(St. Louis)– Action St. Louis and ArchCity Defenders (ACD) are publicly launching a capital campaign for the Northside Movement Center and inviting supporters to invest in the transformation of a significant property in North St. Louis City. Initiated by two of St. Louis’ leading justice organizations, the 36,000-square-foot building brings together advocacy, organizing, direct services, and convening space under one roof.
“We are stepping into the next decade of work, which will be defined by deeper investment, shared infrastructure, and long-term transformation. The very idea of creating this hub in North St. Louis stems from years of community engagement while providing resources and building people-powered coalitions. The Northside Movement Center will anchor this next chapter, creating the physical and communal space our communities need to organize, heal, and build the future we deserve,” said Blake Strode, Executive Director of ArchCity Defenders.
“We are beyond excited to open the Northside Movement Center in 2026. After a decade of partnership, our organizations are deepening our commitment to North City and to the people who make it home. This center will serve as a place where residents can access resources, build power and community, while shaping change in their own lives and neighborhoods. This building allows us to root our work here, ensuring the local movement has the stability and space it needs to grow,” said Kayla Reed, Executive Director of Action St. Louis.
For the past decade, Action St. Louis and ArchCity Defenders have worked side by side to advocate for changes that can alleviate suffering and transform the conditions facing St. Louis’ most marginalized communities. From grassroots movements to courtrooms and city halls, this partnership has challenged systems of injustice while building pathways for community power, policy change, and collective care.
Together, these teams have anchored campaigns like Close the Workhouse, Defund. Re-envision. Transform., We the Tenants, and the People’s Plan St. Louis coalition alongside a range of community partners. This collaboration has helped inspire major local initiatives, including the defunding and demolition of the Workhouse, creation of the St. Louis City Reparations Commission and report, the Re-envision the Workhouse Committee and report, and a Right to Counsel program for St Louis renters.
Through crises ranging from natural disasters to the pandemic, ACD and Action have prioritized care and stability for disinvested communities. In 2020, they launched a regional advocacy and resource hub to address COVID-19 inequities experienced by people who are unhoused, incarcerated, disabled, and low-income. During the 2022 flood, they distributed two truckloads of supplies, offered legal support in shelters, and facilitated $100,000 in assistance to over 400 households. After the May 2025 tornado, ACD joined Action in The People’s Response, organizing supplies, directing traffic, and deploying volunteers to clear debris and deliver aid directly to affected residents.
Since 2019, ArchCity Defenders and Action St. Louis have produced the podcast, Under the Arch. Now in its sixth season, the podcast has featured nearly 60 guests and had 30,000 downloads. The episodes faithfully “explore the issues impacting our communities and the people working to transform them.”
Located in the North Pointe neighborhood, the Northside Movement Center contains individual and shared office space for clients to meet with attorneys, paralegals, and social workers; spaces for groups to meet with organizers for planning, education, and community-building; and convening rooms for events and gatherings. The building, located at 5939 Goodfellow Boulevard, previously served as a family center for the New Northside Missionary Baptist Church for over twenty years.
The search and planning stages for a centralized location in North St. Louis began in 2021. Throughout acquisition and development of the building, ArchCity Defenders and Action St. Louis have been in conversation with the former owners, neighborhood groups, and nearby residents.
The building was purchased by the Northside Center for Power and Transformation, an entity established by ArchCity Defenders and Action St. Louis, on April 11, 2025 for $2.9 million. Two Black-owned local businesses, KAI Enterprises and Construction Management Partners (CMP) have led customized renovations of the facility designed by Trivers architects. ArchCity Defenders and Action St. Louis also worked with Black-owned social impact consulting firm Key Strategic Group in an earlier phase of the project. The facility’s name, the Northside Movement Center, is reflective of the nonprofit entity that will manage daily operations.
Action and ArchCity intend to raise $15 million through the capital campaign, with $10 million covering acquisition, design, and construction costs and $5 million allocated to an operating endowment to sustain ownership and maintenance of the property. To date, the organizations have raised about $9 million in funding. The total reflects contributions from individual donors, foundations, and New Markets Tax Credits proceeds. More information about the Northside Movement Center can be found at www.northsidemovementcenter.org. Tax-deductible donations may be made to the capital campaign for the Northside Movement Center via Friends of Northside at www.friendsofnorthside.com.
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About Action St. Louis
Action St. Louis is a grassroots organization working to build power for Black communities in the St. Louis area through organizing, advocacy, and direct action to fight for racial justice.
About ArchCity Defenders
ArchCity Defenders is a holistic legal advocacy organization that fights against the criminalization of poverty and state violence, especially in communities of color.
About Northside Movement Center
Northside Movement Center is a nonprofit organization and joint venture of Action St. Louis and ArchCity Defenders that provides north St. Louis with convening space for community organizations and St. Louis residents to move together towards a brighter future.
About Friends of Northside
Friends of Northside is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit which is classified under 509(a)(3) as a charitable foundation and Type I supporting organization of Action St. Louis and ArchCity Defenders. Friends of Northside supports joint ventures of these organizations by coordinating capital campaigns, receiving charitable donations, managing endowments, and lending or donating to affiliated nonprofits, all with oversight of a governing board.
About Northside Center for Power and Transformation
Northside Center for Power and Transformation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and charitable foundation under 509(a)(1) that exists to acquire and improve real estate property in under-served and under-invested neighborhoods. We lease our developed property to justice-oriented nonprofits who will operate these spaces for the benefit of the surrounding community.
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Media Contact:
Z Gorley, Director of Communications, ArchCity Defenders
zgorley@archcitydefenders.org
(314) 643-2463
Ohun Ashe, Director of Communications, Action St. Louis