How to tell if the Delmar Divine redevelopment truly works
When a new housing project is announced in St. Louis, most people do not start by reading the details. In a city where redevelopment projects have often carried big expectations, reactions tend to start with comparison rather than celebration. They start by remembering. This region has seen ambitious redevelopment before. Some helped. Some faded. So when a project like Delmar Divine is introduced, the real reaction is not excitement or negativity. It is evaluation. The question is not whether St. Louis has tried to stabilize neighborhoods before. The question is whether this one depends on the same conditions that caused earlier efforts to unravel. Often the difference between projects that last and those that fade is whether they become part of daily life rather than a place people simply tried once. In many past cases, physical decline followed the loss of financing, insurance, and routine operating services buildings need to function. Projects that become part of daily routines tend to hold their footing, while those that never do rarely stabilize for long.
What Past Projects Had in Common
Many earlier developments depended almost entirely on steady occupancy and the revenue that came with it. If that stability weakened, the math stopped working because maintenance depended on rent collections, services depended on reliable funding, and safety depended on consistent activity. When vacancies rose and rent collections became inconsistent, the project did not simply weaken. It accelerated downward. By the time visible decline appeared, recovery was usually unrealistic because the building had to financially support the environment around it and eventually it could not.
How This Model Is Different
The idea behind this type of development is to reverse the order. Instead of housing creating activity, activity is intended to support housing. In projects like Delmar Divine, apartments are only one component among offices, services, programs, and organizations that bring people to the property throughout the day. The goal is to make the place useful first and residential second, so the homes attach to routines that already exist.
This does not guarantee success, but it changes what has to go wrong before failure begins. Earlier developments weakened when housing carried the entire financial burden. Here, stability depends on whether regular daily use continues. Places people rely on as part of everyday routines behave differently from those visited only occasionally, and that difference shapes the long term outcome.
Consistent daytime activity also affects management conditions. Buildings empty for long stretches are harder to manage because issues are noticed later and addressed less consistently. That does not eliminate problems, but properties used throughout the day tend to remain more stable than those active only at limited hours. The real question is not whether space is filled, but whether the property becomes part of ordinary habits.
Why Some Skepticism Remains
Some skepticism comes from experience rather than theory. St. Louis has seen projects open with strong attention and then gradually return to previous conditions once the novelty fades. When nearby options remain available, a single redevelopment does not automatically change long term patterns. For many observers, the concern is not whether the project opens well, but whether it functions the same years later.
How to Judge It Over Time
A useful way to evaluate projects like this is not at opening, but in stages. In the early years, services should operate on normal schedules rather than event traffic. In the middle years, surrounding businesses either renew leases or turn over repeatedly, which often reveals whether routine demand actually exists. Long before incentives end, the property should already function as an ordinary place people rely on, not a destination people are trying out. If that has not happened by then, incentives rarely change the outcome. Places tied to routine schedules, such as childcare, everyday food services, clinics, or workspaces, tend to anchor an area more than occasional or late night destinations.
Businesses understand this principle well. New coffee shops often give away drinks during opening weeks, not because the product is unknown but because habit is powerful. If a stop becomes part of the morning routine, people keep returning long after the promotion ends.
Years ago, during the reconstruction at Olive and 170, a busy restaurant I worked at stayed open the entire time, but traffic patterns changed. Customers found easier stops, and when construction ended many never came back. Places succeed when they become routine, not simply when they open well. Opening day creates attention. Routine use determines survival.
If you’re thinking about buying, selling, or exploring your options, I’m here to guide you with clarity and care.
Karen Moeller
🌐 STLKaren.com
📧 Karen.McNeill@STLRE.com
📞 314.678.7866
About the Author:
Karen Moeller is a St. Louis area REALTOR® with MORE, REALTORS® and a regular contributor to St. Louis Real Estate News, helping clients make informed, data-driven decisions.
