A $7.1 million project to build 43 apartments is planned in the north St. Louis neighborhood of the Ville, a sizeable project in an area of the city that has suffered from disinvestment and vacancy for years.

Northside Community Housing, a community development corporation focused on the Ville, is leading the project along with Rise Community Development. Its proposal calls for nine new buildings on land owned by St. Louis’ land bank and the rehab of three existing structures near the intersection of St. Ferdinand Avenue and North Sarah Street, including the old Star Laundry building.

It’s the second phase of housing development in the area just west of the former Homer G. Phillips Hospital (now apartments) and Sumner High School. Around 2008, Northside Community Housing built dozens of single-family homes in the area. This phase, expected to break ground in September and take about a year, will be multi-family and include community space in the Star Laundry building that will be used for financial education classes and other programs.

Once the cultural hub of the black community in St. Louis before its population declined, the Ville still has a “huge need” for affordable housing, said Mona Majid, Northside’s community development coordinator.