Greenprint partnered with community anchor, Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, to inspire community pride through the addition of natural beauty to their property and management of 1.5 million gallons of stormwater a year.
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church is one of the largest community-based Baptist congregations in St. Louis, and currently serves nearly 850 members. As part of their mission, Hopewell Baptist is deeply committed to fostering community health and reconciliation within their vibrant congregation. Initiatives that support this mission include offering 52 units of affordable housing, an aging adult care center, an all-girls daycare center, and a group of 20 Deacons, seven Trustees, and 25 Ministers who together shepherd dozens of ministries within the community.
In 2019, Greenprint approached Hopewell Baptist with a proposal to develop grant-funded green infrastructure that would beautify the property and contribute to an increased sense of community pride while also managing stormwater from a key location (due to size of the property and location on a hill). Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church formed a close-knit stakeholder advisory group for the project, including key champions including Senior Pastor Dr. Donald Ray McNeal and church congregation members. Working with this group, Greenprint developed five bioretention basins and additional improvements such as a new ADA ramp and sidewalk repairs. Bioretention basins were also added to the church’s parking lots, two highly visible areas that enhance curb appeal for the property.
“This represents one of the largest investments MSD has made in a historically Black community in St. Louis, and shows that we are leaders in creating a more sustainable and prosperous community.”
Dr. Donald Ray McNeal, Senior Pastor, Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church
LOCATION
St. Louis, Missouri
CONTRACT DATES
2019 to present
BUDGET
$787,000
SCOPE
Develop green infrastructure to enhance curb appeal and increase community pride
SERVICES
Planning, Site Analysis, Property Owner Outreach and Engagement, Engineering Design, Permitting, Project Management, Performance-Based Contracting, Financing, Construction Management, Vegetative Establishment, Maintenance Training
PARTNERS
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church | Client
Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) | Construction Partner
MSD Project Clear | Funder
IMPACT
Greened Acres: 4.75
Annual Gallons Managed: 1.5 Million
Percent Vegetative: 100%
Co-Benefits: Enhanced Curb Appeal, Increased Community Pride, Increased Positive Social Interactions
Highlights
IMPACT-DRIVEN SITE SELECTION
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church is located in St. Louis’ Lewis Place neighborhood, which is home to a community of color, 44% of whom are also considered low income. This community also faces significant environmental justice challenges, including a 87th percentile risk for respiratory hazards and 87th percentile risk for cancer. The green infrastructure installed at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church will contribute to improved health outcomes and well-being for this community.
66% People of Color
44% Low Income
87th Percentile Risk: Respiratory Hazards
87th Percentile Risk: Cancer
BENEFITS-driven design
Different types of green infrastructure contribute to different social and environmental co-benefits. To improve equitable outcomes, green infrastructure projects should be designed with community priorities in mind to provide lasting benefit. Greenprint worked with the church’s deacons, trustees, and members to determine community priorities, select plant species for the basins, and develop interpretive permanent signage for the site. Key stakeholders identified the following as priority outcomes: enhanced curb appeal, increased sense of community pride, and increased positive social interactions.
Greenprint’s design adds natural beauty to highly visible areas of the site, particularly along the right of way, and enhances curb appeal, contributing to an increased sense of community pride. The new rain gardens placed in one of the vacant lots will also provide a new space for gathering and increased positive social interactions for congregants and other community members.
Community activation
Greenprint’s Community Activation Practice seeks to build capacity for communities to take a leadership role in their projects. Greenprint met with church leaders to plan engagement and provide communications support, including community outreach toolkits, social media content, a project video, fliers, a press release, and webpage.
The project’s construction culminated in a joyful ribbon cutting ceremony that drew nearly 100 congregants and leaders from the Comptroller’s office, Alderman’s Office, Metropolitan Police Department, and St. Louis Metropolitan Fire Department. Tishaura O. Jones, St. Louis’ first black female mayor named October 31, 2021 “Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church Day” and Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor issued a proclamation in support of the project.