Let’s take a minute to remind ourselves of the work we’ve done these past 12 months, celebrate the progress we’ve made, and more
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
2023 was a year of growth and progress for the St. Louis metro, thanks in no small part to your incredible collaborative efforts.
Before we get caught up in the bustle of the holidays and the regeneration of the new year, let’s take a minute to remind ourselves of the work we’ve done these past 12 months, celebrate the progress we’ve made, and look forward to an even better, brighter 2024. Below, you’ll find some of the metro’s biggest wins and best stories from the year.
The Greater St. Louis, Inc. weekly newsletter will take a hiatus next week. We will return Jan. 4, 2024, with more good news for a new year.
Investments in Regionalism
Greater St. Louis, Inc. continued its work to bring the metro together to speak with a unified voice and drive a bold agenda to advance inclusive growth.
15 COUNTIES, ONE METRO
Greater St. Louis, Inc. wrapped up its yearlong, 15-county tour of the St. Louis metro, with trips to Jersey and Calhoun Counties in Illinois and St. Louis County in Missouri — part of its initiative to strengthen the region’s local business districts and corridors of commerce.
At the inaugural Inclusive Economic Growth Summit in September, Greater St. Louis, Inc. launched STL 2030 Progress, a new initiative and online resource developed to help the 15-county St. Louis metro visualize its progress toward inclusive economic growth targets.
The business community scored some big wins in the metro this year, leading to billions of dollars in new investment and thousands of new jobs.
$1.8B BOEING INVESTMENT TO ADD 500 JOBS
Greater St. Louis, Inc. executive-level investor The Boeing Company announced in July plans for a $1.8 billion advanced manufacturing facility adjacent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The project would add 500 new high-paying advanced manufacturing jobs to the regional economy.
After a national search, Emerson — an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council — announced in February it will keep its headquarters in St. Louis, cutting the ribbon on its new Clayton home in June. Its commitment to the region indicates St. Louis’ very real competitive advantages — and its resurgence as a major metro.
The St. Louis metro added another Fortune 1000 headquarters, when Advantage Solutions — a leading provider of outsourced sales and marketing solutions to consumer goods companies and retailers — announced in October that it is moving its corporate headquarters to St. Louis from Irvine, California.
This summer, silicon wafer manufacturer MEMC and parent company GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. celebrated $300 million in capital improvements to MEMC’s O’Fallon, Missouri, manufacturing facility. The expansion “welcomes more opportunity for global innovation and growth in the St. Louis metro,” said GSL Chief Business Attraction Officer Maggie Kost.
Greater St. Louis, Inc. continues its stewardship of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, advancing several of its strategic initiatives and growing several key industry clusters.
AMICSTL BECOMES A REALITY
The metro reached a milestone in November as leaders gathered to break ground on the new home of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis, a project laid out in the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, conceived by the regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, and funded through the region’s successful Build Back Better Regional Challenge Proposal.
2023 saw St. Louis’ geospatial sector shine in the global spotlight. In May, GSL representatives took our message of geospatial excellence to the Geospatial World Conference in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Later that month, St. Louis hosted USGIF GEOINT Symposium 2023, the largest annual gathering of the geospatial industry, complete with an STLMade party that showed off the very best of Downtown.
GSL joined a group of regional collaborators in October to launch a new regional initiative that aims to strengthen partnerships with Latin America. CultivarSTL will contribute to economic growth in St. Louis and positively impact food security in the Americas as well as globally.
In April, Greater St. Louis, Inc. joined forces with six other regional entities to establish 39 North AgTech Innovation District. The new organization, which will be responsible for elevating the district to the next level of successful growth and economic impact, tapped Emily Lohse Busch as its executive director.
The business community came together to successfully advocate for pro-growth public policy outcomes this year.
TALENT RECRUITMENT BILL BECOMES LAW
At a ceremony at the offices of Greater St. Louis, Inc. in August, Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed the Intern and Apprentice Recruitment Act, which was developed in part by GSL and passed overwhelmingly by both houses of the Missouri General Assembly in May. “Talent attraction and retention is a priority for the business community in the St. Louis metro and throughout the state of Missouri,” said Greater St. Louis, Inc. Vice President of Government Relations Adam Kazda.
The Missouri and Illinois General Assemblies closed their 2023 Regular Sessions in May having passed several pro-growth policies advocated for by GSL in collaboration with legislators, investors, and community partners. Big wins included funding for the Missouri Technology Corporation, the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis, public transit, and more. In Illinois, GSL voiced strong support for the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, enhancements for the state’s New Markets Tax Credit program, and more.
Critical drivers of economic growth, St. Louis’ arts and culture community made a great impact this year.
THE ARTS MAKE AN IMPACT
In October, the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis, a GSL member-level investor, was joined by two renowned national institutions — Americans for the Arts and WolfBrown — for CULTURA 2023, where they presented the latest findings from two pivotal studies examining how arts activities impact local economies.
March saw a historic moment for St. Louis — the inaugural match at CITYPARK, home of St. Louis CITY SC. St. Louis smashed nearly every MLS expansion team record from ticket to merchandise sales to social media engagement — and the club ended the season competing in the MLS Cup Playoffs, with CITY SC Captain Roman Bürki Named 2023 Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
After a 4-year hiatus, Downtown St. Louis Restaurant Week returned in October, celebrating the Downtown restaurant scene with nearly 40 participating Downtown establishments. “The Downtown restaurant scene is seeing a real resurgence,” said Kurt Weigle, Chief Downtown Officer for GSL.
