SLDC Moves Economic Justice Action Plan Forward, Accepts $1 Million Grant from Mastercard Impact Fund

Creative Touch Barber and Beauty Salon is a 22-year-old establishment owned by Keith Jefferson. Affectionately known as KJ to his customers, Jefferson is not just a business owner; he's always giving back to the community. He contributes with school uniforms, school supplies, CPR classes, Cancer and Stroke awareness education, and cares for needy families during the holidays.

Grace Meat + Three was founded in 2017 by Rick Lewis as a counter-service restaurant offering a unique blend of refined Southern American food and hospitality. This popular restaurant combines the name God’s grace with traditional Southern meat and three sides dinner.

In 2014, Paul Whitsitt and David Rodgers followed their dream to open Kitchen House Coffee in St. Louis City’s Tower Grove East Neighborhood. The coffee shop would become an extension of their Kitchen House Farm operation, providing eggs, fruits, vegetables and honey to the community, and later incorporating them into the Coffee House’s menu.

There is potential all around the city of St. Louis for developments to help recreate a lively downtown.

To support neighborhood capacity building and further activate the Neighborhood Transformation Pillar of its Economic Justice Action Plan, St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is excited to introduce its new Neighborhood Managers Team.

Yesterday, the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) of the City of St. Louis, Mo., Board of Commissioners — a development board staffed by St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) that has the authority to manage, maintain, market and sell agency-owned vacant and abandoned buildings and property in the City of St. Louis — adopted new sales policies to enhance economic empowerment, equitable and inclusive development and neighborhood transformation in conjunction with the Economic Justice Action Plan.

In conjunction with the opening of the Northside Economic Empowerment Center (NEEC), the Minority & Small Business Empowerment team at St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) launched its Back Office Support System (BOSS) Portal — a streamlined, tech-enabled system designed to build a community of small businesses throughout the City of St. Louis, especially North City.

This week, Advantes Group announced its progress on several redevelopment projects on Laclede’s Landing. Advantes acknowledged the redevelopment would have been possible without the assistance of St. Louis Development Corporation.

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) is hosting a public Open House on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Polish Heritage Center (1413 N. 20th Street, St. Louis, MO 63106).

Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) — along with representatives from St. Louis Public Schools, the Sumner High School Advisory Board and other community partners — celebrated the grand opening of the Northside Economic Empowerment Center (NEEC) with a ribbon cutting ceremony and the signing of the Economic Justice Act (BB125).

Last night, Green Street Real Estate Ventures, developer of The Armory, welcomed dignitaries and VIPs for a sneak peak of the city’s newest and largest entertainment venue. Our President & CEO, Neal Richardson, spoke on behalf of the City of St. Louis, expressing excitement about the reinvention of such a prominent historic landmark, which has been vacant for over a decade.

Yesterday, the SLDC Board of Directors authorized Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and Tabernacle Community Development Corporation (TCDC) to participate in constructing affordable for-sale housing through the Housing Access and Neighborhood Stabilization Revolving Loan Fund.

Confluence Food Group, a holding company that owns three St. Louis food service businesses, has completed its expansion of a new facility in St. Louis, investing $6.3 million and creating 17 new jobs. To support its growth, the company relocated from its 24,000-square-foot location at North Broadway to its new 113,000-square-foot facility on Garfield Avenue in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood.

On November 10, SLDC hosted a panel discussion moderated by Robert Bobroff, Publisher of the St. Louis Business Journal on the Economic Justice Action Plan. Panelists included local and national perspectives on how St. Louis can use the Economic Justice Action Plan to change the economic development narrative in the community.

SLDC Secures $50 Million in Federal New Markets Tax Credits

JOIN US FOR A CONVERSATION WITH Minority- and Women-Owned Small Businesses

Latest Round of Allocations Will Further Economic Justice, Benefit Local Development Projects

Join us for an introduction to SLDC’s Economic Justice Action Plan. The event will detail how public, private and philanthropic partnerships and investments will advance Economic Justice in St. Louis.

SLDC and The St. Louis Vacancy Collaborative Kickoff Initiative to Assess and Reform LRA Purchase Programs, Processes and Public Communications; Launches Survey to Gather Community Input