About Our Neighborhood
Our Neighborhood
Southwest Garden Neighborhood is located South of I-44, East of Hampton, & west of Tower Grove Park & the Missouri Botanical Garden. Originally formed in 1977 as the Southwest Garden Neighborhood Improvement Association, Southwest Garden Neighborhood Association (SWGNA) is an organization led by a nine-person Board of Directors, which represent a membership comprised of people living within the above outline borders.
Southwest Garden Neighborhood Association is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization that provides and promotes programs, services, and activities aimed at encouraging connections between neighbors and fostering civic engagement in our diverse community.
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:
Coordinate beautification of neighborhood corridors, gateways and community gardens.
Coordinate block unit organizational meetings and communicate with area public safety officials to abate nuisance properties and criminal activity.
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.
