Central West End Midtown Development has adopted a new service area – and a new name to go along with it: Park Central Development Corp.
The boundaries of the newly minted Park Central Development have expanded to include the entire 17th Ward, including all of Forest Park Southeast, Botanical Heights, the southern part of the Central West End, and parts of Midtown, Tiffany, Shaw, Kings Oak and Cheltenham. The new name reflects the relationship of these neighborhoods to Forest Park, Tower Grove Park, and the Botanical Garden, as well as smaller community parks.
Previously, Central West End Midtown Development handled community development functions in the area of the 17th Ward north of Interstate 64, with Forest Park Southeast Development Corp. covering neighborhoods in the southern part of the ward. FPSEDC will now concentrate on housing in Forest Park Southeast, while Park Central Development Corp. will administer the CDC Block Grant program for the area and take over staffing of neighborhood committees.
Creating one ward-wide community development corporation makes financial and logistical sense, said 17th Ward Alderman Joseph D. Roddy. The consolidation will streamline administrative functions and eliminate duplication of efforts.
"By consolidating the existing development corporations, we hope to improve service by taking advantage of economies of scale," Roddy said. "We hope the consolidated organization will be able to recruit a talented staff that has more specialized skills that can then be applied to the entire ward."
Three new members have been added to the board to represent the area south of Interstate 64: Patrice Willis and Megan Phillips of Forest Park Southeast and Nancy Symeonoglou of Botanical Heights. The rest of the CWEMD board members will remain on the Park Central Development board. Click here for the Board of Directors list.
Park Central Development is currently undergoing a search for an executive director. The interim executive director is Dan Krasnoff, former executive director of CWE Midtown Development. Eventually, the corporation will have three to five employees specializing in various aspects of community development and administration. Neighborhood volunteer committees will continue to guide decisions on development, infrastructure, security, social services and marketing.
For the time being, Park Central Development's offices will be located at 12 N. Sarah St. in the Central West End, but will likely move to a more centrally located space this fall.
The Board of Directors voted to approve the expansion, bylaws revisions, name change and new members at the December and February board meetings.
Q&A with Brian Phillips, President of the Board of Directors at Park Central Development Corp.
What are the reasons behind the consolidation of the 17th Ward development corporations?
The consolidation provided us an opportunity to look holistically at planning, security, infrastructure and development opportunities and challenges ward wide.
What are the benefits of combining community development services for the 17th Ward neighborhoods under one organization?
The primary benefit will be gaining economies of scale. By having one organization, we eliminate the need to duplicate administrative functions, while at the same time we can expand our staff of community development professionals to better serve and attend to the needs of the constituents ward-wide. One of the positive effects of this will be our ability to bring in individuals with more specialized skills (development, security, infrastructure, etc.). Under the old system, our staffs had to be a “Jack of all trades and master of none.” Our new model will allow us to better serve the individual committees (development, infrastructure, security, human services, etc.) by paring them with staff members that have a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges of those particular areas.
How will the voices of the different neighborhoods be ensured?
There are a number of ways that stakeholders can get involved and make sure that their voices are heard. First, the board of directors is made up of both resident and institutional stakeholder from across the ward. Our board members will take a proactive approach to going out to the individual areas that they represent and bringing back their ideas and encouraging them to get involved at the committee level.
The committee level is where the majority of work gets done. Under the new structure, we will continue our very strong committee system where we have development, infrastructure and marketing committees in each of the geographic areas. Each committee is charged with developing and implementing strategies to improve the quality of life in their areas. Thus far, this system has proved successful in building consensus around a form based plan in the CWE, a drive corridor improvement plan in FPSE and well thought out marketing strategies in both neighborhoods. As we develop committees in the Botanical Heights/Tiffany and West Oakland areas, we hope to build on our success of consensus building and thoughtful implementation of stakeholder driven strategies and programs.
What is the timeline for the selection of the executive director and staff?
The first step is selecting an Executive Director. We have posted the position both locally and nationally. Hopefully, we will be able to name the permanent Executive Director within the next 45 days. Once the Executive Director is named, they will develop a staffing plan and begin hiring staff.