Sunday, September 23, 2007

Centene Moving Downtown

Centene announced today that it will be moving its headquarters downtown. It will be the largest employer to move its HQ into the City in decades. The move will mean new people working downtown, more customers for downtown’s stores and restaurants, and — likely — more City residents.

The tide is turning. Steadily and noticeably. The decisions to build the convention headquarters hotel, to improve Washington Avenue, to turn historic buildings into lofts, and to restore the Old Post Office were each very significant milestones in a wave of progress than has seen more than $4 billion of new investment in Downtown St. Louis.

Keeping the ballpark downtown — and the Cardinals’ commitment to build Ballpark Village — changed attitudes about Downtown. After that happened, we found many more companies more willing to renew leases Downtown or invest in their businesses throughout the City.

But, I think that today’s announcement may have an even greater impact than those milestones and open even more doors for us.

In business, success breeds success. Centene’s decision and Centene’s presence will send a very visible signal to others — especially people in the business community who make decisions about expansions and moves — that the City’s revitalization is real.