The revitalization of downtowns and Main Streets across the state of Missouri took a major step forward today with passage by the Missouri House legislation that would provide a suite of economic tools to help create jobs and drive growth and investment in Downtown St. Louis and in other downtowns and commercial corridors in Missouri.
“Creating more and better jobs is our focus, and to increase jobs and drive growth, our top legislative priority is the creation of an office-to-residential conversion tax credit that spurs hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment in downtowns and Main Streets across the state,” said Greater St. Louis, Inc. Managing Partner Ron Kitchens. “For the past three years, we have advocated for legislation, the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act, that would accomplish this goal, and we are excited to see it advance in Jefferson City.”
The legislation, sponsored by State Representative Brad Christ (District 96), assembles a broad suite of economic tools, including the core elements of the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act as well as employer retention and relocation incentives, an angel investment credit, a move-to-Missouri incentive, opportunity zone overlays, and more.
A broad, bipartisan coalition in the Missouri House came together to pass House Bill 3231 by a vote of 119-27. The legislation is seen as critical to the efforts to redeveloping major vacant properties, including the AT&T Building and Railway Exchange in downtown St. Louis. It will also help drive investment into smaller downtown areas in communities across the St. Louis region.
“I’ve been proud to work alongside Greater St. Louis, Inc., developers, and Main Street communities from every corner of this state to get this right. 119 votes sends a signal Missouri is open for business,” said Representative Christ.
The bill now moves to the Missouri Senate for consideration. Greater St. Louis Inc. expressed its commitment to continuing to work closely with House and Senate sponsors, the City of St. Louis, and communities across the region as the legislation advances through the Senate.
“The overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation sends a message that Missouri must modernize its economic development infrastructure to remain competitive nationally,” said Kitchens. “We congratulate Representative Christ and House Majority Leader Alex Riley on this milestone and look forward to working with the Senate to get this across the finish line and to Governor Kehoe’s desk for his signature.”
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Greater St. Louis, Inc. – We Drive Growth
Greater St. Louis, Inc. forges partnerships that empower growth across the 15-county St. Louis region. We convene and collaborate with business, governmental, and civic leaders to empower economic growth and prosperity in communities across the St. Louis metro area. Together, we act with intention to create a thriving and inclusive St. Louis that attracts and retains investment and talent for generations to come and creates more and better jobs for the region.