It’s been over a month since St. Louis Public Schools announced a major restructuring plan that could close or repurpose at least 17 schools, with some proposals affecting as many as 22 schools. The changes could impact roughly 2,500 students, as SLPS continues to deal with declining enrollment and excess building capacity. The district’s enrollment has fallen from more than 115,000 students in 1967 to just over 18,000 today.
For real estate, the biggest question may not be the school closures themselves, but what happens to the buildings afterward. Take Philadelphia, for example. In 2012 and 2013, Philadelphia closed 30 schools while facing a $1.35 billion budget deficit. Years later, many shuttered buildings were still difficult to sell or redevelop. Pew research found that, as of the end of 2012, 12 major urban school districts, including St. Louis and Philadelphia, had 301 unused school properties still on the market, despite having already sold, leased or reused 267 properties since 2005.
That experience presents both a warning and an opportunity for St. Louis. A vacant school that sits unused for years can become a financial and neighborhood liability. Philadelphia also successfully sold former schools to private residential, commercial and mixed-use developers, as well as the Philadelphia Housing Authority. For St. Louis, converting even a portion of the proposed closed schools into housing, apartments, commercial space or community facilities could bring new investment into neighborhoods that need it.
For homeowners and investors, the important story is what happens next. A school closure does not automatically mean surrounding property values will decline. The long-term impact will likely depend on enrollment trends, neighborhood demand and whether these large properties become productive assets or remain vacant. As SLPS moves forward, these properties could represent one of the city’s biggest redevelopment opportunities in years.