Home State Health, McCormack Baron Salazar and Urban Strategies Join Forces to Expand Healthcare Access and Economic Opportunities at Preservation Square
Community Partnership Connects North St. Louis Families With Healthcare, Affordable Housing, Resident Support Services and Pathways to Economic Stability
Home State Health, McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS) and Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) have announced a community partnership designed to strengthen healthcare access, expand resident support services and create new economic opportunities for families connected to Preservation Square in North St. Louis. The collaboration brings together healthcare resources, affordable housing development and community-based services to help current, former and future residents achieve greater stability and long-term well-being.
The announcement coincides with the groundbreaking of the final phase of the Preservation Square redevelopment project and the near completion of Phase IV. The initiative forms part of a broader neighborhood revitalization effort that combines investments in housing with resident services and improvements intended to strengthen the surrounding community.
Through the partnership, the organizations aim to connect families with healthcare providers, social services, community resources and opportunities that can improve their quality of life. The initiative places particular emphasis on addressing challenges that may affect residents’ ability to maintain good health and financial stability, including access to medical care, chronic disease management, medication affordability, food security, transportation and employment opportunities.
The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to addressing the interconnected factors that influence health and economic mobility. By coordinating housing development with healthcare access and resident-focused services, the partners intend to create a more comprehensive support system for families in the Preservation Square community.
Preservation Square Redevelopment Supports Neighborhood Transformation
Preservation Square is a major redevelopment initiative in North St. Louis that forms part of a broader plan encompassing approximately 695 mixed-income housing units across nine city blocks.
The project is associated with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods effort in St. Louis’ Near North Side. The initiative combines housing investment with community engagement, resident support and neighborhood improvements to help create stronger and more sustainable communities.
The redevelopment approach recognizes that affordable and stable housing is an important foundation for family well-being. However, housing alone may not address the range of challenges residents face, particularly when families also need healthcare, reliable transportation, food assistance, educational resources or access to employment.
The Preservation Square partnership is intended to connect these different areas of support through a coordinated local strategy. By bringing together organizations with complementary expertise, the initiative seeks to make community resources easier to access and better aligned with residents’ needs.
The final phase of the redevelopment represents another step in the transformation of the neighborhood. As construction progresses, the partners are working to ensure that residents can also benefit from services and opportunities that extend beyond the physical development of housing.
The collaboration is designed to support current residents as well as former and future Preservation Square families, reflecting a broader focus on community continuity and long-term neighborhood improvement.
Home State Health Emphasizes Healthcare Access and Community Partnerships
Home State Health is contributing its healthcare expertise and connections with local organizations to help residents access services that support their physical health and overall well-being.
The organization’s involvement focuses on connecting families with healthcare providers, community resources and trusted local partners that address social drivers of health. These factors include the economic, social and practical circumstances that influence whether individuals can obtain appropriate medical care and maintain healthy living conditions.
Access to healthcare can be affected by a variety of barriers, including difficulty navigating insurance applications, transportation limitations, medication costs and a lack of awareness about available services. Residents managing chronic conditions may face additional challenges when coordinating appointments, obtaining prescriptions and maintaining consistent treatment.
Through this collaboration, Home State Health intends to help residents navigate available services and establish connections with organizations that can provide practical assistance.
Shawn Furey, President and CEO of Home State Health, said the partnership demonstrates the potential of bringing housing, healthcare and resident services together around priorities identified by the community.
Furey emphasized that affordable housing provides an essential foundation, but the partners’ broader commitment is to help families connect with the services, relationships and opportunities needed to thrive.
The approach places community needs at the center of the initiative. Rather than treating healthcare access as a separate issue, the collaboration recognizes that health outcomes can be influenced by housing stability, financial security, access to nutritious food and the availability of reliable support networks.
By working with community organizations, Home State Health aims to help residents identify and access resources that can make healthcare and other essential services more accessible.
McCormack Baron Salazar Advances Affordable Housing and Community Investment
McCormack Baron Salazar brings housing development and neighborhood revitalization expertise to the Preservation Square partnership.
The company specializes in developing economically integrated urban neighborhoods and creating housing for families, children and older adults. Its role in Preservation Square includes advancing the redevelopment effort and supporting the broader objective of building a stronger residential community.
The partnership connects this housing development work with healthcare access, family support and economic opportunity. This integrated approach is intended to ensure that neighborhood investment is accompanied by services that respond to residents’ practical needs.
Vincent R. Bennett, President and CEO of McCormack Baron, said the investment is focused on creating opportunities for families and strengthening communities.
Bennett explained that the continued transformation of Preservation Square, together with Home State Health, Urban Strategies and the Centene Foundation, is intended to connect residents with healthcare, supportive services, economic opportunities and resources that contribute to long-term stability.
The company’s involvement reflects the importance of coordinating physical redevelopment with the social and economic factors that influence neighborhood success.
Affordable housing initiatives can provide families with a more stable living environment, while community-based services can help residents address challenges related to employment, healthcare and access to essential resources. Bringing these elements together may help create stronger connections between residents and the institutions that support their well-being.
The Preservation Square collaboration seeks to build on these connections as the redevelopment enters its final phase.
Urban Strategies Leads Resident Engagement and Service Coordination
Urban Strategies, Inc. plays a central role in connecting residents with services, coordinating community partnerships and ensuring that the redevelopment strategy reflects local priorities.
The organization has nearly five decades of experience supporting resident-centered neighborhood transformation. Its work brings together residents, public agencies, developers, philanthropic organizations and community partners to pursue shared goals.
USI also operates as a national nonprofit and a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI. Through this combination of community development experience and financial resources, the organization supports efforts to mobilize public, private and philanthropic investment for community improvement, economic mobility and wealth creation.
In Preservation Square, USI’s responsibilities include resident and stakeholder engagement, family support, community meetings, service coordination and economic investment.
The organization also uses community relationships and data to identify needs, coordinate resources and translate resident feedback into practical action. This work helps participating organizations understand the challenges families face and identify opportunities to improve the delivery of services.
The approach is intended to reduce fragmentation between organizations and make it easier for residents to connect with appropriate support.
By aligning services across healthcare, housing and economic development, USI aims to help establish a coordinated framework in which community organizations can work toward measurable outcomes.
Esther Shin, President and CEO of Urban Strategies, said stable housing is a critical foundation for good health. She emphasized that building trust, centering residents’ needs and aligning housing with healthcare and supportive services can create stronger connections and opportunities for Preservation Square families.
Her comments underscore the partnership’s focus on trust and community participation. Residents are not simply recipients of services; their experiences and priorities help inform how organizations coordinate resources and determine where support is most needed.
Centene Foundation Supports Early-Stage Affordable Housing Development
The Centene Foundation is supporting the final phase of Preservation Square through its multiyear affordable housing partnership with McCormack Baron Salazar.
Under this arrangement, the foundation provides below-market-rate loans to support predevelopment design and planning activities. These activities can include site analysis, architectural design, community engagement and financial planning.
Early-stage financing plays an important role in affordable housing development because projects often require substantial planning before construction can proceed. Developers must assess potential sites, determine project feasibility, engage stakeholders and establish financial structures that can support long-term implementation.
By providing financing during this early stage, the Centene Foundation helps McCormack Baron advance project planning and work toward securing additional public and private investment.
The funding arrangement supports the broader Preservation Square redevelopment while complementing the community partnership’s focus on resident services and economic opportunity.
Although predevelopment financing is primarily intended to support the planning and advancement of housing projects, its role can extend beyond the construction process by helping create the conditions for coordinated neighborhood investment.
In Preservation Square, the foundation’s support forms part of a wider effort to connect affordable housing development with services and resources that can contribute to long-term community stability.
Community Engagement Connects Residents With Practical Resources
The collaboration was already underway before the groundbreaking, with Home State Health, USI and participating community organizations engaging Preservation Square residents through community events, outreach, resource navigation and service connections.
These activities are intended to help families identify available services and understand how to access them.
One example is a recent Health Empowerment Event that brought together healthcare and food-access resources for community members.
Affinia Healthcare supported the event by assisting with Medicaid applications and providing health screenings. These services can help residents explore health coverage options and access preliminary health assessments.
The St. Louis Area Foodbank also participated by sharing information about food-access resources and assisting residents with applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP.
Food security is an important component of the partnership’s broader approach to well-being. Access to nutritious food can affect household budgets, daily health and the ability of families to manage other essential expenses.
Similarly, help with Medicaid applications can assist eligible residents in navigating health coverage requirements and understanding potential pathways to healthcare services.
By bringing multiple organizations together at community events, the partners aim to make it easier for residents to learn about available resources without having to navigate each system independently.
These activities also provide opportunities for organizations to listen to residents, identify unmet needs and strengthen relationships with community members.
Exploring Additional Medication and Workforce Support
Beyond the services already provided through community events, Home State Health and Urban Strategies are exploring additional partnerships that could expand support for Preservation Square families.
Potential connections include Greater Health Pharmacy & Wellness for medication-related assistance and Mission St. Louis for workforce development.
Medication support is relevant to residents who may face challenges obtaining prescriptions, managing treatment costs or understanding available pharmacy resources. Better connections with pharmacy services could help eligible residents explore available assistance and improve their ability to navigate medication-related needs.
Workforce development represents another important component of the initiative. Employment opportunities can contribute to household income, financial security and longer-term economic mobility.
Connecting residents with workforce development organizations may help them identify resources related to job readiness, skills development and employment opportunities.
The proposed connections with Greater Health Pharmacy & Wellness and Mission St. Louis are still being explored, and the organizations have not described them as fully implemented services. However, they illustrate the partners’ intention to expand the range of support available to families as the collaboration develops.
Together with housing investment, healthcare navigation and food assistance, these potential services reflect an approach that addresses several interconnected dimensions of family stability.
A Coordinated Approach to Long-Term Family Well-Being
The Preservation Square partnership illustrates how housing developers, healthcare organizations and community-based nonprofits can coordinate their expertise to address challenges that extend beyond housing construction.
Each organization contributes a distinct set of capabilities. McCormack Baron Salazar advances housing development and neighborhood revitalization. Home State Health helps connect residents with healthcare resources and community partners. Urban Strategies coordinates resident engagement and service delivery, while the Centene Foundation provides early-stage financing that supports affordable housing development.
The combined strategy is informed by resident input and information gathered through USI’s longstanding work in the community. This helps participating organizations align their activities with local needs and identify opportunities to strengthen access to essential services.
The partners’ priorities include improving healthcare access, supporting chronic-condition management, helping residents navigate medication affordability, strengthening food security, addressing transportation barriers and expanding economic opportunities.
The collaboration also emphasizes the importance of building trust between residents and service providers. Familiar, accessible community organizations can help families understand available resources and navigate systems that may otherwise seem complicated or difficult to access.
As Preservation Square moves toward the completion of its final redevelopment phase, the partnership aims to continue building connections between housing, health and resident support services.
The groundbreaking ceremony will include remarks from community leaders and project partners, followed by a ceremonial shovel turn and media availability.
Ultimately, the initiative reflects a shared commitment to supporting current, former and future Preservation Square families through a combination of affordable housing, healthcare connections, coordinated services and economic opportunities. By aligning these resources around community priorities, Home State Health, McCormack Baron Salazar, Urban Strategies and the Centene Foundation aim to contribute to a more stable and supportive environment for families in North St. Louis.
Source link: https://investors.centene.com/
