St. Louis sends cash to Laclede's Landing for revitalization

ST. LOUIS — A Laclede’s Landing neighborhood association will receive up to $129,000 to help revitalize the historic downtown St. Louis neighborhood.

The board of the St. Louis Development Corp. on Thursday approved providing $128,637.50 to Laclede’s Landing Main Street to hire a full-time staff member. This person will be tasked with securing more commercial tenants, obtaining grants and other work that St. Louis officials hope will boost economic development in the area.

“This is a very important neighborhood to the future of St. Louis,” said SLDC President and CEO Neal Richardson. “This signals to the market that the city invested in this neighborhood.”

Laclede’s Landing, a 9-block riverfront neighborhood, was once a vibrant nightlife destination with nearly two dozen bars and restaurants.

But the area emptied out when bars closed and a more than $380 million renovation of the Gateway Arch grounds shut down streets.

Since 2018, developers have spent millions of dollars renovating buildings into apartments and other businesses to revitalize the neighborhood. Those efforts have not seen the boost of residents and tourism as officials had hoped.

Laclede’s Landing Main Street is a pilot program organized by Missouri Main Street Connection, a nonprofit trying to preserve historic communities. St. Louis has two other “Main Street” programs, in South City’s Dutchtown neighborhood and on Delmar Boulevard.

The money for Laclede’s Landing comes from interest on the city’s portion of America Rescue Plan Act cash.