Our Hometown

The Financial Times recently showcased the International Institute of St. Louis’s efforts to grow the St. Louis metro population by recruiting immigrants and refugees to live and work in the area. The Financial Times article also said the St. Louis metro area “stands out in both its method and ambition” to increase foreign-born communities and in how nonprofit, governmental, and business communities have come together to support the effort.

When Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed Black teenager, was fatally shot in 2014 by a white police officer and his body left in the street under the August sun, the small St. Louis suburb of Ferguson roiled and plunged into crisis. The protests drew activists from across the nation, amplified the national Black Lives Matter movement and fueled larger questions about race in America. And at a more grass-roots level, it created a political incubator of emerging local leaders: A new generation of young protesters who came of age during the Ferguson uprising have found ways to chip away at the racial disparities in Ferguson and nearby St. Louis, shifting from protests to politics and policies.

Sometimes life has a way of coming around full circle and during a recent college visit for our daughter, I was reminded of just what a great city St. Louis is. We stayed in the Cortex district, had dinner in the Central West End and were struck by how great the city looked. If you drew a straight line from Wash U, through Forest Park, continued through BJC’s campus, through Cortex and ended up at Union Station you would see a city on the upswing.

More people are working in the St. Louis region than ever before, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor. The St. Louis region gained nearly 31,000 workers over the past year, making it the seventh-best U.S. metro area for job growth. The region broke through the top 10 for the first time since 1990. The number of people working in the 14-county region that includes the Metro East has risen 2.16% this year — surpassing the national rate of 1.7%.

From the Arch grounds south along the Mississippi River, historic manufacturing buildings will soon be a center for advanced manufacturing. Clayton-based Real Estate investment firm Millstone Company is the newest partner in the Gateway South project by Good Developments Group. President Bob Millstone tells KMOX he signed onto the project because he sees great potential of economic growth for the region.

Experiencing the best of St. Louis is as simple as figuring out what the Gateway City does well—and leaning into that. Our list draws on more than a decade of research, and while it’s by no means exhaustive, you could use it as a cheat sheet to take pride in the region—or as a bucket list for visitors.

The city of St. Louis’ Community Development Administration (CDA) said Wednesday it has awarded $3.7 million through its Neighborhood Transformation Grants program. The funding is being provided through programs focused on community-driven development, affordable housing, vacant lot beautification and neighborhood planning. CDA began awarding its Neighborhood Transformation Grants in 2023, starting the program with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA). 

Delmar Divine, the mixed-use redevelopment of the former St. Luke’s Hospital built on the “Delmar Divide,” will undergo a second phase of development. Construction is expected to begin later this year to add about 80 new apartments, additional offices and community space at Delmar Divine, located at the former St. Luke’s Hospital at 5501 Delmar Blvd. in the city of St. Louis’ West End neighborhood.

Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park released a new fly-through rendering video and an economic impact report projecting that the project will generate over $660 million in economic activity across the St. Louis region within the next 10 years. WildCare Park, a safari park and conservation center under development in north St. Louis County, is expected to open to the public in 2027.

It was lost in plain sight: a Chinatown in downtown St. Louis that existed for nearly a century. It never made it to the history books and barely made the news. Now there’s a widespread effort to honor these stories in light of recognizing the city’s shared past.