On a beautiful late-Spring St. Louis day, Northside Community Housing, St. Louis Equity Fund and M&I Community Development Corporation celebrated the grand opening of 18 new single-family homes and duplexes in the Greater Ville neighborhood.  The St. Ferdinand “Dianne White” Homes brings the total number of newly constructed affordable housing units built in partnership with SLEFI and Northside Community Housing to 65.

The homes are named in honor of Dianne White Clatto, a pioneer in local journalism.  A veteran of more than 40 years in St. Louis radio and television, she joined KSD-TV (now KSDK-TV) in 1962 and became the nation’s first full-time African-American TV weathercaster.  She also served as a news anchor and field reporter in her 26-year career at the station.  A member of the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame and one of the first African-American students at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Ms. White Clatto serves as a role model for the entire St. Louis community.