NASCAR Returns To St. Louis, BJC To Merge With KC Health System, St. Louis: "Central To American's Economic Future", and More
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Photo Credit: Jack Myer
IT’S CUP TIME! NASCAR RETURNS TO ST. LOUIS
NASCAR returns to the St. Louis metro this weekend, when the Enjoy Illinois 300 Weekend kicks off on Friday, June 2. Held at World Wide Technology Raceway in the Metro East, the weekend will include the Confluence Music Festival, the JJK 5K honoring GSL board member and local Olympic legend Jackie Joyner Kersee, and the NASCAR Cup Series at WWT Raceway closing out the weekend on Sunday.
The inaugural Enjoy Illinois 300 took place last June, bringing more than 100,000 fans to both the race and festivities and an economic impact of $60 million to the metro. The vision of Dave Steward, Founder and Chairman of the Board of World Wide Technology and executive-level member of Greater St. Louis, Inc. Chair’s Council, and WWTR Owner Curtis Francois, a GSL Chair’s Council member, the event made an indelible impression on the metro, paving the way for increased enthusiasm in racing and other sporting events — and significant amplified investment in St. Louis.
BJC Healthcare, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, is merging with St. Luke’s, a Kansas City-based health system, in a $10 billion deal. The new healthcare entity will operate from dual headquarters — one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City — with current BJC CEO Richard Liekweg serving as CEO of the system. "With an even stronger financial foundation, we will further invest in our teams, advance the use of technologies and data to support our providers and caregivers, and improve the health of our communities," said Liekweg.
In a column in the current issue of international publication Financial Times, urban expert Bruce Katz — the author of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan — explores the evolution of older industrial cities into valuable and competitive advanced manufacturing hubs. With the development of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center in North St. Louis, Katz notes that St. Louis has the potential to level out inequalities, drive economic competitiveness, and even restore national cohesion, adding that St. Louis is “likely to become a model that [is] adopted throughout the country.”
GSL APPLAUDS PRO-GROWTH POLICIES PASSED IN IL LEGISLATURE
This past weekend, the Illinois General Assembly adjourned its 2023 regular session. Greater St. Louis, Inc. was proud to advocate for and advance policies that will increase investment in Illinois’ businesses and entrepreneurs and bring fairness to the state’s legal climate, including the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund and the New Markets Tax Credit program.
$41 million in funding awarded through the 2023 Illinois Competitive Freight Program — funded by the federal Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act — will support eight infrastructure projects in and around Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois. “All of these projects are basically serving the manufacturing, logistics industries,” said Mary Lamie, executive vice president at Bi-State Development.
FAA APPROVES $2.8B PLAN TO MODERNIZE ST. LOUIS AIRPORT
An estimated $2.8 billion master plan that will consolidate and upgrade St. Louis Lambert International Airport terminals has received initial approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The plan — which will modernize the airport and support expanded air travel to the region — anticipates 21 million passengers a year by its completion in 2040.
A recent $16.5 million funding round will help St. Louis agtech startup Pluton Biosciences expand its team and advance the development of its initial products. Pluton is part of St. Louis’ established agtech ecosystem, called out in the STL 2030 Jobs Plan as critical to the economic growth of the metro.
USDA TO BREAK GROUND ON $115M FACILITY IN NORTH COUNTY
A former north St. Louis County convent will soon be home to a United States Department of Agriculture food safety laboratory. The $115 million project will replace the USDA’s regional testing facility, one of only three in the country. Like another federal agency — the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency — the FDA will move into its new St. Louis facility in 2025.
BOEING EXPANDS R&D FOOTPRINT WITH NEW ‘PHANTOM WORKS’ SITE
A new 47,500-square-foot facility in the St. Louis metro will expand Boeing’s Phantom Works unit, which carries out mostly classified research, development, and prototyping for the company’s defense business. The planned building will stand adjacent to an existing Phantom Works site in St. Louis County.
Boeing, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, last week exported a state-of-the-art Phantom Works project — the MQ-28 Ghost Bat unmanned drone — to a facility near Scott Air Force Base for testing. Originally developed for the Royal Australian Air Force, the MQ-25 has the potential to change the future of U.S. combat capabilities.
A St. Louis summer tradition is also a centerpiece for the metro. Muny President and CEO Kwofe Coleman talks to Publisher Ian Caso during the latest edition of WinningSTL, the video interview series from GSL Chair’s Council member the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, about the unifying power of the country’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theater — a member of GSL’s Investor Council.
$150M IN KINGSWAY PROJECTS PLANNED NORTH OF DELMAR
Developers have more than $150 million in projects planned for north St. Louis, including the Bridge apartment complex, the Elevation office building and business incubator, a hotel, a rehabilitated theater, and more. Kingsway Development LLC and Brian Pratt of AHM Group and Ballast Commercial Real Estate are spearheading the projects, which could revitalize a disinvested area of the city.
New St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore was sworn into office this week, pledging a “balanced approach of prevention, intervention, and enforcement.” The former federal prosecutor and partner at Dowd Bennet LLP, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s council, was tapped by Missouri Governor Mike Parson to replace St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. “In order to reduce that violence, it’s going to take all of us working together,” he said.
St. Louis County Library, a member of the GSL Investor Council, has added an additional free service for the community — five social workers based in five branches will help connect people to resources and referrals. Anyone can participate, regardless of residency, freeing up librarians for additional responsibilities and allowing social workers to focus on community needs.
President of Harris-Stowe State University Dr. Latonia Collins Smith took note this week when she met Xavier Jones, an eighth grader who walked six miles to get to his graduation. His resilience, persistence, and perseverance, Collins Smith said, prompted her to award the teen a full ride to HSSU, ready and waiting upon his high school graduation.
Danielle Deavens and Doug Spencer, Bold Xchange founders, and Craig and Mowgli Rivard, owners of Little Fox, share why they moved to St. Louis to grow their businesses.
