I drove down Evans Avenue a little ways just west of Vandeventer Avenue. In case you didn’t know, there is a program that is couple of years old now called “Mow to Own,” where if you maintain a vacant lot owned by the Land Reutilization Authority, you can acquire title to it after a set amount of time.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about it. A larger side yard certainly is nice for people, but if we are ever going to turn around the City of St. Louis, among other things, we need a stronger real estate tax base. A recent article at NextStL actually thoughtfully addresses this conundrum. Grass doesn’t generate much tax revenue.

Bombed out abandoned buildings don’t generate much tax revenue, either, of course. What are we doing?

This is not more than a mile from Grand Center but it might as well be a hundred miles.