St. Louis, Missouri: The Flance Early Learning Center Opens Doors to Opportunity in the Carr Square Neighborhood

St. Louis, Missouri: The Flance Early Learning Center Opens Doors to Opportunity in the Carr Square Neighborhood

HUD User publishes a series of case studies based on federal, state, and local strategies that increase affordable housing opportunities and support community development. The projects and community development efforts featured in these reports have demonstrated innovation through a multitude of partnerships and initiatives.

Years of disinvestment and decline in the Carr Square neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, are being reversed as the city's housing authority converts public housing properties into mixed-income housing opportunities. To maximize the neighborhood benefits associated with additional mixed-income housing, neighborhood stakeholders envisioned quality early childhood education as a critical strategy. The Flance Early Learning Center, which opened in June 2014, provides needed education and daycare services for children from low- and moderate-income families receiving public subsidies as well as children from families paying full tuition. The center earned the 2017 American Institute of Architects/HUD Secretary's Award for Housing and Community Design in the Community-Informed Design category for its participatory stakeholder process and its innovative design, intended to foster a creative learning environment for young children and encourage community interaction.

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