Join us as we welcome 2025 in St. Louis! Explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for downtown development, community engagement, and upcoming municipal elections.
Railway Exchange Building by The Newsletter ’05
This is a multi-part blog series featuring insights from Megan Green, the current President of the Board of Aldermen. Recently, the Argus Newspaper interviewed Megan during her campaign for the presidential role. Now, she is excited to share her vision for the future and the progress ahead for St. Louis with the community.
Welcome to 2025, St. Louis! We’ve endured snowstorms, prepared for several important committee hearings, and geared up for municipal elections. I’m sure we’ll dig into all that in the weeks and months ahead, but first, I want to have a conversation about something near and dear to the heart of every resident: Downtown.
Downtown is oftentimes a magnet for bad news. Whether it’s crime, vacancy, or apathy, it’s almost impossible for a day to go by without hearing something negative about our city’s “front door.” Today, I want to focus on the positives. By the time you finish this issue, I hope we feel a little more optimistic about where Downtown is headed.
In April, the Wall Street Journal released a widely circulated article titled, “The Real Estate Nightmare Unfolding in Downtown St. Louis.” Using the Railway Exchange Building as its centerpiece, the article describes the Downtown office district as “depressing,” “scary,” and most notably, “in a doom loop.” The article went viral locally, with spin-off op-eds in regional publications adding to the dogpile. In the months that followed, several high-profile businesses announced their departure from Downtown to newer offices outside the City, and notably, the state abandoned the Wainwright Building, one of the country’s oldest high-rises.
When it comes to punditry about the decline of our city, Downtown often receives the brunt of the criticism. Our “front door” to tourists and convention-goers is used as a punching bag by both conservative and liberal politicians at all levels of government. The neighborhood is seen as the poster child for everything that’s wrong with City Hall and the direction of our city. Residents on social media regularly insinuate that local elected officials simply don’t care about Downtown.
What I can say, unequivocally, is local leaders care deeply about creating vibrant neighborhoods throughout the City—including Downtown.
I acknowledge Downtown is not perfect and a lot of work is needed to make it a bustling business district. However, what’s missing from many conversations is just how much is happening Downtown.
To some extent, it’s hard to blame anyone for overlooking the progress being made in the heart of our city. The media gets more clicks for outrage than for uplifting stories. Social media engagement relies on discontent and anger. For every St. Louis Magazine article about local entrepreneurs looking to revitalize Washington Avenue or STLPR story on residential development in Laclede’s Landing, there are dozens of nightly news stories on crime and decline.
For those reasons, it’s the responsibility of local officials to help people see the progress we are making so they feel invested in the opportunities and progress ahead. I hope, by the time you finish reading this, you’ll have a new perspective on the work being done Downtown. And, like me, you may even be optimistic about the direction we’re heading in.
Welcome to the first Deep Dive of 2025; let’s get started! Click Part 2
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