St. Louis Region Wins $25 Million Highly Competitive Federal Build Back  Better Regional Challenge Grant

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the St. Louis Tech Triangle as one of its Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant winners. The application submitted by Greater St. Louis, Inc. was a region-wide effort to unlock the potential of St. Louis’ advanced manufacturing sector and develop the 130,000 square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center (AMICSTL) in the Vandeventer neighborhood in North St. Louis.

“Our city cannot succeed, together, if one half is allowed to fail. Major North St. Louis projects like AMICSTL will create good-paying jobs for families and begin reversing decades of disinvestment in our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. “AMICSTL will further enhance St. Louis’ strong position as the technology and innovation hub of the Midwest. Winning this competitive Build Back Better grant is a testament to the commitment and collaboration of all of our partners and demonstrates the progress we can make when we come together as a region.”

AMICSTL will bolster the region’s competitiveness and resiliency in advanced manufacturing - a key economic cluster - and facilitate convergence of the advanced manufacturing sector with the other key industries in the region, including geospatial, bioscience, agtech and aerospace.

“The Build Back Better grant is a huge win for the entire St. Louis region. More specifically communities in the City of St. Louis affected by decades of disinvestment,” said St. Louis Development Corporation’s Executive Director, Neal Richardson. “Investments like this reinforce the need to put our Economic Justice Action Plan to work for our community. The AMICSTL was the hub of the proposal and will be newly constructed in the heart of one of the hardest hit areas of North St. Louis. This grant will go a long way to boost economic pandemic recovery and drive inclusive economic growth and opportunities in St. Louis.”

Located in a historically disinvested neighborhood with a high concentration of Black residents in an Opportunity Zone in the St. Louis Promise Zone of a persistent poverty county, AMICSTL and aligned components will serve as catalysts for advancing economic opportunity in the adjacent neighborhoods. AMICSTL and other strategic investments will lead to first-year opportunities for business corridor revitalization and small business empowerment. The neighborhood will also be well-positioned to shape the cluster as it grows and to participate in overall cluster development.

St. Louis Development Corporation will implement best practices for neighborhood planning and development to convene, engage and elevate the key priorities for the residents and
businesses within and adjacent to the AMICSTL site to ensure existing stakeholders are positioned to realize economic benefit from the project. Preliminary metrics include new jobs and businesses in the disinvested neighborhood and population growth in the neighborhood.

Read the full press release issued by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA

About St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC)

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is an umbrella, not-for-profit corporation organized under Chapter 355 of the Missouri State Statutes with the mission of fostering economic development and growth in the City of St. Louis by stimulating the market for private investment in City real estate and business development and improving the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits the City. Learn more about SLDC by visiting www.stlouis-mo.gov/sldc.