ST. LOUIS, MO – ICYMI: Smart Cities Dive covered regional efforts to “bet on office-to-residential conversions, innovation zones, and private-sector partnerships” to drive revitalization efforts in Downtown St. Louis ahead of hosting the U.S. Olympic marathon trials and eight Olympic soccer matches during the 2028 LA Games. Read excerpts below:
Smart Cities Dive: How the 2028 Olympics is shaping downtown revitalization — in St. Louis
October 30, 2026
- “Downtown St. Louis is a sleeping giant,” [Mayor Cara Spencer] told Smart Cities Dive.
- “It’s a vibrant time in St. Louis. The next three years are going to be maybe the greatest investment in the urban core since the [1904] World’s Fair,” Ron Kitchens, Managing Partner of Greater St. Louis, Inc., told Smart Cities Dive.
- In July, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed HB 3231, the Missouri Downtown and Rural Economic Stimulus Act. The bill, which the Missouri House approved by a bipartisan 119-24 vote, creates millions of dollars in tax incentives for downtown innovation zones, along with tax credits to convert vacant office buildings into residential spaces.
- “I can’t overstate the alignment we currently have in St. Louis to revitalize our downtown,” [Mayor Spencer] said.
- Along with HB 3231, this revitalization push also includes a new public-private downtown redevelopment partnership to spend $55 million that St. Louis received as part of a lawsuit settlement over the St. Louis Rams National Football League team leaving for Los Angeles.
- Kitchens said HB 3231 allows cities and regions throughout the state to designate one area, like a downtown, as an innovation zone. The bill also expands existing tax incentives for converting office buildings to residential, creates the Missouri Angel Investment Tax Credit to support capital expenditures for startup businesses, and expands the state’s Missouri Works program to support large-scale capital investment projects, particularly within innovation zones.
- “Collectively, these tools will give St. Louis an unprecedented ability to revitalize downtown by leveraging private investment to generate new public revenue for infrastructure, public safety, and housing,” Kitchens said.
- The Missouri business community “worked very diligently with the state legislature on this set of tools that work for everyone,” Kitchens said. “We had to build a coalition of 28 communities around the state” to help get the bill passed.
- Kitchens expects that four large downtown buildings, including the AT&T building, will use these incentives to redevelop in the next five years. “Overall, we have $1.5 to $2 billion in new and redevelopment construction going on in the next 18 months,” [Kitchens] said.
- “Our business community is aligned with us in doing this work. It’s an exciting time when you have the private sector willing to come to the table and match us dollar for dollar,” Spencer said.
- “I hope to get every dollar out the door prior to the Olympics,” Kitchens said. “The world stage is going to be here. It’s like a dinner party — you need to get your house ready in advance.
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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.