About Our Neighborhood

Southwest Garden Neighborhood Association

(SWGNA) is the resident-based volunteer neighborhood association that works for neighborhood improvement. SWGNA’s neighborhood improvement objectives include but not limited to:

1. Coordinate beautification of neighborhood corridors, gateways and community gardens.

2. Coordinate block unit organizational meetings and communicate with area public safety officials to abate nuisance properties and criminal activity.

3. Coordinate with residents on improving the quality of life in the neighborhood.

Quarterly Membership Meetings

The association holds four quarterly general membership meetings the fourth Monday of January, April, July and October.

Annual Activities

Major annual activities sponsored by the association:

• • National Night Out, 1st Tuesday in October

• • Neighborhood entrance sign revitalization project

  • Neighborhood raised garden bed planting and maintenance projects

  • New Annual Activity to be announced for 2024--Adoption of Sublette Park?

The Communicator

The Communicator was SWGNA’s quarterly newsletter distributed to all neighborhood residents.  You can view archived copies of the Communicator in the "Links & Docs" section.

Demographics (as of 2012)

• Population: 4,097

• Median Income: $32,587

• Average Home Value:  $127,500 avg, up 7.8% from 2012

• Household size: 1.9 persons

• Ownership:

  • 43% of households are owner-occupied

  • 57% of households are renter-occupied

• Land Use:

  • Single Family Residential: 64.2%

  • Multi-Family Residential: 25.0%

  • Business: 5.5%

  • Other: 5.3%

• Median Rent: $650

• Key partners in the neighborhood:  Southwest Garden Neighborhood Assoc., Tower Grove CDC, Property Owners' Assoc., Gardenside Special Business Taxing District, So. City YMCA, Tower Grove Park, Sublette Park, and Missouri Botanical Garden.

(All data 2012)

Gardenside Subdivision Special Business Taxing District

Gardenside Subdivision Special Business Taxing District (Gardenside)

Gardenside is a special taxing district, where residents living east of Kingshighway near the Missouri Botanical Garden have voted since 2006 to tax themselves an additional 85 cents per $100 assessment for the purpose of hiring additional public safety officers to patrol their streets. Governed by a seven-member public commission, Gardenside regularly meets to assign duties and patrols to their hired off-duty St. Louis police officers. A neighborhood watch team works with the Commission to inform its board of neighborhood trends and concerns.