St. Louis OZ Districts

Opportunity Zone Cluster Profiles

Greater Downtown

The geographic, economic, and cultural center of St. Louis Region

Dutchtown & Bevo

A diverse and historic neighborhood with exciting potential

South Riverfront

An active riverfront industrial hub just south of Downtown

Old North St. Louis & North Riverfront

A working historic riverfront neighborhood adjacent to Downtown

NGA/Project Connect

The future home of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency

Grand Center

The city’s intersection of arts, media, and education

Cortex & The Grove

A vibrant innovation community surrounding by diverse, historic neighborhoods

Delmar/ MLK Corridor

A neighborhood rich with history and community assets

 

1-70 Industrial/ Natural Bridge

An industrial hub adjacent to neighborhoods and anchors of reinvestment

Carondolet/Patch

An infrastructure-rich industrial hub on the city’s South Riverfront

 
 

Greater Downtown

The geographic, economic, and cultural center of St. Louis Region

  • Ongoing reinvestment strategies are aimed at attracting and retaining a talent young workforce, and improving the tourist, convention delegate, and visitor experience.

  • The America’s Center Convention Complex draws over 600,000 annual visitors, and will soon see a $175 M expansion.

  • The Downtown Community Improvement District (CID) is committed to providing a cleaner, safer, and more attractive Downtown environment.

Momentum

  • The CityArchRiver initiative invested $380 million to connect, invigorate, and expand the Gateway Arch Grounds.

  • Through the Near North Side Choice Neighborhood Initiative, this area will see at least $70 million in public-private investment in mixed-income housing, a new community center, and a range of social and economic supports.

  • The $261 million Ballpark Village will include a hotel, apartments, and an office building.

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Opportunities

  • Historic rehabilitation and redevelopment in Chouteau’s Landing district.

  • Mixed-use development of vacant property on the Near North Riverfront.

  • Redevelopment of the Praxair site on Chouteau Avenue.

  • Rehabilitation and reuse of historic Downtown buildings.

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Dutchtown & Bevo

A diverse and historic neighborhood with exciting potential

  • The area has a diverse and historic housing stock, with many buildings in good condition.

  • Community Improvement Districts on Gravois and in Dutchtown self-fund marketing, security, and other quality of life enhancements.

  • New restaurants on Gravois Avenue are bringing new vitality to the neighborhood.

  • The area is one of the city’s most diverse, with refugees and immigrant communities from all over the world.

Momentum

  • The proposed $3 million development of the Gene Slay’s Girls & Boys Club of St. Louis will serve 500 at-risk youth in the surrounding neighborhoods.

  • The $1.5 million renovation project of the historic Bevo Mill as an event space brought new life to this iconic historic building, and re-established it as a dining and entertainment destination within the city.

Opportunities

  • Partner with the City and St. Louis Public Schools on a mixed-use redevelopment of the old Cleveland High School, Scruggs School.

  • Historic rehabilitation of the Virginia Theatre.

  • Development of 5100 Virginia.

  • Industrial development and business investment.

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South Riverfront

An active riverfront industrial hub just south of Downtown

  • This cluster has nearly 1.5 miles of riverfront, including several active industrial businesses as well as sites for commercial or industrial redevelopment.

  • The Anheuser-Busch Brewery is a center of beer production and a major destination for visitors and residents.

  • The area includes several neighborhood commercial districts, including on South Broadway and Chippewa.

Momentum

  • MilliporeSigma invested an estimated $23 million in their facilities since 2013.

  • Music venues and new restaurants on South Broadway bring new vitality to the area.

  • Over the past 5 years, the Marine Villa neighborhood saw almost $6 million in residential reinvestment.

  • The Anheuser-Busch Brewery continues to evolve and grow as a brewery and tourist destination, and has invested $9 million in its facilities since 2013.

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Opportunities

  • Development of vacant property at President and Potomac Streets along South Broadway.

  • Future redevelopment of the current NGA site.

 

 

Old North St. Louis & North Riverfront

A working historic riverfront neighborhood adjacent to Downtown

  • Many of the area’s vacant or underutilized commercial sites are well suited for industrial development. They range from small neighborhood serving businesses up to large tracts with rail yards and shipping facilities.

  • Old North St. Louis, Hyde Park, and College Hill, neighborhoods with some of the region’s richest historic character, contain approximately 2,000 vacant buildings and parcels.

  • The North Riverfront Open Space and Redevelopment Plan offers a vision for the riverfront’s redevelopment.

Momentum

  • The $12 million new transportation and sales facility for Central States Thermo King is putting a former junk and rail switch yard back to productive use.

  • Two vital connectors in the area—the Adelaide Avenue Bridge and the Carrie Avenue overpass—have seen over $12 million in recent repairs and improvements.

  • The over $25 million investment in 8000 Hall Street transformed existing industrial buildings into a modern business park that now houses 12 businesses and employs over 600 people.

  • The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is in the process of completing $2 million in sewer replacement investments for a significant portion of Hall Street.

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Opportunities

  • Industrial and logistics development in the Hall Street industrial area

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NGA/Project Connect

The future home of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency

  • The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) will relocate into a new $1.75 billion facility in the area.

  • There are approximately 1,100 vacant buildings and parcels available for development and reinvestment.

  • The cluster also includes portions of the Promise Zone, the Near North Side Choice Neighborhoods geography, the Near North Riverfront Commerce Corridor, and the Northside Regeneration Tax Increment Financing District.

Momentum

  • The new NGA facility, and the associated 3,500 employees, will create a major new economic engine in the area.

  • $2 million investment in the Brick River Cidery included rehabilitation of an old fire station.

  • Through Project Connect, the City is aligning the efforts of various governmental and non-profit partners to successfully relocate the NGA to the area.

  • The $70 million Jefferson Connector project will connect Midtown to Downtown with new retail, office, apartments, maker spaces, and a hotel

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Opportunities

  • Mixed-income residential and commercial development around the future NGA site

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Grand Center

The city’s intersection of arts, media, and education

  • The area is home to two of the region’s premier institutions of higher education: St. Louis University and Harris Stowe State University.

  • The Grand Center Arts District is a hub of vibrant arts and entertainment institutions that serve as destinations for the entire region.

  • The Cochran campus of the VA St. Louis Healthcare System is an important social service provider for the region’s veterans.

  • The Performing Arts Incubator Program at the new .ZACK provides artists an environment to work, build, and perform in a single space.

Momentum

  • The Kranzberg Arts Foundation re-opened the Grandel Theatre as a 600-seat, worldclass performing arts center.

  • The Grand Center TIF redevelopment area, originally created in 2003, has supported over 20 projects with their associated investment and jobs.

  • The Olive West residential development will feature the architecture of world renowned architect Tatiana Bilbao.

  • The VA is planning a major expansion of their Cochran campus.

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Opportunities

  • Development of under-utilized surface parking lot at the northeast corner of Delmar & Grand

  • Redevelopment of the historic Masonic Temple

  • Rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings throughout the cluster

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Cortex & The Grove

A vibrant innovation community surrounding by diverse, historic neighborhoods

  • The CORTEX Innovation Community is home to a 200-acre innovation hub and technology district. Since 2010, Cortex has grown from 35 companies to 390 companies, academic units, and retail businesses with 5,700 employees.

  • With over 21,000 employees, Washington University Medical Center is one of the region’s largest employment centers.

  • The Grove and the surrounding Forest Park Southeast neighborhoods are home to a diverse community of residents and local businesses, as well as a stock of historic architecture.

Momentum

  • The Chouteau Greenway, when complete, will connect St. Louis landmarks, neighborhoods, and communities.

  • The $550 million SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital will create the capacity to serve an additional 55,000 patients annually.

  • Over $25 million invested in Forest Park Southeast between 1996 and 2013 in infrastructure, neighborhood safety, education, and housing.

  • St. Louis University is planning a 14-acre, 850,000 square foot expansion that will include a new hotel, retail, entertainment, restaurants, office space, and housing.

Opportunities

  • Redevelopment of underutilized sites along the Vandeventer and Park Avenue Industrial Corridors

 

 

Delmar/ MLK Corridor

A neighborhood rich with history and community assets

  • The neighborhoods north of the city’s “Delmar Divide” stand to benefit from equitable investments in housing, businesses, and community programs that will help these neighborhoods thrive as a mixed-income community.

  • The Launch Code Mentor Center provides training programs for aspiring computer programmers.

  • Ranken Technical College is one of the state’s leading technical colleges, with a 98% placement rate for recent graduates.

Momentum

  • $30 million investments in Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School and the North Sarah Apartments.

  • The redevelopment of the former St. Luke’s Hospital in the Delmar Divine project will allow not-for-profit agencies focused on early child and family issues to co-locate in the facility. The project will also provide much needed workforce housing targeting teachers and social workers as future residents.

  • Kingsway Development is fostering residential and commercial development in the area surrounding Fountain Park

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Opportunities

  • Commercial and residential development along historic commercial corridors such as Delmar Boulevard and MLK Boulevard

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 1-70 Industrial/Natural Bridge

An industrial hub adjacent to neighborhoods and anchors of reinvestment

  • With the 161-acre Union Seventy Center, the former St. Louis Army Ammunitions Plant site, major St. Louis thoroughfares, and Intestate 70, this cluster contains many of the most marketable industrial and commercial sites in the region.

  • Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church is a major anchor within the neighborhood, spearheading holistic reinvestment in the area.

  • The Wellston Loop Commercial Historic District contains many commercial and residential buildings that are ripe for reinvestment and stabilization.

Momentum

  • Over $100 million recent investment in the Union Seventy Center, a 161-acre intermodal commerce center home to numerous office, warehouse, and distribution tenants.

  • Friendly Temple and Robert Fulton Development have spearheaded a $100 million investment in the Arlington Grove Redevelopment Area, including the Arlington Grove Housing Project, Friendly Temple Child Development Center, Wellston Community Resource Center, and the Friendly Town Nursery.

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Opportunities

  • Redevelopment of the largely city-owned St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant site, highly visible site with 95,000 vehicles passing on I-70 daily

  • Industrial development in the Mark Twain/I-70 Industrial Area

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Carondolet/Patch

An infrastructure-rich industrial hub on the city’s South Riverfront

  • The neighborhood-oriented business district on South Broadway, has a historic stock of commercial buildings, with approximately 20 percent vacancy.

  • This cluster contains the Carondelet Broadway TIF, is a redevelopment area eligible for tax abatement, and sits within an Enhanced Enterprise Zone.

  • The River des Peres Greenway follows the River des Peres as it connects to the Mississippi River. The greenway has direct connections to area parks, the Shrewsbury Metrolink Station, and the Holly Hills neighborhood.

Momentum

  • Italgrani, a grain mill with an international customer base, is in the midst of a $37 million expansion of its facilities.

  • The Carondelet Community Betterment Federation developed a strategic land use plan that identified opportunities to strengthen the industrial areas of the neighborhood as part of the overall development of the community.

  • Building 1 of the River City Business Park was completed in 2016, an $11.5 million project following a $13 million investment in environment remediation.

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Opportunities

  • Redevelopment of the Carondelet Coke site

  • Mixed-use development along the South Broadway Commercial Corridor

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