Historic $50B Missouri State Budget Includes GSL Priorities, $63.8M Riverport Trade Center Expands Industrial Market, and More
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HISTORIC $50B MISSOURI STATE BUDGET INCLUDES GSL PRIORITIES
Last week, the Missouri General Assembly passed the largest budget in state history. The $50 billion budget contains funding for Greater St. Louis, Inc. priorities, including sustained investments in the Missouri Technology Corporation and public transportation, making St. Louis more competitive on the national and global stage. The budget also includes $15 million to support the construction of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis (AMICSTL). GSL advocated for funding in the legislature and collaborated with the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership to help secure federal funding through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
“State investment in AMICSTL will significantly accelerate the St. Louis metro and region as a leading advanced manufacturing hub,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Chairman of the AMICSTL Board of Directors. “We are also grateful for the assistance and partnership of Greater St. Louis, Inc. and the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership on this transformative effort and our shared goal to expand and elevate advanced manufacturing in our state and region. All together, we anticipate AMICSTL will drive broad, equitable and diverse economic growth.”
$63.8M RIVERPORT TRADE CENTER EXPANDS INDUSTRIAL MARKET
Newly opened, Riverport Trade Center in Maryland Heights offers three warehouses, 46 acres, and 725,000 square feet of industrial space to tenants. Developed by NorthPoint, which has invested $800 million into the region and is planning a number of other projects, the $63.8 million site offers additional space in a tight industrial market.
The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded a $2.5 million grant to the City of St. Louis, administered by the city’s Community Development Administration, that will support the redevelopment of a 106-acre industrial site adjacent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, a GSL Chair's Council member. With the grant, the site can be redeveloped for future advanced manufacturing opportunities.
METROLINK CARS GET A MAKEOVER THANKS TO $196.3M GRANT
In one of the largest federal outlays to the area transit system, a $196.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration will allow Metro Transit to buy up to 48 light rail replacement cards for the MetroLink system. The new cars — some of which will replace 25 of the original MetroLink cars — will be phased in beginning in 2026.
NEW LEGISLATION WILL BOOST MISSOURI TALENT AND RECRUITMENT
The Missouri General Assembly this week passed legislation developed, in part, by Greater St. Louis, Inc. to help talent recruitment and retention efforts in the St. Louis metro and across Missouri. The Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act included in House Bill 417 will incentivize Missouri businesses to increase the number of internship and apprenticeship opportunities they provide.
GSL VISITS ALTONWORKS TO DISCUSS WHAT’S WORKING IN ALTON, ILLINOIS
Greater St. Louis, Inc. this week visited Alton, Illinois, as part of its ongoing work to gather information that will help develop the STL 2030 Jobs Plan initiative to strengthen local business districts. GSL CEO Jason Hall joined Alton Mayor David Goins, economic development officials, and local leaders and business owners for a tour of downtown Alton businesses and a roundtable discussion.
“At AltonWorks, we are committed to regional growth and believe downtown Alton is an important part of the region’s future,” said John Simmons, CEO of AltonWorks. “We are excited about our ongoing discussions with Greater St. Louis, Inc.”
VOICES GROUP SUPPORTS MINORITIES IN THE STARTUP COMMUNITY
Last year, Cortex and BioSTL, GSL Investor Council members, joined with the Center for Emerging Technologies to launch VOICES, an inclusive entrepreneurship affinity group supporting minorities in the startup community. This week, GSL CEO Jason Hall joined the group for a fireside chat, discussing the STL 2030 Jobs Plan and the impact of diverse small businesses and entrepreneurs on the economic growth of the metro.
THE DELMAR DIVINE WANTS TO BRING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER
In an interview with Maxine Clark, founder of GSL Chair’s Council Member Build-A-Bear Workshop, the St. Louis American details how her vision for the Delmar DivINe came to fruition, what it offers the community, and how it serves as a gathering place. “We are changing the divide day by day, and now when people talk about Delmar it is about the DivINe!” said Clark.
$3.7M DOWNTOWN PARK MAKES WAY FOR MORE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DEVELOPMENT
A newly opened park in Downtown St. Louis offers beautiful views of the Mississippi — and a starting point for a number of upcoming waterfront projects. Part of the Open Space and Redevelopment Plan from Great Rivers Greenway, a GSL investor member, the $3.7 million Katherine Ward Burg Garden opened April 23, paving the way for the additional redevelopment of vacant properties into parks and recreation sites in the North Riverfront area.
NYT: COUNTERPUBLIC "PUSHES THE PUBLIC-ART ENVELOPE"
National media continue to highlight the breadth and innovation of St. Louis’ Counterpublic art exhibit, running now through July 15. The New York Times recently took readers for a walk through all six miles, calling it “a deeply thought exhibition that has set itself a high degree of difficulty.”
Poet Carl Phillips, an English professor at Washington University — an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council — has been awarded a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his collection “Then the War: And Selected Poems, 2007 – 2020.”
Southwestern Illinois College leads the way in educating the next generation of manufacturing workers, helping to realize the vision of a thriving advanced manufacturing industry that will drive inclusive economic growth in St. Louis.
