“Greater St. Louis, Inc. is Committing to Downtown St. Louis”

Greater St. Louis, Inc. – the alliance of St. Louis’ civic-minded business community focused on growing the metro and expanding opportunity for all – announced today that it has signed a 10-year lease on new headquarters space in Downtown’s One Metropolitan Square Building.

“Strengthening Downtown as the heart of our metro is one of our core strategies for growth, and with this new headquarters space, Greater St. Louis, Inc. is committing to Downtown St. Louis,” said Andrew C. Taylor, Executive Chairman of Enterprise Holdings and Founding Chair of Greater St. Louis, Inc.

Greater St. Louis, Inc. was founded on Jan. 1, 2021, combining the strengths of five legacy organizations – AllianceSTL, Arch to Park, Civic Progress, Downtown STL, Inc., and the St. Louis Regional Chamber – to unify around a common vision and strategy for fostering inclusive economic growth. GSL is guided by the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, St. Louis’ first metro-wide jobs plan in a decade. A core priority of the Jobs Plan is to boost employment density in and rejuvenate the urban core.

“All growing metros have thriving downtowns, and as we work to grow the St. Louis metro, we want to lead by example by investing in the heart of the urban core,” said Jason Hall, CEO of GSL. “We are excited to stay Downtown and help lead its resurgence.”

A Space to Foster Regional Collaboration

GSL’s current offices are located on the 13^th floor of One Metropolitan Square. But, Hall noted: “As we scale up our team to help St. Louis win this next decade, we want to ensure our headquarters reflects that mission. We will develop a space that both honors St. Louis’ history and looks to St. Louis’ future … a space that fosters regional collaboration and reflects the strength, creativity, and diversity of the entire 15-county bi-state St. Louis metro.”

GSL will lease the entire 22^nd floor of One Metropolitan Square, most recently occupied by co-working company WeWork. John Warren with Cushman Wakefield represented GSL and David Biales with Jones Lang LaSalle represented the owners of One Metropolitan Square.

“This space represents what the future of St. Louis’ business community should be about. It is open, welcoming, dynamic, and fosters collaboration. While some changes will need to be made to the space to suit our needs, this is a great step for Greater St. Louis, Inc. and, more importantly, St. Louis’ business community,” said Ola Ayeni, President and Founder of Claim Academy, former Arch Grant recipient, and member of GSL’s Board of Directors. “This new headquarters also demonstrates the critical importance of Downtown to the metro.”

Companies Committing to Downtown

GSL expects to move into the new space in the Spring of 2023. It joins a host of other companies and organizations, large and small, committing to Downtown, including:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture, which continues the buildout of the new offices of its Rural Development Office, also in One Metropolitan Square, into which it will move nearly 1,000 employees.
• Peabody, which recently announced a new long-term lease in its building on Market Street.
• Scale AI, an artificial intelligence & geospatial company that recently moved 200+ employees to Washington Avenue with plans to grow to over 500.
• 21C Museum Hotel, under development in the old YMCA in Downtown West.
• 11^th and Spruce & Ballpark Heights, apartment buildings under development near Busch Stadium.
• Stereotaxis, which moved into the Globe Building earlier this year.
• AHM Group, which is developing a three-acre mixed-use site near 20^th and Locust.
• Ostara, which recently broke ground on a new production facility along the St. Louis riverfront.