The City of St. Louis Recovery Office today announced that over 120 tornado-damaged properties have been submitted and approved by the State of Missouri for demolition under the Senate Bill 1 (SB1) demolition program. 36 demolitions are actively underway or have been completed, and the remaining will be completed over the next few months.The SB1 demolition program allocates $10 million directly to the City of St. Louis to demolish tornado-damaged properties that are not eligible for federal private property debris removal assistance. The majority of properties in the pilot, 74%, were already vacant and condemned before the May 2025 tornado. The disaster made these properties acutely dangerous, but FEMA and standard insurance do not cover demolition for properties in this condition. SB1 is the funding mechanism that allows the City to address them. Approximately 50% of demolitions are involuntary condemnations, in which the property owner did not apply for or was deemed ineligible for the City’s Private Property Assistance, and will ultimately be billed for demolition costs.”Rebuilding the neighborhoods that were devastated by the tornado has to start with visible progress on removing dangerous properties like these that have no chance of getting repaired, while supporting residents repairing and moving back into their homes,” said Mayor Cara Spencer. “I am grateful for our partnership with the State, helping us move forward on these demolitions of properties that are not FEMA eligible.”Where the work is happeningThe more than 120 approved properties focus on major street corridors and span 12 North St. Louis neighborhoods, with the heaviest concentrations in Greater Ville, Fountain Park, and Academy. Significant additional work is underway in Penrose, O’Fallon, Lewis Place and Kingsway East. Together, the properties total approximately 362,000 square feet of structures to be cleared.Why SB1 was neededFEMA’s Private Property Demolition Removal program does not cover demolition costs for properties that were vacant, condemned, commercial, or entity-owned, such as LLCs, prior to the disaster. For tornado-damaged properties in St. Louis that fall outside federal eligibility, the SB1 pilot is the funding pathway that allows the City to clear them. Without SB1, these properties would remain in their tornado-damaged state. The State of Missouri enacted Senate Bill 1 in late 2025 to create this pathway, allocating $10 million to St. Louis for the pilot. The City and State agreed on a direct reimbursement model with a 7% administrative fee paid by the State.”This is the work of partnership between a city and a state. The properties we are clearing are properties no one else was going to address. SB1 makes this possible,” said Chief Recovery Officer Julian Nicks.This work will occur alongside more than 350 potential FEMA private property debris removal, city emergency, and LRA DED-funded demolitions. The City estimates that as many as 1,600 potential demol 

Author