Jason Hall
UPPING OUR GAME Written by Craig Kaminer / Photos courtesy of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
It’s hard to accurately count the headlines about our feuding city and county, our antiquated and fragmented regional government, and the economic development organizations that for many years have stepped on one another’s toes. Despite the cries of business leaders and voters who sought change, this fragmentation continued -- hindering our ability to attract businesses and retain population, specifically some of our best and brightest talent, and grow our economy. But in the midst of a pandemic, some forward-thinking and civic-oriented minds prevailed and orchestrated the merger of five organizations into one -- with clear leadership, a plan, and the support of many. But the support of one in particular is of note -- Andy Taylor, executive chairman of Enterprise Holdings, the world’s largest rental car company headquartered in the center of Clayton, and generous philanthropic investor in initiatives that are advancing the regional economy and revitalizing the city’s urban core. Andy challenged St. Louis to come together and “up our game” for economic growth. At. 12:00 a.m. on January 1, 2021, in a bold and somewhat unanticpated move, AllianceSTL, Arch to Park, Civic Progress, Downtown STL, Inc., and the St. Louis Regional Chamber combined the strengths of their legacy organizations to form a new entity, Greater St. Louis, Inc. Its purpose: to unify around a common vision and strategy for fostering inclusive economic growth. For 22 slmag.net
the first time in generations, leaders of the new organization will hopefully work collaboratively to finally address the metropolitan area’s economic and job growth challenges. Why? Benchmarking studies of faster-growing regions across the U.S. underscore why St. Louis must be more collaborative. Fragmentation at many levels has been a fundamental barrier to reversing decades of economic underperformance, stagnant population growth, and racial segregation. Greater St. Louis, Inc. represents an evidence-based initiative to align, structure, and invest our significant resources to create a St. Louis-wide economy that is more competitive, with broader prosperity for all. The drivers of this new organization aren’t members of the old guard who have long controlled the business and politics of our region, but rather newer faces who are poised to make St. Louis the inclusive and diverse city we must be to move forward. Jason R. Hall, the new CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc, was formerly CEO and Co-Founder of Arch to Park, a catalytic, civicminded investment organization focused on economic growth in the urban core of St. Louis. Originally, Arch to Park was formed out of a desire by community leaders to build a dynamic “central city” to accelerate regional growth via collaboration and strategy. Arguably, Arch to Park was the impetus of change and foreshadowed the creation of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
