Business leaders in St. Louis want the city to devote more funding to downtown public safety and physical improvements.
The neighborhood generates about 20% of the money that goes into the general fund of St. Louis, but accounts for only 5% of spending citywide, according to one new economic impact analysis from Greater St. Louis Inc.
For Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, this disparity does not support the growth this part of St. Louis has seen.
“Resurrection is real,” he said. “But the moment is not the victory. It’s an opportunity to support and make smart decisions and smart investments that put downtown and metro St. Louis for long-term success.”
The hall shows in The recent announcement that Scale AI will be opening a new office in downtown St. Louis as a positive indicator of new activity. But he added ongoing challenges with crimeroads and other infrastructure issues and the coming out of the pandemic make this growth more difficult.
“The pandemic hit downtown St. Louis and many others hard,” Hall said. “We had to stop conventions, ball games, a lot of things that drive downtown density. And that created a set of conditions that are challenging from a public safety standpoint and will limit our full potential.”
Those concerns are shared among those downtown, said Kelli McCrary, executive director of the downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District.
“Our constituents are the residents, businesses and property owners of downtown, large and small,” she said. “We hear similar messages about the concerns everyone has with public safety.”
It’s a challenge that business leaders see as hindering future growth, as downtown is an anchor for economic activity in the region.
“It’s critical as the front door to the region,” Hall said. “People who come here for a congress, they cannot touch any other part of the region. Their entire perception of St.
Hall said he’s not advocating that the city invest money in specific ways because his organization doesn’t specialize in that. He explained that the city has many assets that are overshadowed by the current challenges.
“The affordability, a national park in your front yard, the built environment, the historic environment here,” he said. “I mean those are unique assets, those are all strengths, but we’re leaving value on the table if we don’t rely on them.”
Eric Schmid covers economic development for St. Louis Public Radio.
