Greater St. Louis Inc.

The Railway Exchange building has been vacant since 2014 and has become a high-profile downtown eyesore riddled with trespassing and other crime.

The old paradigm in downtown St. Louis, that of a central business district with millions of square feet of office space, has faltered in recent years.

St. Louis business leaders announce financial incentives aimed at bringing businesses downtown. They say $350,000 in grants and other incentives could attract retail shops, restaurants and pop-up enterprises.

Lambert’s relationship with Southwest Airlines has helped the airport reestablish passenger traffic after losing its TWA hub in the 2000s. That rebound now helps the airport drive 5.5% of the region’s gross domestic product.

“You cannot move forward if everybody else does not have the opportunity to move forward. That was a major philosophical shift to address racial and spatial inequities that have held this region back for far too long,” said one leader.

The new initiative aims to help Latin American startups in agtech or geospatial land in St. Louis and also help similar companies in St. Louis more easily expand to those international markets.

Missouri and Illinois' lawmakers crossed the political aisle in hopes of securing the 2023 Bi-State Softball Showdown crown, but Missouri reigned victorious once more in a 10-2 blowout.

The goal is to see what’s working well and apply it across similar districts that dot the St. Louis region.

Residents throughout the region, including the Metro East, will have access to the resources that come with the federal Build Back Better Challenge Grant.

The sector has become a pillar of business opportunity that leaders want to develop in the region.