesses and Middle income residents Back to the Louis has planned several redevelopment but Many have remained on the drawing boards for years before getting under by june for the City had announced plans for More than million in new including a convention Center and adjacent Plaza of hotels and commercial and a sprawling Gateway mall that was to extend from 3d to 20th streets Between Market and Chestnut the convention Center has been completed and three downtown hotels have been but the mall is still being private developers have begun several renovation projects and turned some scarred neighbourhoods into highly desirable condominium renovation has also begun on the cites mayor James Conway announced recently that another multimillion Dollar renovation involving a six Block riverfront would begin if Louis Hopes to lure a Large number of Middle income families Back to the it has to do something about its deteriorating Central even if the downtown redevelopment projects were successful in attracting people Back to the there would be no place for them to said Maclear Shep a Louis resident and advocate of housing re Habil a Large part of the cites housing is dilapidated 75 percent of the units were built before since the total number of buildings in the City has decreased by More than 25 from to about from 1970 to an average of housing units were torn Down each in the City adopted a Board and secure policy for buildings that were abandoned but the new policy was a Good but again the City january 1981 Louis came up a Day late and a Dollar Shepard the City has not put As much emphasis on the neighbor hoods As it has on and i think that was a but i still have Faith in the City and think things can be turned his optimism was shared by William an assistant Dean at Louis Community who has lived in the City since Harrison contends that one of the cites problems is its poor Public Louis has some things going for it that you never hear such As Forest which is bigger than Central Park and has one of the top five zoos in the country in terms of size and comprehensive but Harrison does not dispute that the loss of businesses and residents has Hurt the according to a study by researchers at Louis the exodus left the City with a population that is less employable and older than that of the surrounding sixteen percent of the cites residents Are on and about 25 percent Are 60 years of age or from 1948 to Louis lost retail Busi this trend persisted in the 1970s the City lost jobs from 1970 to in the general motors the second largest employer in announced that it would gradually end operations at a huge Assembly Plant in the throwing employees out of work and taking million in annual payroll taxes from the the Plant is to relocate 40 Miles bolstering the econ omy of Charles this year City officials found that the tax revenues and License fees that pay the cites operating expenses were running or about less than had been in the City was told that it would not receive million that it had expected in Federal anti recession despite its there Are signs the City can turn things one positive according to Russell an analyst for the Missouri division of employment Securi is that Louis county is beginning to fill in the City is offering tax Breaks to businesses in an Effort to attract Industry and Middle income main advantages Are a tax abatement program that could save businesses millions of dollars Over a 10year and Good rail and River the stars and stripes Page 13