St. Louis pauses tornado home demolitions as affordable housing plan announced

St. Louis has paused the demolition of homes damaged by last year’s tornadoes until next year, the city said, according to KMOV. The decision follows the completion of about 700 demolitions and comes as the city announced a $4 million affordable housing plan, KSDK reported. The pause aims to allow for more thorough assessments and community input before further removals proceed. Meanwhile, Kirkwood approved a $50 million apartment project, The Business Journals reported, weeks after rejecting financial incentives for the development. The St. Louis Development Corporation is adding new staff to support its development pipeline and neighborhood planning efforts, according to The Business Journals. At the same time, the St. Louis Public Library is offering free home repair classes and tool loans at the Julia Davis Library, KMOV reported. Mortgage rates moved at four of eight tracked lenders on October 28, according to AOL.com. The typical home value in St. Louis was $273,164 in September 2026, up 3.3% from the prior year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.