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ST. LOUIS — Thousands of vacant properties have pockmarked St. Louis for decades. City officials say a new initiative — and the infusion of federal funding — could start solving the problem.

The city has awarded a two-year deal worth up to $500,000 to the to address St. Louis’ 24,000 vacant properties. The grassroots organization will build upon the work it has already done on its own, including building a database of all of the in the city and devising policy recommendations to combat vacancy.

The contract, which is still being finalized, comes at a watershed moment for St. Louis: City Hall is flush with an unprecedented amount of federal money that can fill long-term funding gaps.

Practically every city department has had to address the vacancy problem in some fashion, from the police department, Building Division, Forestry Department and the Collector of Revenue. There’s wide recognition that the vacant lots and derelict buildings threaten public safety, depress property values and drain city resources, said Nahuel Fefer, executive director of the city’s Community Development Administration, which awarded the contract.

“It’s imperative that we seize the opportunity,� Fefer said.

The vacancy problem wasn’t created overnight: White flight, suburban sprawl, the construction of new interstates and a dramatic population loss compounded over decades. Thousands of lots and buildings wound up in the city’s land bank, and officials focused largely on selling them quickly instead of strategizing best use. The city, lacking either the funds or political will, didn’t have a comprehensive plan to address vacancy.

Former Mayor Lyda Krewson tried. She pushed for a citywide plan to use demolition to help tackle the problem. But the plan was hamstrung by funding shortfalls and skepticism from the public.

The millions of dollars the city received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act — along with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ priority to boost investment in the city’s north and southeast neighborhoods — now provides St. Louis “a nearly unprecedented opportunity ... to make a real dent in vacancy,� Fefer said.

As part of its official work with the city, the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative will coordinate city departments, host public meetings, prioritize demolition, maintenance and rehab, and track the cost of city services.

The CDA is finalizing the St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative’s scope of work and expects to present it to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment in June.

“To be in the room and have these conversations with leadership and decisionmakers,� said Torrey Park, the coalition’s executive director, “I can see a path forward in actually getting a lot of our recommendations implemented, which we didn’t have a means to do before.�

The St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative has already created a list of funding recommendations, like hiring more building inspectors specifically focused on vacant properties. It also is in the midst of creating a step-by-step process of what to do after a property has been identified as vacant. And it’d like to improve communication and education among residents and property owners.

“Not everyone’s a bad actor,� Park said. “There are a lot of folks out there who own property, and they’re in a situation where they don’t know what to do for themselves and for the community.�