GSL on Winning STL: Focus on Inclusive Economic Growth, Downtown Prioritization, Mercy Plans a New $650M Hospital Complex, and St. Louis Selected to Participate in 2024 Startup World Cup
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GSL on Winning STL: Focus on Inclusive Economic Growth, Downtown Revitalization
In the latest edition of Winning STL, the video series from Greater St. Louis, Inc. Chair’s Council Member the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Publisher Ian Caso joined GSL CEO Jason Hall in the Andrew C. Taylor Center for Civic Collaboration to discuss GSL’s formation and impact.
“Regions grow when they focus on their priorities and lean into their strengths,” Hall said. “We have to work to reduce those barriers that have limited the full participation of everyone in the region in the growth that we’re creating.”
Hall discussed what he views as GSL’s most impactful accomplishments — the development of the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, the restoration of nonstop flight service to Europe on Lufthansa, and winning the Build Back Better Regional Challenge, among others — as well as the metro-wide need to prioritize the growth of the urban core.
“I think we had lost sight of why the core is so critical to the long term reputation of the region. That is your talent magnet for the next generation; you bring all your visitors and guests there, that is where they start to form their perception of the region overall, and I think reelevating Downtown as a regional priority — as called for in the Jobs Plan — is absolutely critical.”
To facilitate collaboration with St. Louis’ ecosystem of global agricultural science companies, start-ups, research institutes, and leading universities, Gates Ag One — Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations — has opened a home office in the Cortex Innovation District, a member of the GSL Investor Council.
“St. Louis has long been established as a global gathering place for science and agricultural innovation, and the Cortex Innovation District’s focus on catalyzing innovation aligns with Gates Ag One’s start-up mentality,” said Joe Cornelius, CEO of Gates Ag One.
APIIC, Apertus Partner to Reshore Manufacturing of Cancer Medication
The manufacturing of a key drug in the treatment of brain cancer will take place in St. Louis, thanks to a partnership between St. Louis-based API Innovation Center and Apertus Pharmaceuticals. Funded last year by the Missouri Technology Corporation, APIIC has reached a milestone in accelerating — and reshoring — the production of lomustine, a chemotherapy drug, which will now be produced by Apertus.
Mercy, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council, is planning to build a new, $650 million, 483,000-square-foot medical complex in Wentzville, adding hundreds of new jobs and increasing access to care for people in St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren Counties — three of the fastest growing counties in the state.
WSJ Names St. Louis One of Country’s Hottest Job Markets
In a recent assessment of 380 metro areas, the Wall Street Journal ranks St. Louis as one of strongest job markets in the country, outpacing Denver, New York, Los Angeles, and more. Five factors determined the strongest markets: the unemployment rate, the labor-force participation rate, changes to employment levels, the size of the labor force, and wages.
Forbes: Evolution Festival Serves to Benefit More than Music Fans
In an article highlighting the economic benefits of big events for the cities that host them, Forbes called out Steve Schankman, President of Contemporary Productions, a member of the GSL Investor Council. Contemporary produces Evolution Festival, the new, two-day summer music festival that attracts 25,000 people, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue and increased awareness for the metro.
St. Louis Named Top Market for First-Time Home Buyers
According to real estate website Zillow, St. Louis is the best place in the country for first-time home buyers to purchase a home. Our rent affordability, available inventory, the ratio of affordable for-sale inventory to renter households, and generous share of households age 29-43, all contribute to St. Louis topping the charts.
St. Louis Selected to Participate in 2024 Startup World Cup
For the first time, St. Louis was selected to participate in the world’s largest startup competition — Startup World Cup 2024 — a global contest that awards $1 million to the winning entrepreneur. Participants compete in a series of regional pitch contests, with each city’s winner competing in the culminating event in San Francisco in October. In St. Louis, 100 startups will compete in 10 different pitch events to determine a finalist.
“Our community is home to some incredible startups who are primed for the global stage,” said Emily Hemingway, executive director of TechSTL, which will launch the regional contest at the end of this week’s STL Tech Week.
Federal Appropriations Could Make ‘Southwest Connector’ a Reality
Federal dollars could make possible a long-planned rural expressway connecting St. Louis to rural Illinois. Supported by GSL, the St. Louis Cardinals — a GSL Chair's Council member — and a number of Illinois legislators, the Southwest Connector will expand highways in rural communities, better connecting them to the St. Louis metro. The current federal appropriations process could, supporters hope, contribute up to $150 million to the project.
Hermann World Ecology Award Gala Honors Environmental Advocate
This week, the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis — a member of the GSL Investor Council — hosted the Robert R. Hermann World Ecology Award Gala, named for Robert R. Hermann, Sr., founder of Hermann Companies, an executive-level member of the GSL Chair’s Council. The event honors professionals who advocate for the planet in their work or philanthropic efforts.
The St. Louis Sports Commission — a GSL member — will once again host “St. Louis’ Healthiest Happy Hour,” bringing together the business community in Downtown St. Louis Thursday, May 9, for BizDash. The 5K starts and ends with a party at CITYPARK, treating runners and walkers to unique views of Downtown and encouraging a healthy lifestyle for employees.
At the International Institute of St. Louis, a new federal program, Welcome Corps, invites American citizens to sponsor refugees as they build new lives in the metro.
