Legislation Gives Downtown St. Louis a Nationally Competitive Toolkit to Recruit New Development, Secure Private Investment, and Create Jobs
ST. LOUIS – Today, Governor of Missouri Mike Kehoe, Mayor of St. Louis Cara Spencer, Ron Kitchens, and additional elected officials and community leaders celebrated the passage of transformative new legislation to revitalize Downtown St. Louis with a ceremonial bill signing at Greater St. Louis, Inc. The Missouri Innovation, Public Safety and Accountability Act (HB 3231) and HB 3080 sends a clear message that Missouri is open for business by giving our state and Downtown St. Louis a nationally competitive toolkit to recruit new development, secure private investment, and create jobs.
“Missouri is open for business, growth, and opportunity,” said Governor Kehoe. “The passage of these bills are critical in our efforts to continue revitalizing Missouri’s main streets, central business districts, and downtowns. I want to thank the members of the General Assembly for supporting these economic development programs that lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity in communities across our state.”
“Today, we are putting tools in place to turn Downtown St. Louis’ potential into investment, development, jobs, and opportunity,” said Mayor of St. Louis Cara Spencer. “These bills join a growing toolbox that will help catapult Downtown St. Louis forward, and represent a commitment from the City, the state, and the private sector to invest in our city’s future.”
“Greater St. Louis, Inc. was proud to champion this transformative legislation, which will give St. Louis a new, nationally competitive toolkit to recruit development, secure hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, and create jobs to revitalize Downtown,” said Ron Kitchens, Greater St. Louis, Inc. “We thank Governor Kehoe, Mayor Spencer, and every other elected official, civic leader, and philanthropic partner who supported this effort. Together, we will make Downtown St. Louis the best downtown in the country.”
Additional participants of today’s ceremonial bill signing include State Representative Louis Riggs (HD-5), State Senator Kurtis Gregory (SD-21), and State Representative Brad Christ (HD-96).
The Missouri Innovation, Public Safety and Accountability Act (HB 3231) provides five major new tools to incentivize new investment in downtowns across Missouri by: giving cities the ability to establish Innovation Zones, reauthorizing and expanding of the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA), establishing office-to-residential conversion incentives, creating the Missouri Angel Investment Tax Credit to support startup capital formation and entrepreneurship, and expanding the state’s existing Missouri Works program to support large-scale capital investment projects. Read more about the bill here.
HB 3080 modifies Missouri’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit to cut bureaucratic red tape and incentivize private investment in our downtowns and Main Streets, which will support revitalization efforts in Downtown St. Louis and preserve our communities’ historic assets. Find more information about the bill here.
