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MAKING HEADLINES
The St. Louis
region and its companies often make national news—below are a few
highlights.
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USA TODAY
Ranks St. Louis Among Top Cities Gaining Visitors This Year
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, hotel
occupancy remained down in most of the U.S. into the early part
of this year, according to a report in the March 15, 2002 edition
of USA TODAY. Though the entire travel industry was expected
to remain in a downturn this year, certain cities are already rebounding.
In the story entitled “Destination: Rebound, Big cities are bouncing
back from the 9/11 downturn,” USA TODAY reported “…hotel
occupancy in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Norfolk, Va., has bounced
back to the levels of the year before.” Citing data from Smith Travel
Research, destinations that rely heavily on airplanes to deliver
visitors are experiencing the most severe drops in hotel occupancy,
including Orlando, Honolulu and San Francisco. The report also indicates
these cities, which normally have some of the highest hotel rates
in the nation, are among those where hotels are offering deeper
discounts to speed their recovery.
USA TODAY says travelers are getting over anxiety about flying,
but the cost and perceived hassles and delays of air travel are
causing both business and leisure travelers to look for bargains
and consider staying closer to home. According to the Smith Travel
Research cited in the article, St. Louis’ hotel occupancy was up
3.4 percent in January over the previous year, making us the city
with the second best increase. The Midwestern location with easy
access from the Interstate highway system looks like an appealing
combination to many of this year’s travelers.
St. Louis region’s BioBelt Featured in The Washington Post and
National Real Estate Magazine Cover Story
St. Louis is not alone in encouraging biotechnology expansion as
part of its economic development strategy. According to a business
story in the Washington Post, (“For Md. Biotechs, a Culture
of Competition,” March, 25, 2002), “biotechnology is one of the
hottest sectors among economic-development officials.”
The Washington Post article told how Maryland’s biotech industry
has grown to 330 companies employing more than 20,000 workers just
behind California and Massachusetts. The St. Louis region was mentioned
among the rivals to Maryland in attracting and establishing more
biotech businesses.
The Washington Post story highlights St. Louis’ efforts to
market the “BioBelt” name based on the Battelle Memorial Institute
study indicating “the region was best positioned to excel in the
plant and life sciences.” With the combination of research centers
such as Washington University and Danforth Plant Science Center,
along with major companies including Monsanto and Sigma-Aldrich,
the St. Louis region is getting stronger in biotech as regional
venture capital funding is expected to top $350 million in 2002.
In the April 2002 cover story of GRID, a magazine for the real estate
industry, St. Louis’ biotechnology initiative seems poised to deliver
results. Citing data from the Battelle Memorial Institute study
of 2000, the St. Louis region already has more than 23,000 plant
and life sciences workers whose average annual incomes are “$70,000,
compared with $35,000 for the region’s workforce as a whole.” This
wealth creating impact of the life sciences is a large part of the
reason many cities and states have aggressive economic development
plans targeting biotechnology.
The GRID story cites efforts such as the Center for Emerging Technologies
and tax incentives as further indication of the region’s biotech
strength. Of particular interest to the magazine’s readers was the
DESCO Group’s proposal to convert more than half of the former Ford
Motor Co. plant in midtown to lab and office space for the growing
biotech sector.
The New York Times Tells of the Rebirth of Historic Hotels
in St. Louis
Attention to restoring the glamour and the addition of modern necessities
such as cables for computer and telecommunications equipment as
well as a parking garage, are part of the costly and time-consuming
work detailed in The New York Times real estate article,
“Two Historic St. Louis Hotels are to Be Reborn” (March 24, 2002).
Above:
Originally built in 1929, the Lennox is one of two hotels recently
refurbished in the Washington Avenue neighborhood revival.
The Times article discusses St. Louis’ efforts to enhance
its offerings to conventions, which will include the former Hotel
Statler, opened in 1917 and the nearby Lennox Hotel built in 1929.
Both are part of the Washington Avenue revival expected to bring
more people downtown.
The rebirth of the hotels includes new names the Renaissance Grand
for the Statler and Renaissance St. Louis Suites for the Lennox.
Tax credits available to the buildings because they are listed on
the National Register of Historic Places and private investors closed
“the gap between the high cost of development and the market for
hotels,” the article quotes Ronald Silverman, senior vice president
for project developer Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans.
Others interviewed for the story were Barbara Geisman, St. Louis’
former executive for development; Rick Jordan, co-chairman of Paric
Construction; Pete Gass, senior vice president for Alberici Constructors;
and Lynn Fournier, director of tax credit investments for Kimberly-Clark
Corp., one of the project’s prominent investors. |
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