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St. Louis
RCGA — New Commitment. New Energy. New Economy.
In
1999, the RCGA unveiled a set of specific, interconnected goals
designed to encourage sustained economic growth, and shape the region’s
direction, community agenda, and civic attitude. The RCGA has made
some major strides toward achieving these goals, as summarized here.
Regional Economic Growth and Vitality
In January 1995, the RCGA and the Greater St. Louis Economic Development
Council launched the Campaign for a Greater St. Louis, an unprecedented
regional economic development and national marketing initiative
to generate 100,000 net new regional jobs by the end of the year
2000. That goal was not only reached, but exceeded by nearly 10,000
jobs. The new goal is to sustain this momentum. The RCGA reached
its initial goal of raising $15 million to fuel the Campaign over
the next five years and is now focusing on creating jobs in distinctive
industry clusters, such as life and plant sciences, information
technology, and advanced manufacturing.
Community Capitalism
Intellectual and entrepreneurial capital is the lifeblood of a growing
economy, which draws its success from the creativity and full participation
of the entire regional business community. Throughout the St. Louis
region, the RCGA is encouraging and supporting expansion of all
businesses—including those owned by women and minority entrepreneurs,
and those in distressed areas. As part of the effort to stimulate
private reinvestment in Inner City St. Louis, the RCGA and its civic
partners engaged Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter,
one of the nation’s leading authorities on competitive strategy.
Co-chairs of the St. Louis Inner City Competitive Alliance, Schnuck
Markets Chairman Craig Schnuck and Edward Jones Principal Michael
Holmes, worked with Porter and the Initiative for a Competitive
Inner City to produce an action plan focusing on existing strengths
of the inner city and ways to expand four key industries in the
inner city: metal manufacturing; transportation and logistics; construction;
and commercial services. Former Solutia Executive Kevin Cahill is
heading up the implementation of this action plan, called the St.
Louis Inner City Competitive Alliance.
Revitalizing the Region’s Central City
To create a robust regional economy, it is vitally important to
have a strong center that attracts residents, workers and businesses,
reinvigorates its infrastructure and supports healthy surrounding
neighborhoods. A revitalized central city will provide a focus for
cultural, social, financial and business activity in the entire
region. Progress is already evident in the four key target areas
of the Downtown Now! Action Plan—the Washington Avenue Loft District;
the Old Post Office District; the Laclede’s Landing / Riverside
North District; and the Arch Grounds District. In addition, plans
are progressing on the creation of a new ballpark and village, as
well as on the Chouteau’s Lake project.
Regionwide Infrastructure
To flourish, the St. Louis region’s economy needs a well-planned
and predictable physical infrastructure. While continuing to advance
key projects, such as the expansion of Lambert Airport, the extension
of Page Avenue, transit and MetroLink extensions, and the new Mississippi
River bridge, the RCGA is also focusing on systemwide/ regionwide
infrastructure enhancement. Transportation ranks only behind education
as the top issue that concerns both residents and business leaders
in the region. The region’s overall surface transportation system—
roads, bridges and transit—must be attractive to prospective employers
now, not 20 or 30 years from now.
The community must invest in its infrastructure now for the St.
Louis region to compete in the future. To that end, the RCGA’s Private
Sector Infrastructure Council, the East-West Gateway Coordinating
Council, and the Bi-State Development Agency, have worked toward
an unprecedented alliance to represent the transportation funding
needs of the region.
The Regional Business Council
The RCGA Board of Directors established the Regional Business Council
earlier this year as one of the RCGA’s eight overall long-term civic
initiatives to enhance the St. Louis region. The CEOs of more than
60 medium-size companies serve on the Council. These mid-cap business
leaders are dynamic, successful people with demonstrated business
skills. Many of them are native St. Louisans with deep family and
business roots who want to see their region prosper and grow, and
who want to take an active part in that growth. In fact, a recent
CEO survey by the Council reveals the extent of their community
involvement. The responses show a varied distribution of participation,
with the highest number of Council members serving on education-related
boards. These business leaders are seeking out and assuming active
roles in all areas of education, both in the public and private
sectors. Under the leadership of founding RBC chair John Capps,
the RBC has created strong positioning to ensure that within the
business community in general—and the RCGA in particular—The Council
is helping to support civic initiatives to improve the region.
Forward Metro St. Louis
The RCGA believes that greater cooperation and consensus between
business, civic and elected leaders on critical regional and public
policy issues is key to achieving the economic development and quality
of life aspirations of the entire region. Forward Metro St. Louis
is a dynamic coalition of the region’s business leadership. Through
a rigorous and inclusive process, this group is uniting the business
community around a focused regional public policy agenda. Forward
Metro St. Louis will build consensus on several regionwide issues.
The goal of this effort is to achieve greater consensus within the
region as the RCGA advocates the broader array of public policy
issues here locally, in Jefferson City, Springfield, and Washington
D.C.
Workforce Development
One of the most important issues to focus on is the St. Louis region’s
ability to attract, retain and develop a qualified talent pool of
employees. There’s a great demand for employees from entry-level
to highly-skilled, highly-compensated professionals. The RCGA is
leading the strategy to make the workforce issue the region’s economic
development competitive advantage.
Employers must rally together to create and sustain the “voice of
business” on workforce issues. To do this, employers must tell the
education community where jobs are now and in the future and, most
importantly, the skill requirements. As the RCGA implements the
workforce development strategy, the employer community must ensure
that there is a return on its investment of time and resources.
Employers must reinforce the message to the citizens of the region,
as well as to the outside world, that the St. Louis region is a
great place to live, work and do business. In 2000, the RCGA recruited
one of the top professionals in workforce development in the nation—Steve
Gilbert— to lead this initiative, as RCGA’s Senior Vice President
New Economy Enterprise and Workforce Enhancement. Several regionwide
workforce enhancement ventures will be implemented in 2001.
Distinctive Industry Clusters
The Technology Gateway Alliance has created a critical mass of people,
ideas, capital, and a strong voice for the science and technology
industry sectors. The St. Louis region is in a fortunate position.
It already boasts a number of world-class companies, educational
institutions, and civic organizations committed to promoting science
and technology’s impact on the economy. The recent study of the
plant and life sciences industry conducted by the Battelle Memorial
Institute has set the region in motion on a very focused strategy.
The Gateway to the West has become the Gateway to the Future—the
St. Louis region IS the BioBelt—a world-class center for plant and
life sciences research, investment and business opportunity. The
BioBelt is talented people pursuing breakthrough innovations in
health care, agriculture and nutrition; supported by a community
that nurtures new ideas and values innovation. Together, this region’s
work will change the world.
These achievements represent the fruit of our investment in regional
economic development, and clearly demonstrate what we, as a unified
region, can accomplish when we join together for a Greater St. Louis.
We have also seen the initial return on investment in the region’s
initiatives for the future. |
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